Fun Facts About Cassette Decks and Cassette Tapes

Fun Facts About Cassette Decks and Cassette Tapes

  1. In 1962, Philips invented the Compact Cassette medium for audio storage. 
  2. Introduced it in Europe on August of 1963 at the Berlin Radio Show. 
  3. The team at Philips was led by Lou Ottens in Hasselt, Belgium.
  4. The Cassette player came to the United States in November 1964, with the trademark name Compact Cassette.
  5. Recording from vinyl to cassette was common for the purpose of portability and compatibility. 
  6. There are 4 different cassette types. 
  7. Type 1 - This is standard ferric-oxide tape, also referred to as "normal bias."
  8. Type 2 - This is "chrome" or CrO2 tape. The ferric-oxide particles are mixed with chromium dioxide.
  9. 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.
  10. Type 4 - This is "metal" tape. Metallic particles rather than metal-oxide particles are used in the tape.
  11. Cassette tapes enabled easy recording of AM/FM radio. 
  12. Flipping the cassette from side a to side b was necessary for playing the entire tape. Unless you have the auto reverse function.
  13. Some cassette decks have exchange systems that hold upto 6 cassettes.
  14. The shelf life of a cassette is 30 years.
  15. A 90 minute cassette tape is 443 feet long
  16. Cassette tapes come in lengths ranging from 60 to 120 minutes
  17. The first Sony Walkman was released in 1979.
  18. The most common reason a cassette deck fails is that the belts need to be repaired.
  19. The auto reverse function essentially flips a cassette from side a to side b for you.
  20. The tape inside of a cassette is 1/8 of an inch.
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Comments

Todd - February 1, 2021

Great summary!
FYI: I enjoy collecting and have cassettes 40yrs old! Its all how you take of them.

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