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Re: [ARSCLIST] On the beaten 8-track...
Someone made a comment about the 8-track reversing, if I read it
right, and I wanted to emphasize that the 8-track (as well as the NAB
and the consumer 4-track modeled after the NAB cart) were continuous
loop devices and while they had a splice, they would run continuously
(hence Steven Barr's comment).
These could not reverse without serious damage to the tape.
The head did indeed step down in four steps, counting top and bottom
and then would (hopefully) pop up to the top again. Each time it
pulsed, usually a ratchet and/or cam was activated by a solenoid. It
was during the movement and because of the presence of conductive
foil OVER the oxide that there was a dropout in the sound as the
tracks switched.
Dolby B was introduced in this format at some point. I have a quad
Dolby B classical recording in this format, still sealed.
Anyway, I did forget to point you to my generic 1/4-inch tape
cartridge page that attempts to explain the differences among all the
known cartridge (and cassette) formats using 1/4" analog audio tape.
http://richardhess.com/notes/formats/magnetic-media/magnetic-tapes/analog-audio/025-cartridges/
I have a similar page for most 0.150" formats.
http://richardhess.com/notes/formats/magnetic-media/magnetic-tapes/analog-audio/015-cassettes/
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.