Fun Facts About Cassette Decks and Cassette Tapes
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In 1962, Philips invented the Compact Cassette medium for audio storage.
- Introduced it in Europe on August of 1963 at the Berlin Radio Show.
- The team at Philips was led by Lou Ottens in Hasselt, Belgium.
- The Cassette player came to the United States in November 1964, with the trademark name Compact Cassette.
- Recording from vinyl to cassette was common for the purpose of portability and compatibility.
- There are 4 different cassette types.
- Type 1 - This is standard ferric-oxide tape, also referred to as "normal bias."
- Type 2 - This is "chrome" or CrO2 tape. The ferric-oxide particles are mixed with chromium dioxide.
- Type 3 (rare) A combination of 1 and 2, ferro-chrome tape mixed into one being a dual layer tape. There is also cobalt in type 3 tapes.
- Type 4 - This is "metal" tape. Metallic particles rather than metal-oxide particles are used in the tape.
- Cassette tapes enabled easy recording of AM/FM radio.
- Flipping the cassette from side a to side b was necessary for playing the entire tape. Unless you have the auto reverse function.
- Some cassette decks have exchange systems that hold upto 6 cassettes.
- The shelf life of a cassette is 30 years.
- A 90 minute cassette tape is 443 feet long
- Cassette tapes come in lengths ranging from 60 to 120 minutes
- The first Sony Walkman was released in 1979.
- The most common reason a cassette deck fails is that the belts need to be repaired.
- The auto reverse function essentially flips a cassette from side a to side b for you.
- The tape inside of a cassette is 1/8 of an inch.
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