Here’s a quick summary of how to retrobright your keyboard keys—without any UV light—using the method I demonstrated in my video about "cooking" keys.

What You’ll Need:

• Yellowed keycaps
• A sous vide stick*
• A pan that fits your sous vide stick
• 600–800 ml ziplock bags
• 12% hydrogen peroxide
• Gloves (recommended)
  ​
  

Getting Started

1. Remove and clean the keys thoroughly to ensure no dirt interferes with the process.
2. Fill your pan with water and attach the sous vide stick. Heat the water to 60°C (140°F).
3. Place the clean keycaps into a ziplock bag, then carefully pour in enough 12% hydrogen peroxide to fully submerge them.
4. Seal the bag tightly. Use gloves when handling the peroxide for safety.
5. Submerge the bag in the pan of heated water. To keep it from floating, you can tie it to the side of the pan.
6. Set the timer for 3 to 4 hours and let the keys "cook."
   
   

After the Treatment
After 3–4 hours (depending on how yellowed the keys are), the retrobrighting should be done. I usually turn off the sous vide stick and let the keys sit in the warm water a little longer before removing them.

Results
The results shown in my video were achieved after 4 hours of soaking. The yellowing was significantly reduced, and the keys looked much fresher.

* I used a Princess brand sous vide stick, but the brand doesn’t matter—as long as it can maintain 60°C (140°F).

Equipment Needed:

• Cassette deck
• RCA to USB device
• Audacity (software)
• XRoar (software)

The TRS-80 Color Computer platform by RadioShack is one of my favorites due to its simple form factor and great games. Games were released on floppy disks, Program Pak cartridges, or cassettes. This article will focus on archiving the latter. It turns out that archiving Color Computer tapes is quite simple. In addition to this ''article'' I also made an episode of Adventures in Archiving about archiving Colour Computer tapes. 

Tip: When archiving multiple tapes or tapes with multiple programs, save time by implementing a consistent filename system.
​
Testing Your Software:
Now comes the fun part—testing your software. I use the Color Computer emulator XRoar for this purpose, as it's the quickest way to test software. Alternatively, you can use a cassette adapter with an actual Colour computer (Check out my explainer video about that).

1. Start up XRoar. (Check out my explainer video on how to set up XRoar.)
2. Select "File" and then click "Load". Choose the file you just archived.
3. Type CLOAD or CLOADM, depending on the type of program. (Potential troubleshooting point!)
4. If all went well, your program will start. Enjoy your archived program!

​
Possible Troubleshooting Steps:

• Right Basic Command: Ensure you used the correct Basic command to load your program. Try CLOAD and CLOADM.
• MONO: Was the file recorded in MONO? Select recording channels as MONO or separate the file into MONO.

​A couple screenshots:

My first Sharp MZ700 came with only two cassettes: the basic interpreter and 10 games spread out over side A and B. These games made me realize that the graphics on a Sharp MZ700 are pretty neat! I got my second Sharp MZ700 mostly because it was sold with a suitcase of cassette tapes. A suitcase that I managed to archive most of the tapes from. In this article, I’ll share the process I used to archive my Sharp MZ700 cassettes.

Equipment Required:

• USB audio interface
• Cassette deck
• Cassette adapter (3.5mm)
• Sharp MZ700

Software Used:

• Audacity

Setup:
If I'm honest, the setup I use may be a bit over-exaggerated. You can also use cheap USB walkman-style cassette players for this. I use a USB audio interface that allows me to connect a cassette deck to my computer using the right and left RCA jacks. The Behringer interface I use is excellent and suitable for digitizing music cassettes as well. Using the USB interface, I connected my Technics RS 6, a great small form factor cassette deck.
Connect the USB device to your computer. Then, connect the RCA jacks to the right and left out on your cassette deck and the RCA in on the USB device. Open Audacity (other audio software can be used). Select the USB device as the recording device. Insert the cassette you want to archive into your cassette deck. Start the recording in Audacity, then press play on the cassette deck. After a few seconds, the first audio should appear on your display. Computer audio should look symmetrical. Wait until the cassette tape is finished playing, then stop the recording in Audacity.

Testing the Software:
I intentionally included the Sharp MZ700 in the list of required equipment because testing the audio files requires an actual computer. Insert the cassette adapter into the internal cassette deck of the Sharp MZ700 and connect the 3.5mm jack to the headphone port of your computer. In Audacity, select it as your output source. You could also use other media players, but be sure to select the cassette adapter as the output. (Note: these adapters are mostly recognized by computers as headphones.) Turn on your Sharp, type in: CLOAD, followed by the enter button on the Sharp marked as CR (carriage return). The computer will display PLAY. Press the play button, followed by starting the audio file in Audacity. If things went well, the computer will report back after a few seconds about the program it is trying to load, and you have successfully archived a Sharp MZ700 cassette.

Tip:

• If you are archiving mixtapes, separate the files in different audio files. This will make loading your favorite program's much easier.

Troubleshooting:

• Sometimes, a load error appears or nothing happens on the computer. Some programs require loading the Basic interpreter to load themselves. If you encounter a load error, try the program in a version of Basic (Basic is available on the Archive page).
• It is always a good idea to clean the tape heads!
• Is your Sharp working correctly? Try loading one of the programs on the archive page to see if the computer will function with my files.
• Tweak the volume; sometimes, the volume can be too loud or too soft for the computer.

Need Help?
Don’t have a Sharp MZ700 but own a Sharp Cassette (and a cassette deck and audio device) and want to know what’s on it? Contact me via Archive support, and I’ll be happy to try an audio file for you on my Sharp MZ700.
​
Good luck archiving!
RetroMels

At some point in the past, I obtained a collection of Commodore PET tapes, around ten in number. Although I had intended to archive them, I didn't get around to it until recently. After some effort, I managed to convert them into WAV and TAP files, which are now available on this website's Commodore PET page. In this blog post, I'll explain the process I followed.

​Required Software:
    •    Audacity (or alternative audio recording software)
    •    Audiotap
    •    VICE emulator
Equipment Needed:
    •    1530 to USB adapter
    •    Commodore Datasette

Troubles on my side:
The process took me an entire day due to challenges, starting with finding a functional Commodore Datasette. I tested them on one of my Commodore 64s and discovered that several of my Datasettes needed repairs. Interestingly, the best-performing one was the one that appeared the least aesthetically pleasing.

My Commodore PET requires repairs as its keyboard is non-functional. Therefore, I relied on the VICE emulator to test the software and tap files.

Archiving Procedure:
To initiate the archiving process, connect the datasette to your computer using the 1530 to USB adapter. On Windows 10, choose "Microphone (USB PnP Sound device)" as the input device in the settings. Similarly, select the same input device in Audacity. Begin with a test recording, adjusting the recording volume so that the datasette’s output fills the recordingscreen. (Picture added to illustrate what I mean) Erase the test recording and rewind the tape. Commence recording in Audacity and press play on the cassette deck.

Wait for the recording to finish; most PET software is relatively short, around three minutes, Computer tapes usually last around 15 minutes.

Saving and Exporting Audacity Files:
When archiving multiple tapes, establishing a consistent file-naming template is beneficial. I named the files according to this structure: "Commodore PET Tape (number) side (letter)." This approach streamlines the process by enabling the quick insertion of the correct number and letter. Save all files in Audacity before exporting to avoid the need to type filenames twice. The shortcut for saving in Audacity is CTRL-S.

After saving files with accurate names, proceed to export them as WAV files. Find the export option in the "File" menu, typically located under the save button. Choose the "Export to WAV" option, and provide track information as desired. I like to sign my files by writing under the artist tab Archived by RetroMels. Click "OK" to initiate the export.

Tip:
Create a dedicated folder for this process to keep files organized.

Transitioning to Audiotap:
After exporting the WAV files, transition to Audiotap. This straightforward software is wonderful for creating TAP files without unnecessary complexities.  Select "Create a TAP file" and choose "From an audio file (WAV or similar)" and "inverted waveform." Tick "inverted waveform" as it's crucial for compatibility with the VICE emulator. My tap files without this option did not work, Click "Advanced options," select "VIC20" as the machine, and choose the appropriate video standard (PAL or NTSC). In my case since I’m located in Europe PAL. Proceed by selecting your first file to transfer.

Here in case you are converting multiple files it is important to stick to clear filenames. I used the same format for the file names as I used in the Audacity process. Audiotap is pretty fast in converting the files and sometimes doesn’t even show a progress bar. If all goes well after a couple minutes you will have a file folder filled with WAV and TAP files.

Loading into VICE:
Using VICE to load files is exciting, especially if you're unsure of the tape's contents. Select "XPet" from the menu, listen to the lovely Commodore PET's bootup sound (if your sound is on ofcourse), and attach the datasette image. Test files by typing "load" in the emulator, and if successful, you'll see "found" and to start the program type run.

I cheered out loud when the first program loaded successfully into my digital Commodore PET, hopefully after reading this article you will find the same results!

Things to watch out for:
Cassettetapes are of course a physical mediatype, making them prone to degrading over time. This means that it might happen that your Commodore PET tape from the 1970’s has degraded and therefore is not or more difficult for your computer to read. If you have a working commodore PET to test the actual tape with, this shouldn’t be an issue since you can determine the operation of your tape before you archive it. I find that not knowing what is on the tape can be more exiting.

Like I wrote in the beginning of this post, datasettes can be a bit dodgy and for instance suffer from not being aligned properly or having a dirty readhead. This ofcourse can also be prevented by testing the datasette with the software on an actual Commodore PET. I assume that most people that have PET software might also have a Commodore 64 laying around somewhere. Testing the functionality of your datasette that way is also a good option. Have issues loading on actual Commodore Computers try cleaning your readhead with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me using the archive support page.

Commodore PET software in my Archive:
All the software I archived using this method can be found on the Commodore PET page of this website!

Goodluck archiving!
RetroMels