What exactly is an 8-Track???

AlphaTroll

AlphaTroll

New Member
Well???

I don't think I have ever seen one, and obviously have no clue what it is? And why do I hear guys in movies refer to them so nostalgically?
 
You familiar with a cassette tape? It's the same principle.

An eight-track is a cartridge with a tape on a continuous loop that has music. The tape was moved by a spinning post up against a rubber wheel (called a pinch roller and capstan) past the tape head. Once you got to the end of the loop, there was a signal that prompted the player to move the head down to the next set of tracks. It's called an eight-track because the left and right side for stereo are a track each, and there are four sets of the two. You could also switch between each of the four sets of tracks by pushing a button.

The upside of the eight-track is that it the tape moved past the head at twice the speed of a cassette tape, making for better treble response, and the tapes were easier to store and care for than vinyl records and also more portable. The downsides were that the players tended to eat the tapes, there was no fast-forward or rewind and because the loop was a single set length, sometimes a song would have to fade out in the middle of it, then the player would switch over, then the song would fade back in and continue.
 
A typical 8-track cartridge:
8track.final.jpg


Some typical players:
caddyRadio.jpg

player2.jpg

aa1522a.jpg
 
Inkara1 said:
Once you got to the end of the loop, there was a signal that prompted the player to move the head down to the next set of tracks.
Click to expand...

The splicing tape used to make the tape a loop triggered the change.
 
AlphaTroll said:
Why are guys so nostalgic about the things if they were so crappy?
Click to expand...
Nostalgic? I for one hated the pieces of crap. However, you can't really play records in your car and cassette players didn't become readily available until later (late 70s). Now betamax, OTOH...
 
Ooh, I used to LOVE the movies we watched on my Gran's Betamax when we were kids! She still has a whole closet full of old Betamax tapes - mostly old westerns and love stories etc (you know....the really good movies). Unfortunately we no longer have anything to watch them on.

Do you suppose there is a way to convert them to DVD?

**edit:memo to moi - the is spelled T-H-E not H-T-E you dyslexic ass**
 
I STILL can't listen to ELO's "Telephone Line" without mentally hearing a loud Cha-CHUNK in the middle. Gah!
 
Good Gawd HL I know what you mean.

Everyone who busted their favorite tape a part to
straighten out the tape after the player ate it,
raise their hand!


The way the tape pulled out from the center of the spool always amazed me

but then lil' things like that fascinate me.
 
:wave:

They are still used in radio. Carts are great for all the bill paying spots (of course, this is before mp3s)
 
Winky said:
Good Gawd HL I know what you mean.

Everyone who busted their favorite tape a part to
straighten out the tape after the player ate it,
raise their hand!


The way the tape pulled out from the center of the spool always amazed me

but then lil' things like that fascinate me.
Click to expand...
:wave:
 
Gonz said:
:wave:

They are still used in radio. Carts are great for all the bill paying spots (of course, this is before mp3s)
Click to expand...

The station I worked at used carts. We had a cart loader machine and spools of blank tape. SnP put in an 8 track in the car by choice, then took used 8tracks of the Carpenters or whoever, popped em open, and loaded the wheels up with blank tape. A typical 8 track will hold many many hours of blank tape ya know...what with the cartridge shifting like that...and funny how SnP also had an 8 track recorder at home on his system...amazing coincidence really when you think about it...
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
The station I worked at used carts. We had a cart loader machine and spools of blank tape. SnP put in an 8 track in the car by choice, then took used 8tracks of the Carpenters or whoever, popped em open, and loaded the wheels up with blank tape. A typical 8 track will hold many many hours of blank tape ya know...what with the cartridge shifting like that...and funny how SnP also had an 8 track recorder at home on his system...amazing coincidence really when you think about it...
Click to expand...

Wow you're taking 3rd person to the next level.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
The splicing tape used to make the tape a loop triggered the change.
Click to expand...
I figured it had to be something physical like that instead of an inaudible signal.

AT, people are nostalgic about the 8-track not because of the quality of the medium, but because of the memories it brings back... as you can see here with so many people brought together by the common thread of taking apart a tape to straighten it out after the player ate it.

I didn't have an 8-track player but my cousin did and he and I took apart a couple of cartridges. His player was an old Cariole receiver/8-track player that had tubes instead of transistors. The thing ran a little slow so "Macho Man" didn't sound quite the same.
 
The inaudible signal is what triggers auto format stations to do whatever they do. It's great when one miscues & silence fills the airwaves. Paul Harvey is usually triggered by auto tones.
 
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