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MSHappyCampers · 01-05-2022, 10:13 AM

8-track music players were originally invented for use in jets. Bill Lear, the founder of the Learjet Corporation, wanted to improve the experience for passengers in his jets. One of those things he wanted to improve was the ability to listen to music, and a record player wasn’t going to do the trick. One of his designers, Richard Kraus, built the first 8-track player and in 1964 the Learjet Corporation built 100 models and distributed them to others in the industry. The rest, as they say, is history!

Old-Biscuit · 01-05-2022, 10:45 AM

8-track developed by a diverse consortium that included the Ampex Magnetic Tape Company, Lear Jet Company and RCA Records, and enjoyed the tremendous advantage of being championed at its inception by Ford Motors

8-track was based on the 4-track designed by Geroge Eash in 1953 and highly promoted by Earl "Madman" Muntz, of Los Angeles, California, in 1962----he included a 4-track as promotional items in his used cars sales.

4-track & 8-track were portable ideas based on Reel to Reel Tape

Replaced by Cassettes, then CDs then Memory Sticks now streaming

*I'm still at CD stage ----LOL

rk911 · 01-05-2022, 10:46 AM

we had an 8-track player in our vehicle. but before that....we had a 4-track player (same idea but half the songs on an 8-track). but before that....we had a 12-volt, 45-rpm record player in the car. it had an auto-changer and we could stack a number of records in it. worked well except on bumpy roads, over RR tracks, etc.

MSHappyCampers · 01-05-2022, 11:02 AM

A lot of us enjoy trivia! Looking forward to your contributions here!

Ldubs · 01-05-2022, 02:27 PM

8-Track sure brings back some good memories -- of the times, not the actual technology. Now my car doesn't even have a CD player. Everything is "streamed" or from my iPhone playlist.

Old-Biscuit · 01-05-2022, 04:07 PM

My first car had a 4-track........until it ate all I had.
Then it got swapped for the new 8-track which ate some after I had played them 100 times

Cassette ate tapes up too..........

allenb12 · 01-05-2022, 04:08 PM

I had a 4 track player in 1969. It was dated technology then. I then purchased a 1967 Cougar that had a built in 8 track player. Got rid of the last of the 8 track tapes about 10 years ago.

vseasport · 01-05-2022, 04:33 PM

I installed a 4 track player in the glove box of my 64 Chevelle. Also installed a reverberator. Not quite as dated is the drawer full of VHS tapes I found last week. Guess I haven't looked in that drawer for some time.

0rion · 01-05-2022, 04:41 PM

Vinyl has made a comeback...my 15 year old daughter recently got into them. It all started with her painting records to sell that we would get at a flea market. She wanted to hear one actually played so we got her a record player and a few records to listen too. It cracks me up because most people I know were estatic when other options came about.

Staying with the theme.....the first recorded voice was in 1860 by a Frenchman but it wasn't able to be played back. The first to reproduce recorded sound was Edison in 1877.

MSHappyCampers · 01-05-2022, 04:49 PM

I owned a TV and radio repair shop in the late 50's and until 1968. We installed and serviced the 8-track players. The heads needed a lot of attention to prevent cross-talk between channels.

0rion · 01-05-2022, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I owned a TV and radio repair shop in the late 50's and until 1968. We installed and serviced the 8-track players. The heads needed a lot of attention to prevent cross-talk between channels.

My dad had a tv repair shop until the late 70's/early 80's happened and Wal Mart sold tvs cheaper than he could fix them. He did re-enter the tv side of it when big screen projectors came out because those weren't throw away TV's. I still have some of his parts/tools from those days....including a turkey baster with a McDonald's straw taped to the end of it for sucking fluid ooit of them haha.

Boomper · 01-05-2022, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0rion

Vinyl has made a comeback...my 15 year old daughter recently got into them. It all started with her painting records to sell that we would get at a flea market. She wanted to hear one actually played so we got her a record player and a few records to listen too. It cracks me up because most people I know were estatic when other options came about.

Staying with the theme.....the first recorded voice was in 1860 by a Frenchman but it wasn't able to be played back. The first to reproduce recorded sound was Edison in 1877.

Curious how the Frenchman knew the recording was successful if he could not play it back and listen?

0rion · 01-05-2022, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomper

Curious how the Frenchman knew the recording was successful if he could not play it back and listen?

He was actually studying the visual aspect of audio waves.

Everything you always wanted to know about the phonautograph and several things you didn't:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%...de_Martinville

MSHappyCampers · 01-06-2022, 08:59 AM

Which U.S. coin has a value equal to its mass? Can you guess? If you guessed the nickel, you’re right. The coin weighs exactly 5.000 grams per U.S. Mint specifications, which means it has a value of exactly five cents.