My most recent score involved a lot of ancient equipment. Included were several tape spools, that I'm sure were used in the early 80's. They are about 5" in diameter. Some were black paper reels, but there were some of an foil like substance. It doesn't respond to a magnet, so it's not steel. One of them has a gold color on one side of the film, though I doubt it is gold.

I'm fine to throw these in the trash - but before I do, does anyone know anything about what the film could be made of? Would it be aluminum, similar to hard drive platters? Any chance that it is actual gold foil on the tape? I don't have a gold test kit, but I suppose I could take it to a jeweler or Pawn Shop to find out definitively.


Also included in this lot was a Numeridex LC6000. I had to use Google, but it was a tape preparation device, from 1980. WOW, that was a nice piece to scrap. The case was solid aluminum, no plastic or steel there. There were several very nice boards that I think will bring comm grade. Loaded with EPROMS and thick gold fingers. There was a good motor and a large transformer. It was quite the pain to take apart, but seeing EPROMS with Intel '78 on them made it all worthwhile.

Thanks for any help!