I'd never heard of Playtapes, because they were introduced when I was a toddler. They were a cross between the principle of an 8-track and the small size of a cassette. In this case, they were endless loop like an 8-track, but only carried two channels. Each channel could be accessed by turning a knob on the player. Playtapes normally carried four songs on them, two songs each channel. The medium took off in 1967--youth grabbed them up for the most part--but its value dropped off when 8-tracks and cassettes took over. Plus, playtapes could only be played, never recorded. One exception--Smith Corona had a "living letters" format using playtapes. You could record and send a taped message to a loved one and they could play it back with their own recorder/player. This one is the Hipster, a somewhat larger unit of the time. Only big problems it had were a broken power switch and a worn belt. Switch has been repaired and I have yet to replace the belt. Just need to get some Playtapes and see how it performs--which, of course, will be the basis of another video....
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
1968 Playtape Model 1442 "Hipster" Tape Player
1968 Playtape Model 1442 "Hipster" Tape Player Video Clips. Duration : 5.02 Mins.
I'd never heard of Playtapes, because they were introduced when I was a toddler. They were a cross between the principle of an 8-track and the small size of a cassette. In this case, they were endless loop like an 8-track, but only carried two channels. Each channel could be accessed by turning a knob on the player. Playtapes normally carried four songs on them, two songs each channel. The medium took off in 1967--youth grabbed them up for the most part--but its value dropped off when 8-tracks and cassettes took over. Plus, playtapes could only be played, never recorded. One exception--Smith Corona had a "living letters" format using playtapes. You could record and send a taped message to a loved one and they could play it back with their own recorder/player. This one is the Hipster, a somewhat larger unit of the time. Only big problems it had were a broken power switch and a worn belt. Switch has been repaired and I have yet to replace the belt. Just need to get some Playtapes and see how it performs--which, of course, will be the basis of another video....
I'd never heard of Playtapes, because they were introduced when I was a toddler. They were a cross between the principle of an 8-track and the small size of a cassette. In this case, they were endless loop like an 8-track, but only carried two channels. Each channel could be accessed by turning a knob on the player. Playtapes normally carried four songs on them, two songs each channel. The medium took off in 1967--youth grabbed them up for the most part--but its value dropped off when 8-tracks and cassettes took over. Plus, playtapes could only be played, never recorded. One exception--Smith Corona had a "living letters" format using playtapes. You could record and send a taped message to a loved one and they could play it back with their own recorder/player. This one is the Hipster, a somewhat larger unit of the time. Only big problems it had were a broken power switch and a worn belt. Switch has been repaired and I have yet to replace the belt. Just need to get some Playtapes and see how it performs--which, of course, will be the basis of another video....
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