How to Open Warner Brothers Carts

How to open Warner Brothers Carts

by Aaron Bicchieri

WB01417_.gif (1257 bytes)

Warner Brothers cartridges typically have two slots on the back of the cart, one near the tape end, and one near the label end.

1. Use a thin flathead screwdriver that is long enough to insert fully into the rear tab on the back of the cartridge near the label end of the tape. You'll want a screwdriver with a shaft about 1/8" wide and at least two inches long. It needs to be sturdy, or it will bend.

2. Flip the tape label side down and pop open the top tab near the playing end. To do this, hold the tape with one hand, and use the screwdriver with the other. Place the tip of your index finger in the playback head recess to pull DOWN on the top shell, and place the tip of your middle finger in the track sensor recess to push UP on the bottom shell. This prying force will help pop the snap. Force the tip of the screwdriver between the right CORNER of the wide tab and the little shelf that it snaps onto. Don't try to pry in the center of the tab; it will pop more easily if you pry at a corner. Force the shell halves apart with the fingers of your left hand, while you hook the underlying shelf with the screwdriver tip. Shoehorn the snap over the shelf until it pops free. Don't spread the shell halves apart any more than necessary.

3. Immediately flip the tape label side up before proceeding, or you will "throw" some tape loops from the center of the spool. This is very undesirable, as the remedy usually requires cutting the tape and resplicing.

4. With the label side up, hold the tape by the sides with one hand (I use my left hand, with my fingers near the label end), and use the screwdriver with the other. Insert the the tip of the screwdriver UP into the rear slot until it stops.

5. This is the most important part. When prying on this tab, you need to push the handle of the screwdriver towards the playing end, so the tip of the screwdriver travels towards the label end of the cart. This is the direction the snap opens up. This direction seems counter-intuitive, so people tend to crack the shells by pushing the wrong way. While you are prying on the rear tab, force the shell halves apart at the rear with the fingers of your other hand. The top shell will pop free.

Very occasionally you will run into a rear snap that won't pop. In that case, pop the front snap back together and pop the rear tab first, before proceeding to the top tab. That seems to do the trick. Once you get the hang of the WB carts, they are some of the easiest to pop.

 


Back to 8-track Repair

Back to [CONTENTS]