Anyone have any? I have about 60 or so..... Only 1 has Dolby... Heres a nice unit... Thats not mine though .. Mine is a basic player...
I still have my Muntz Model 2301 4 and 8 Track Player, unfortunately it needs a drive belt. Earl "Madman" Muntz invented the 4 track stereo pak in the early 60s. Bill Lear, of Learjet, modified the 4 track into the 8 track. Back in the sixties we all started with open deck 4 track systems like this one, I had it mounted under the dash with a locking quick release, still on it. I'd yank it out and lock it in the trunk when I parked the car as people constantly stole these things back in the day. Some people would remove their glove boxes and mount the unit behind the door, if it would fit, to hide it. I have a few 8 tracks, but haven't seen a 4 track in 50 years.
I've seen them in my grandparents garage. I honestly have no idea how your supposed to use them because they're so big? I'm guessing more like a game cartridge, then a videotape?
Yeah, a cartridge. Tape feeds from the inside of the reel and returns to the outside. Four tracks had only four tracks as opposed to eight and no rubber wheel. The wheel popped up from the bottom of the machine. They were big because there were no integrated circuits, plus an older motor, and drive mechanism.
That looks kinda cool. Like the inside of a movie reel or something. Did you guys have problems with it eating the tape too or no?
Yep. We'd open up the case and untangled the mess then splice the tape back together with scotch tape. Cut the tape at an angle, put the scotch tape on the back and trim the edges. Then you were good to go. Here's an excellent video of a repair. The guy talks a lot at the beginning explaining how the tape got screwed up. The repair starts at about 3:57 and is pretty short.
It's why I'm glad we left tapes behind. One of the only thing they have over cds is that they won't scratch and skip if you try to exercise. Also Walkmans can go on your belt loop.
All mechanical players that could be used in moving vehicles were a high cost low quality pain in the ass. Even CD players tracked twice and combined the signals via time delay. Fortunately solid state devices have solved the problems.
Yeah, but they beat AM radio, which was all we had. I remember when this was as high tech as it got: Imagine, a radio speaker in the front and rear seat! Then along came reverb units! Sweet.
The days between 1970 and 1987 were the best days of my life. I am sure that you will enjoy this video. No one ever filmed me at work. LOL
Cool! This is what I always visualized is in the projection room: I had thought film was gone by now in modern theaters.
