A few of my thoughts (take them with a whole shaker of
salt) on eight tracks.
As an appreciator of antique automobiles, I find that
my interest in antique audio fits in well. I am a
somewhat avid collector of old LP's, 45's, 78's, eight
track, reel-to-reel, and any other kind of obscure
recording media (goal: someday own a cylinder
recording device!) Not for the sound quality do I
appreciate these media- indeed, a good CD will
outperform almost anything else (with the exception,
of course, of a new record and a good stylus) for
sound quality. But, like our Imperials, eight track
tapes were state of the art, reliable, but got a bad
name because they weren't mainstream. The cassette
tape got that honor, and only recently sees its
popularity waning.
I personally own somewhere around 100 eight track
tapes, and while I have bought a few off eBay and
gotten some from Salvation Army (for 35 cents each)
the bulk of my collection comes from my mentioning to
someone that I own an eight track player (actually, I
own several) and them saying "oh, I have a few of
those in my attic" and the next time I see that
person, them bestowing upon me a huge bag of plastic
cartridge tapes that probably haven't seen the light
of day since the Carter administration.
8 tracks can be recorded, though about the only place
you'll find blank ones is on eBay, and a good recorder
is hard to find, too. (you could also record over
useles pre-recorded tapes, like barbara streisand or
glen campbell- just kidding!) Personally, I own a
recorder, but have never used it- I have such an
assortment of pre-recorded tapes (mostly, music you
would never find on CD's or even cassettes anymore) I
couldn't possibly listen to them all. In fact, if
anyone wants a recorder, I might be inclined to sell
it to someone who might actually use it. I also own 3
auto 8 track players of verious types.
8 track tape is essentially just 1/4" reel-to-reel
tape, and the tape heads' paths are actually 1/2 the
size of a cassette tape- cassette tapes have 2 sides,
the tape is 1/8" wide, eight tracks have, in essence,
4 "sides". The tape runs on an infinite loop, spliced
together and joined with a metal strip that 'tells'
the tape head to jump to the next track automatically.
A really cool system, when you think about it, and
also fairly durable- the tapes almost never break
except at the splice.
When players eat tapes, its usually because the tape
gets caught in the rubber wheel in the cartridge and
the metal spindle in the player keeps dragging the
tape through. To prevent this, the tape player should
be cleaned with rubbing alcohol, to keep it cleaned.
Also, old tapes should be inspected before playing for
sticky or degraded rubber parts. Like our Imperials,
8 track cartridges are not disposable, they can be
fixed, it just takes a steady hand and great patience.
The cartridge can be split open with a flat bladed
screwdriver, and reassembled with scotch tape.
Rewinding the tape takes patience and skill, and
practice (practice on those aforementioned barbara
streisand and Glen campbell tapes)
Splicing the tape can be done with regular scotch
tape, which I've found works really well in the
absence of proper splicing tape, which can be elusive-
just cut a piece with a razor the exact width of the
tape and about 1/2" long. To re-attach the metal
strip (which you need if you want the player to
automaticaly advance to the next track- esp important
for Jimi Hendrix guitar solos) I use a tiny dab of
superglue spread evenly on the metal strip where it
adheres to the tape. I've fabricated metal strips out
of common tinfoil, too- works fine.
If for some reason you need to cut the tape and
re-splice it (say, for example, the tape gets all
twisted up and you need to untangle it- its sometimes
easier to cut it, untangle, and splice) always cut the
tape at a 45 degree angle, like a mitre box. NEVER
just cut at a 90- the resulating edge is more likely
to snag or something.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I hope someone
finds it helpful. If anyone needs any help, feel free
to email me privately. I mentioned about a year ago
that I would repair eight track cartridges for anyone
who doesn't feel comfortable or doesn't want to do it
themselves, for a nominal fee plus postage. I'm still
willing to do that, though as yet I haven't had any
takers.
=====
--Mike Pittinaro
One point eight litres
Stromberg carburators sing
Loose nut at the wheel
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