Boombox Radio Cassette Players: Old School?

[paul]

About 15 years ago, I had my Nakamichi BX 100 repaired for something. In any event they also did a head alignment and it still sounds good today.

Bernie, I hear ya. The mangled tapes, rewinding, knocking out tabs, making sure I had the mpx filter off, the right eq with bias etc. Geez'm.

That said I do this every 3 or 4 months for my vinyl to tape to cd conversions. And yes I use TDK metal tapes too.

[KBallenger53]

Originally Posted by paul

About 15 years ago, I had my Nakamichi BX 100 repaired for something. In any event they also did a head alignment and it still sounds good today.

Bernie, I hear ya. The mangled tapes, rewinding, knocking out tabs, making sure I had the mpx filter off, the right eq with bias etc. Geez'm.

That said I do this every 3 or 4 months for my vinyl to tape to cd conversions. And yes I use TDK metal tapes too.

Hey Paul, don't forget the DOLBY switch!!!

'NUFF SAID

B.T.W. what happened to the pictures

[PierreConstantin]

[SandraDee]

OMG, that's me at Ibiza airport!

[KBallenger53]

Originally Posted by SandraDee

OMG, that's me at Ibiza airport!

YIPE!!!

'NUFF SAID

[Cory Ander]

I discovered I could usually reduce tape hiss by recording at a slightly louder volume and using the Dolby Noise reduction system. What used to drive me absolutely NUTS, though, was when I'd buy records, record them on cassettes, enjoy them for years on end and then, one day while playing the tape, it would wrap itself around the player's heads and be destroyed beyond repair. And I NEVER knew or understood what caused this to happen. And it wasn't just "cheap tapes" because it happened to higher quality tapes too.

[KBallenger53]

Originally Posted by Cory Ander

I discovered I could usually reduce tape hiss by recording at a slightly louder volume and using the Dolby Noise reduction system. What used to drive me absolutely NUTS, though, was when I'd buy records, record them on cassettes, enjoy them for years on end and then, one day while playing the tape, it would wrap itself around the player's heads and be destroyed beyond repair. And I NEVER knew or understood what caused this to happen. And it wasn't just "cheap tapes" because it happened to higher quality tapes too.

Sometimes it can be the cassettes themselves. When you open up a cassette, notice the two plastic liners inside the shells. They are supposed to act as a gliding mechanism to prevent friction while the tape is moving.

With some brands, (Maxell for example), you'll notice a slight lubricating feel to them. Over a period of time, (30-years in my case), these things become coarse from all of the playing, recording, FF, & RWNDNG!!! And can cause only 1 reel to spin, and therefore, your Cassette Deck or your Boombox decides to get hungry for something else besides BATTERIES!!!

These plastic liners are to promote a smooth tape action, to keep the motor from working so hard, which saves battery power also!!! It also pays to keep your heads, capstans, and pinch rollers clean at least once a month.

'NUFF SAID

[KBallenger53]

Hey, since we're on the subject of Boom Boxes, has anybody out there on the board ever owned one? Let's see some pics!!!

I remember when I was in the Navy, back in 1980 & I went to the base Exchange and saw this Pioneer SK-95!!! It was about 3 feet long, and had a Silver Case. It had Black Cloth speaker covers with 2 Chrome Stripes that ran horizontal across them. The speaker covers were also removable!!!

This Box was WAAAY ahead of it's time, because between the speakers and above the cassette department was a Central Control Panel. In it were green and red LED lights, along with seperate left and right sliding recording levers. It also had a Selective Music Search that allowed you to search and play a recorded song, providing there was a 3 second gap between them.

The Pioneer SK-95 also had auto-rewind, auto-repeat, auto-reverse, and you could program which songs you wanted to hear on your tape!!! AMAZING!!! Right above the Speakers and the Central Control Panel, was AM/FM Stereo that had the Little Red Light that lit up when the station was set on FM Stereo. It even had Twin-Antennas!!!

This Box also had Condensor Mics built into the corners of its handle!!! In the back of it, were Input & Output Connectors for RCA Jacks so that you could hook it up to your DJ Equipment!!! I've NEVER seen a Box like this before, and haven't seen one since!!! It costed about $140.00 at the time. Did I buy it? You damn skippy, I was 20 years old, and spent my whole check on it!!! Had to wait 2 weeks before I got paid again!!!

Unfortunately the Box, got destroyed over time, but has anybody ever heard of this one? Hmmmm, who knows, maybe I could find another one on E'BAY!!!

'NUFF SAID