This was the last tape path improvement. A tape stabilizer was a dampening flywheel mounted just prior to where the tape begins its travel around the drum. It is rotates, by the passage of the tape over its center shaft (a roller), and it helps keep the tape running flat and smooth. It does this by providing the correct amount of tension to create an air cushion between the tape and the drums metal surface. To accommodate this damper, a space was opened up between the full erase head and the number 6 guide. The shuttle block that carries the tape around the drum, and also handles the number 4 and 5 guides, was also lengthened. The addition of the wheel and the increase in shuttle length comprise the tape stabilizer system that Sony makes note of on the front of some of their last VCRs. ©Misterßetamax go to homepage