Perhaps just getting inside the plastic casing might be the hardest part! Why Did They Stop Putting 8 Tracks in Carsĭuring the mid-1960s until the very early 1980s, the 8-track player and 8-track cassettes held the largest market in electronics. They can be repaired, but it is something you would have to have the patience to do. Once an 8-track was damaged inside, it was difficult to repair it. It’s really hard to visualize the process unless you open up a cassette and look at the inside.Īll of this turning and wrapping of the tape inside the cartridge is a good indication as to why the 8-track could be prone to malfunction. This will move the playback head along the width of the tape and it begins to play a new program.

When the whole length of tape has gone through the loop, a metal foil splice in the tape passes by a solenoid sensing coil that is stationed right beside the playback head in the player. Then the tape will finally loop back to the spool or central hub, where it then re-wraps around the outside of the spool. The capstan and pinch roller work together to move the tape along the path at 3 and ¾ inches per second. When the capstan spins, it will roll the tape against the pinch roller inside the cartridge. A part of the player called the capstan is spun by the player’s motor. The pressure pad inside the cartridge presses the tape against the playback head. It then moves to the top of the cartridge and connects with the playback head of the player through the opening at the top of the cartridge. Tape pulls out from the center of the central hub. The tape is wound around a spool or central hub. A metal sensing strip connects the ends of the strip of ¼ inch tape thus forming the loop. The tape heads will play two tracks at a time, 4 in stereo. The tape inside the rectangle-shaped plastic box is divided along its length into 8 channels. They were really loved for their portability as opposed to the phonograph and they were an alternative to the radio because you could play the specific music you wanted to listen to. It was offered as an option in three of their most popular 1966 car models, the Mustang, the Thunderbird, and the Lincoln.Īlso in 1966, the 8-track home players were introduced. The radio and phonograph remained the only ways you had to enjoy music at home and in the car until September of 1965 when the Ford Motor Company came out with their factory-installed and dealer-installed 8-track tape players. What a novelty it was! Where Were 8-Track Players Used?

This was a real treat because you could actually hear recorded or live music while you were driving down the road. In 1930, radios were also being added to automobiles. With the invention of the first phonograph in 1877 and then the radio in 1901, it changed the entire way people could have access to music.Įventually, almost every home had either a phonograph, a radio, or both. In the olden days gone by, it used to be that the only way you heard music was if someone played it live in front of you on an instrument, they sang to you or you sang or played an instrument yourself.

8 track tape players