by Jim Sharpe
Technical Consultants: Vance Whitestone & Lavant Guarde
We in today's 8-track community suffer from a dangerously low level of care and maintenance afforded our precious cartridges and machines. Indeed, many trackers today scoff at the mere mention of cleaning or de-magnetizing their players. In an attempt to correct this situation, we'd like to share some ideas and tools to assist both the serious and the casual audiophile in protecting their tapes and machines. This report is not intended as a comprehensive survey of maintenance accessories; instead, we'll focus on a few extremely unique devices useful to the caring tracker. Because so few 8-track products of any kind have been manufactured since the mid-eighties, some may wonder about their availability. But the fact is that a wide selection of old stock remains, and there are numerous sources for obtaining these sometimes peculiar products. Many 8-track devices such as cleaning-and-de-magnetizing cartridges, head-alignment cartridges, wow-and-flutter test meters, and an assortment of converters are commonly available from many of today's better liquidators. Your neighborhood electronics store (the small, local, non-chain-store-type shop) often carries a large backlog of old and dusty accessories which make it an excellent source; and when it comes to "obsolete" 8-Track accessories, flea markets, garage sales and church bazaars are most accommodating to the smart 8-track shopper (average cost: 10¢ to $1.00 for any item). Before we delve into the wonderful world of 8-Track accessories, we would like to address those of you embarking on the 8-Track journey for the first time. You may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by a lack of information on basic necessities (i.e., sensing foil, replacement foam, etc.); if so, we suggest thumbing through back issues of 8-Track Mind for guidance and information. The US Patent and Trademark Office can also provide technical info (schematics, design specifications, etc.) on any apparatus ever patented, if you know the exact item you are looking for. Providing them with patent numbers will yield the best results. Our survey will focus on mechanical and electronic devices specific to the 8-Track environment. A word about evaluation and test criteria: All testing was conducted at Plastikville Studios in New York City. Started in 1990, its 8-Track division produces new 8-track cartridge releases, and requires stringent maintenance of all its machines.
At Plastikville, we asked chief engineer Bob Schaeffer to assist us with our research. Plastikville used 3 different playback tapes as reference standards to check before and after test results, these were: Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music (contains the full frequency spectrum -- the closest sound analogue to photography's "China Girl" test image), Supertramp's Breakfast in America and Jethro Tull's Aqualung (typical '70's, bloated overproduction). Although this survey was conducted with the lay person in mind, we have spared no expense to provide the most penetrating data resulting from our labors. Here are some of the more outstanding from the many devices we tested:
In conducting our study, it was common to find these products
the object of ridicule by mainstream consumers. To the 8-track
community, however, they are nothing less than our long-lost
friends. Most of these devices will help to elicit the maximum
degree of quality your machine and tapes were meant to deliver.
With some of the older equipment, a simple cleaning can mean the
difference between feeble, sputtering, muffled, unsteady sound,
and the mellifluous tones of your favorite Gentle Giant
cartridge. Trackers should take note that the relative interest
in these products is rather low at this time. Now is the time to
get your Magic Cartridge or Roadrunner at
pre-"collectible" bargain-basement prices. Even the
most haphazard search may unearth the one gizmo that will enhance
the listening pleasure of one's 8-track system. Whether you own a
Lloyds, a Craig, or even an Electrophonic, you will be adding
years of 8-track listening pleasure to your system by utilizing
one of these unassuming products. Now even a novice can get the
most out of those old crusty tapes and machines, often within
seconds.
Good luck trackers!
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