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  #16  
Old 08-31-2017, 12:47 PM
centralradio centralradio is offline
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Originally Posted by Jon A. View Post
That one seems to be the exception to the rule. I have stereos identical to those installed in those Lincolns and others very similar and I don't think they've ever eaten a tape while I've had them. I don't think my Panasonic RS-806US ever has either. Nice big flywheels in all of those, cuts down on wow and flutter. There are some well-programmed tapes that don't change programs during a song. The RCA/MCA carts are among the best but are a b!**h to open, but that rarely needs to be done anyway.
My late sister had a Panasonic RS-806US recorder with a Panasonic receiver and had no problems with it.I have it here with a few other RS-806US's.I recorded her Elvis Christmas albums on it back in the 1970's and she played the daylights out of it around the holidays.I got the Elvis tape here somewhere. Most of those car units had the munchies eating tapes.The same with the car cassette counterparts.Maybe its the temp change and the pounding around from the moving car.
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  #17  
Old 08-31-2017, 12:49 PM
centralradio centralradio is offline
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Originally Posted by Jon A. View Post
Natch! I'd like to go after their flat screens with a 12 gauge Remington 870 and some double ought bucks, now that would be fun.

One good thing about collecting stuff older than we are is that it may gain a decent following in our lifetimes. I have noticed if any 8-tracks are being given away around here they're jumped on faster than you can say jackrabbit.

I'll bring Sharpies and draw on big mustaches... I'm saying 1911 big... and black out some teeth.
Sure sounds great to me.
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  #18  
Old 08-31-2017, 01:06 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is online now
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The Quad 8-track in my 78 Linkn Mark V has eaten ~6 tapes (out of probably ~100 tapes I've put through it and ~200 plays)...Most were not it's fault though, and most survived. Many tapes are having splice glue failure these days and I've tested a good number of 'new to me' tapes in it*. When the splice lets go if there is enough stick left on a loose end to cling to the capstan things can go down hill before you know it...
The radio in mine has only 3 mount points + antenna needed to wiggle it out of the dash, then I can unbolt the bottom and manually spin the capstan to unwrap the tape without damaging it. A little smoothing and splicing after that, and often one can't tell from playback that anything bad happened to the cart.

One or two of the victims (and IIRC the only ones to 'die') were 'extended' home made mix tapes....You see I've got enough Disco on vinyl I like well enough that it would fill more than a couple 90 Min tapes....I decided I wanted to add another ~albums length to that and added about as much as the reel could still hold, on to it (apparently I wound it too tight). The result: my recorder with a BIG motor could record and play it, but other decks and my Mark could not spin it well and all wanted to eat it...After a couple of fix cycles I gave up on that one. The part that irks me worst is that before I 'extended' that tape it was fine in the Mark and elsewhere.

With how many 8-Tracks are experiencing foam rot, splice failure, etc. You gotta know how to fix the tapes to safely retrieve/revive them from dormancy....I've gotten to the point that if the center/ends become too unwrapped to rewind the spool by hand, I simply wind the end onto a temp reel with belt drive RTR, then use the RTR to rewind the tape on the 8-track spool with the temp reel held on a screw driver as a pivot to minimize wrap tension/tape tension in the final product....I Have saved many a basket case tape that way.

8-tracks can sound VERY good...If the tape was not poorly made, is in good condition, and you have a quality player. I have among my home decks a 3M/Wollensak component deck that has built in Dolby noise reduction...That unit sounds real nice!

*When you find that tape you've wanted for a while and the car your taking it home with has a player, it is hard to resist.
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  #19  
Old 08-31-2017, 02:20 PM
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Jon A. Jon A. is offline
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I had two of those Panny decks when I was in my teens. Someone gave me my first one and I got the second from a thrift store. Eventually I parted with both of them and just had to get another one in recent years. Elvis's music sure has a wide appeal, second only to The Beatles. Personally I prefer Elvis. I haven't heard much of his Christmas mucis but I reckon it is among the very little good Christmas music. I'm not knocking Christmas, I love it, but much of the music leaves a lot to be desired. Agent K explained Elvis' final exit very succinctly: "No Elvis is not dead, he just went home". No I don't believe that but it's the best theory I've heard. As for the car cassette decks, our 1984 Lynx had a factory deck. The car was 8 years old when we got it and the tape player was already malfunctioning, it ran way too fast.

I've been messing with 8-track tapes and players over many years; got my first player when I was 9.

When first playing a new-to-me tape I'll listen carefully for the splice to start passing through the tape path and pull the cart out immediately, or push "Eject" when using my Panny. More often than not that splice is toast. A little piece of aluminum foil tape and it's as good as new. Still I could use a R2R deck for re-threading tapes as the tension tends to drift.

I think those Ford quad decks were made by Motorola. I don't know how their capstans are held in but with mine the bottom is all that keeps them from falling out.

Ruined something when trying to improve it huh? Been there, done that, got the tee shirt. I'd rather use 45-minute tapes for recording, seems the 90s are more likely to tax the drive mech/freeze up.

Tape/player build quality started dropping later on. I've had countless locking tabs snap off and avoid the cheaper players altogether, primarily because of the el-cheapo plastic and set screw holding the head in place. Darn things are almost always broken from the tension that screw puts on the plastic.
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  #20  
Old 09-04-2017, 02:45 AM
Dude111 Dude111 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon A.
I have noticed if any 8-tracks are being given away around here they're jumped on faster than you can say jackrabbit.
Excellent!!

If they are done right,THEY SOUND GORGEOUS!!!!
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