Hi all,  Back in the 8-track tape days my folks used to sell 8-track
cartridges door to door, to music stores, and at flea markets, to help
make the ends meet.  The tape coming out of the cartridge was a common
problem for some customers.  Fortunately the solution is easy.

It's weird, but the way that the tape is wound it naturally keeps
itself tensioned and as such it will go back into the cartridge with a
simple tug.

How to get the tape back in the 8 track tape cartridge:

With your left hand hold the cartridge so that the excess tape is
hanging down.

With your right gently hand pull on either side of the loop.  One side
will pull easier than the other.  On the side that pulls easier give a
gentle but firm tug on the loop.  The tug will start the reel inside
the cartridge to spin and the tape will magically pull itself back in
without any tangling or problems because of the cartridge's natural
tensioning.

If the loop is particularly long you may need to do this more than
once.  Each time the loop will get shorter and eventually all the tape
will go back into the cartridge.

This is how they used to get the loop of tape to go into the cartridge
when the ends were spliced together at the factory.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Ray Finch
Albuquerque, New Mexico