The Norelco Continental 101 vintage tape recorder dating from approx. 1964 is documented in this video along with "naked" views of the internal workings of the machine. It was advertised as a "professional quality" portable tape recorder, and sold in the amazing price range of to 9! Considering that many full size stereo reel to reel tape recorders sold for about the same price (ie Emerson-Telectro, Webcor, Estey tape recorders, etc.) with many more features, it seems that Norelco had a very high opinion and expectations of the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder. As vintage audio, it deserves to be cataloged for historical reference due to its quality and rarity. This unit was found in the trash. It had battery leakage and some water damage. Some of the rubber drive parts had actually melted (a common complaint with vintage electronics - they didn't always use quality rubber for the parts) and were replaced with plumber's "O" rings. One special feature was the use of a rubber belt to control both rewind and back tension when in the record or playback mode. This belt has been stretched beyond operational limits and was replaced temporarily with a rubber band (not the best solution, but it did restore function to the machine). Although touted as a "professional quality" machine, the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder only ran at 1 -7/8 ips, a very slow operational speed notorious for poor high frequency response. Not surprisingly, the amplifier, even as vintage ...
Friday, December 21, 2012
Naked Continental 101 -Norelco Vintage Tape Recorder
Naked Continental 101 -Norelco Vintage Tape Recorder Tube. Duration : 9.40 Mins.
The Norelco Continental 101 vintage tape recorder dating from approx. 1964 is documented in this video along with "naked" views of the internal workings of the machine. It was advertised as a "professional quality" portable tape recorder, and sold in the amazing price range of to 9! Considering that many full size stereo reel to reel tape recorders sold for about the same price (ie Emerson-Telectro, Webcor, Estey tape recorders, etc.) with many more features, it seems that Norelco had a very high opinion and expectations of the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder. As vintage audio, it deserves to be cataloged for historical reference due to its quality and rarity. This unit was found in the trash. It had battery leakage and some water damage. Some of the rubber drive parts had actually melted (a common complaint with vintage electronics - they didn't always use quality rubber for the parts) and were replaced with plumber's "O" rings. One special feature was the use of a rubber belt to control both rewind and back tension when in the record or playback mode. This belt has been stretched beyond operational limits and was replaced temporarily with a rubber band (not the best solution, but it did restore function to the machine). Although touted as a "professional quality" machine, the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder only ran at 1 -7/8 ips, a very slow operational speed notorious for poor high frequency response. Not surprisingly, the amplifier, even as vintage ...
The Norelco Continental 101 vintage tape recorder dating from approx. 1964 is documented in this video along with "naked" views of the internal workings of the machine. It was advertised as a "professional quality" portable tape recorder, and sold in the amazing price range of to 9! Considering that many full size stereo reel to reel tape recorders sold for about the same price (ie Emerson-Telectro, Webcor, Estey tape recorders, etc.) with many more features, it seems that Norelco had a very high opinion and expectations of the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder. As vintage audio, it deserves to be cataloged for historical reference due to its quality and rarity. This unit was found in the trash. It had battery leakage and some water damage. Some of the rubber drive parts had actually melted (a common complaint with vintage electronics - they didn't always use quality rubber for the parts) and were replaced with plumber's "O" rings. One special feature was the use of a rubber belt to control both rewind and back tension when in the record or playback mode. This belt has been stretched beyond operational limits and was replaced temporarily with a rubber band (not the best solution, but it did restore function to the machine). Although touted as a "professional quality" machine, the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder only ran at 1 -7/8 ips, a very slow operational speed notorious for poor high frequency response. Not surprisingly, the amplifier, even as vintage ...
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