@John-Legelis

I'm not aware of any as this is possibly either a playback machine malfunction or damaged / worn /demagnetised tapes. If the picture and sound are strong in sections then the last one is the least probable. If it suddenly comes and goes but not always at the same point at each pass then it could be shedding oxides building up then being removed by the tape passing or sections of the tape have become stretched or warped. (buckling).

Tapes should always be stored tale out (end of play) and rewound to the beginning before played if stored for long periods. If they have been stored ready to play then they should first be rewound the then wound back to the beginning before they are played. That way any sticky or loose oxide that is on the tape is more likely to stay where it is for one playback pass only although the oxide could still shed and build up as the tape plays. In dire circumstances tapes can be baked at low temperatures for relatively long periods of time, such as 130 °F to 140 °F (54 to 60 °C) for 1 to 8 hours. This removes moisture and softens the substrate that allows the tape to retain more of it's oxide on the correct side of the tape. That process can only be done once and playback can often only be done once after to transfer the data to digital.

You should also clean the tape travel path with almost pure Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any contamination.

If the tape is buckled warped or stretched, nothing can be done. There is also a slight chance the tape head of the machine has become misaligned or damaged or worn or components are breaking down somewhere.

Of course I could be wrong and someone else may jump in and say there is a way from within MEP to recover this but you need a signal to record. It could be a bad lead or connection (you could try using a different USB port (Never use a hub USB connection for this) as well but if it is working well at certain places then I doubt it is that unless something in your computer is malfunctioning or overheating.

Ray.