[Audioarchivist]

...and, I wouldn'tput too much faith in those head cleaner tapes - they're somewhat abrasive and they kinda grind off a layer of the super fragile heads when they "clean" them! You're better off with some 99% isopropanol alcohol and some q-tips and a steady hand. Kepping in mind that DAT heads have a limited amount of hours that they'll properly work before they start to die. How much was this deck used before this? Maybe it's past it's prime?

Also, keeping in mind that if you play the tapes on a dead deck, it could re-distribute dirt and debris from the crusty dead heads and spread it all over your tapes, causing them to have dropouts and "static" of mis-tracking. Or, worse, those damaged heads could eat your tape!

So, my best advice is to get a different deck, clean it manually, and don't play the tapes that you want to transfer until you're 100% sure that you've got a good working deck that won't wipe the music that you wanna save...