I didn’t know HiWay HiFi played a
STACK of records?
First, there was ....
However,
it didn't work out too well. It was just too weird a record format. Oddity is
especially appropriate here when one considers that the music this phonograph
was to play was on a special 7-inch disc with a standard center hole (not
45-rpm size) and cut 550 grooves to the inch (twice that of a conventional 33
1/3-rpm LP record). It required a super-special 0.25-mil stylus (today's stereo
styli are available from 0.5 to 0.7 mil) at a stylus pressure of 2 grams. In
addition to this, Highway Hi-Fi utilized an ac induction motor to spin the
platter, incorporating a vibrator power supply into its design to convert the
auto's 12 Volt DC power to a suitable AC operating power.
The electromechanical vibrator is a notorious noise producer, and perhaps has
the highest failure rate of all the components used in auto radios. So much for
reliability and speed accuracy. The product was dropped after the 1958 model
year.
So two years later, Chrysler teamed up with RCA and in 1960, offered a changer
for the car that played standard 45 RPM records. Who would have thought.
From 1960 Plymouth Sales Brochure. The price for this
option was $39.55 ...
How many miles do you get to a stack
of 45s?
Music to while away the miles? You can choose between Plymouth's Push-Button
DeLuxe radio at a truly low price, or a new Hi-Fi radio with push-buttons that
pull in stations that are states away with a sound that compares well with a
living room console.
And you can enjoy,
if you will, your own favorite phonograph records from home. This is
another feature you will not be able to get in any other low-price car this
year. To make it possible in Plymouth, RCA
perfected an unusual automatic record player that fits handsomely within reach,
right under Plymouth's
instrument panel. This RCA Victor "45" record player handles your
standard 45 rpm records smoothly and safely. It plays up to 14 of them
consecutively -- about two hours of uninterrupted music of your own choosing.
As the records play, the automatic changer stacks and stores them for you. The
storage space actually holds many more than 14 records, so you can change the
repertoire after each stack if you enjoy your records as much as we suspect you
might.
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