Cassette-to-8 track adapters

Anyone who fools around with 8 track, either then or now, has
encountered those hoaky plug-in adapters. I opted to pick up a
new-in-the-box Mura, since 1.) it was cheap, and 2.) it was new old
stock. Does it work? Well....

The Mura MT-88 is shaped the same as your average "plastic sandwich,"
unlike more sophisicated units from Panasonic and cheesier units from
Radio Trash. It utilizes two SCX 5.7 drive belts driven off an idler
driven by a spring loaded standard pinch roller. The cassette head
feeds a very simple two stage amplifier section, which then feeds a
plastic bodied inductor which faces the 8 track deck's playback head.
In short, it's an exercise in geometry that falls short without
considerable fiddling and farting around.

Upon arrival, the Mura barely was able to move tape, due to aged belts
and a hardened pinch roller. Some Rubber-Renu took instant care of
the pinch roller, but I had to order out belts. I hedged my bet and
got a seletion of SCX belts, knowing there'd be an optimum size, and
SCX 5.7 seems to be it. Once disassembled, cleaned and lubricated, I
snapped a cassette into the thing and shoved it into my Panasonic.
Disaster...the takeup reel clutch was FUBAR, allowing the pinch roller
to feed tape to a non-moving reel. Diassemble again, and sure enough,
the felt in the cheapie takeup reel clutch pack was too slick.
Perhaps I got some lube on it? Some solvent took care of that, so
back together again, and voila...sound! Real FAST sound...like about
10% fast.

Due to my penchant for adjusting analog tape machines of any ilk to
"dead on" speed, my Panasonic's no different. It has a regulator
onboard, so the usual variance of automotive voltage between 12.6 and
15 volts won't materially affect speed. However, the cassette was
playing annoyingly fast, with the usual "helium vocals" and gratingly
high pitch and tempi...in this case, more than a half step high,
shades of a discotheque in the '70s. Back to the shop for some
analysis. The pinch roller had swelled when treated with Rubber-Renu
(a hazard of using this type of solvent,) and had to be turned down a
bit on the lathe. This is the only means of speed adjustment. After
some caliper readings and trail and error, that was fixed well enough
for 3150 Hz to be an actual 3155, about 1.5% fast. Now, what did it
sound like?

Not real bad, actually...not good, either. Think "portable." One
thing I found irritating was there was NO provision for setting head
azimuth at all. Perpendicularity (vital on cassettes) was way off
too, which is adjustable only by moving the head assembly around after
loosening two machines screws. I had to drill a hole where the az
screw was during operation, and THEN pull the lid off the Panasonic to
set the thing with a Nortronics alignment cassette...and it was off a
TON. Once that was fixed, put everything back together again, and try
one more time. NOW it sounded a lot better. Obviously, the head was
the same cheapie you'd find in any number of crappy portables, but the
Nortronics showed it was -3 dB @ 10 KHz, 10 dB down at 15 KHz...not
bad for this caliber of stuff...and good enough to play a music
cassette "in a pinch." Giving it some boost on the equalizer brought
the music program back to nearly flat...as well as adding some
unwelcome hiss.

Actually, it sounded about as good as some of the not-so-good
commercial 8 tracks I've heard lately, and surely better than others.
Case in point: Doobie Brothers' "Minute By Minute," an album which
marked the transition of this band from southern-based rock band to
Santa Barbara fusion-pop machine with Michael McDonald bellowing on
most tracks...a HORRIDLY mastered 8 track. Someone had evidently
thought that the 8 track should be highly compressed AND both ends of
the freq spectrum cut way down, and it sounds like "music on hold" on
a telephone...awful. I dubbed off a copy onto a Type I cassette from
the original LP (not that well engineered in and of itself, I might
add...way too much plate echo everywhere) and stuck it in the Mura.
It was better by a long shot! Sidebar: Anyone see that short-lived
MCI commercial with Michael McDonald hawking his Motown hits CD? The
guy looks like a singing steak! Someone get him some BP meds, stat!

Conclusions: Are/were the adapters viable? No. Was this one worth a
couple hours' labor screwing around with to get it to work right? No.
Will I use it? Only if I don't have a decent cassette deck in the
vehicle, 8 track's the only option, and I absolutely, positively HAVE
to hear a cassette, yes. Will it work in portables? No. Will it
work in home players or recorders? YES, but they have to use 12-16
volts AC or DC for the track change solenoid, or there's no DC to run
the internal amp. Someone was at least smart enough to include a
bridge rectifier on the amp, so even if the DC's the wrong polarity,
the bridge will flip it around for you. While you have it open,
change out the filter cap; mine was dried out and was passing a lot of
alternator hum. Once replaced, it was pretty quiet for that, but the
amp is also pretty "hissy"...to be expected from something as cheesy
as this.

If you're into 8 track memorabilia and gadgets, here's a nice looking
one up on sleazeBay, complete with the manual and the snazzy vinyl
carrying case:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1571 405&rd=1

If you buy it, order up a couple of SCX 5.7 belts and save it for one
of those rainy day projects. Be prepared to disassemble and clean the
takeup reel clutch, a normal activity when working on any cheapie
cassette player. Alignment? HA! Read above.

dB

I have a KRACO Model KCA-8 Cassette to 8-Track Adaptor (NIB) if anyone is
interested.
BOB

DeserTBoB wrote:

reluctantly snipped

DB, you amaze me. I have a lot of those, and if they do not work, I
pitch them. Hats off to you for taking the time to actually make it
sound far better than it ever did, or deserved too! A true 8-tracking
state of mind!

Dan

--

Daniel and Kathy Gibson
http://www.katestrackshack.com
"Kate's Track Shack -Your Internet Home For Inexpensive 8-tracks!!"
AND...
http://drnooseandjambone.com
"DrNoose And Jambone - Do It To The Optigan!"

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 02:20:33 GMT, Daniel & Kathy Gibson
wrote:

DB, you amaze me. I have a lot of those, and if they do not work, I
pitch them. Hats off to you for taking the time to actually make it
sound far better than it ever did, or deserved too! A true 8-tracking
state of mind! snip

You know, after all that fiddling and farting, the Mura doesn't sound
half bad at all! A little skimpy on the highs, sure, but now, I can
snap in any Type I cassette and it sounds as good as your average
cart. Right out of the box...well, let's just say it wasn't an
option!

dB

Daniel & Kathy Gibson wrote in message ...
DeserTBoB wrote:

reluctantly snipped

DB, you amaze me. I have a lot of those, and if they do not work, I
pitch them. Hats off to you for taking the time to actually make it
sound far better than it ever did, or deserved too! A true 8-tracking
state of mind!

Dan


Dan, are you worshipping at the altar of D-Bob ?? He's leaving a wake
of hatred behind him wherever he goes...you must have brown on your
nose after this FOS post you left above.

You've really lowered yourself to the level of a posting whore on that
one, just to befriend a lowlife like D-Bob...better start thinking
about your reputation in the tracking world.

Those adapters were pieces of **** !

Daniel & Kathy Gibson wrote in message ...
DeserTBoB wrote:

reluctantly snipped

ISP 24.0.63.239 belongs to both DAN GIBSON of the TRACK SHACK

and to GOOPY GEAR who is following me around on Google Groups, and
posting after me.

Think twice before you buy anything from the TRACK SHACK. Pretty
sneaky Dan, you had a respected business sort of, until now.

You just disgraced your wife's 8-track business...the shame...

both posts and headers below



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Subject: Bimbo and Peppy need help
References:


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Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 01:01:58 GMT

Another Bimbo machine! I repaired a cart for one of those not too long
ago. It will make you mental listening to it over and over and over
again.

Dan
--

Daniel and Kathy Gibson
http://www.katestrackshack.com
"Kate's Track Shack -Your Internet Home For Inexpensive 8-tracks!!"
AND...
http://drnooseandjambone.com
"DrNoose And Jambone - Do It To The Optigan!"


AND NOW GOOPY GEAR'S POST BELOW, notice both have 24.0.63.239 as the
NNTP POSTING HOST



From: (Goopy Geer)
Newsgroups: rec.antiques.radio+phono
Subject: Halllicrafters SX-100 need help- no audio
Date: 24 Nov 2004 14:23:01 -0800
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He has far more creds than you do Charlie Nudo!

All,

Be forewarned that Charlie Nudo, aka trippin28track here, 66fourdoor
on eBay, is a troll. He has also been kicked off of eBay under
different names for selling forged items and shill bidding. Don't be
nudoed..steer clear!

GG