[78-L] recording times

[Michael Biel]

Judging from your description of the speed problem, this machine was 
probably a rim-drive machine, not a capstan machine.  They worked like a 
wire recorder with the take up reel providing the forward motion.  The 
revolution speed of the take-up reel was constant, so as more tape wound 
onto the reel the tape speed would increase by a great degree, possibly 
a factor of 4 times or more.  There are color pictures of three Aiwa's 
of this type on pages 342-43 of Phil Van Praag's "Evolution of the Audio 
Recorder."  I have one of those type of machines (cheaper brand, 
however) in the next room with a tape on it I've been meaning to dub off 
for years.  I got it in 1962.   It was around $20. 

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com 

Steven C. Barr wrote:
> I also recall (dimly) an Aiwa non-capstan-driven mini-r2r machine that used
> 3" reels of tape and was battery-powered...c.1959, IIRC! We young folks
> (well, I WAS...once upon a time!) used to sneak them under each other's
> front (car) seats in hopes of recording something titillating. Since the 
> tapes
> couldn't be played on any other machine...and to some extent even the
> individual machines couldn't play tapes made by others exactly "on speed"...
> (and the speed was also a function of battery condition...?!) these never
> became anything more than a fun novelty, AFAIK...?!
>
> ...stevenc 
>
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