Description
Professional Grade Replacement Felt for Sinclair Microdrive Cartridge Restoration
If your Sinclair Microdrive cartridges are failing to load or “looping” without reading, the culprit is almost certainly a perished felt pad. Over the last 40 years, the original factory felt in Microdrive tapes has likely turned to dust or a sticky residue.
Our replacement felt pads are the perfect solution for the serious collector or restorer. These pads are precisely sized to match the original Sinclair specifications, ensuring that your tape remains pressed firmly against the drive head without causing unnecessary friction or wear.
Why replace your Microdrive felts?
- Prevent Tape Damage: Missing felt allows the tape to “slop” inside the cartridge, leading to creases and permanent data loss.
- Fix Loading Errors: Proper tension is required for the Microdrive head to read the high-speed data blocks correctly.
- Universal Compatibility: These pads fit both ZX Spectrum and Sinclair QL Microdrive cartridges perfectly.
Installation Tip: Before applying your new felt, ensure the metal spring arm is completely cleaned of any old adhesive or degraded foam using Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA). For the ultimate refurbishment, pair these with our replacement Microdrive rollers
If you’ve been lucky enough to get a Microdrive, and some cartridges – we STRONGLY recommend you replace the felt on your microdrive cartridge(s) BEFORE attempting to use in your Microdrive.
The 40+ year old felt is very fragile, if It’s even still there. If that old felt gets pulled inside the cartridge – the cartridge is basically bin fodder!
You will need the following items for this:
- Replacement felt!
- Tweezers
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Cotton buds (to clean metal felt strip)
Please consult the following guide, to show you how to proceed – Click_Me
These replacement felt pads are cut by hand, so you will see small differences between each pad. After a couple of years, and thousands of pads – this isn’t a problem.
Take your time, and don’t rush the replacement. If the old felt is still present, or fallen off and in the case – there’s a VERY good chance the cartridge will work after refleting.
(Assuming your Microdrive unit actually works of course!)
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