Compact audio cassette: Encyclopedia II - Compact audio cassette - Cassette equipment

Compact audio cassette - Cassette equipment

Cassettes can be played on a wide variety of different types of device. Early recorders tended to be small battery-powered portable devices, in keeping with the intention of the medium for dictation, reportage and similar low-level recording duties, but by the mid 1970s, the cassette deck became a commonplace component of home high fidelity systems, largely superseding the reel-to-reel recorder for home use.

Another key element of the cassette's success was its use in in-car entertainment systems, where the small size of the tape was significantly more convenient than the competing 8-track cartridge system. Cassette players in cars and for home use were often integrated with a radio receiver, and the term "casseiver" was occasionally used for combination units for home use. In-car cassette players were the first to adopt the idea of automatic reversal ("auto-reverse") of the tape at each end, allowing a cassette to be played endlessly without manual intervention. Home cassette decks soon followed this practice as well.

Companies such as Tandberg, ReVox, Nakamichi, Akai, Aiwa, Technics, Pioneer and Sony made highly advanced cassette decks for high-end audio systems. Some include three-head technology for off-tape monitoring.

Compact audio cassette - Maintenance

Cassette equipment needs regular maintenance, as cassette tape is a magnetic medium which is in physical contact with the tape head head and other metallic parts of the recorder/player mechanism. Without such maintenance, the high frequency response of the cassette equipment may suffer.

One problem occurs when iron oxide (or similar) particles from the tape itself become lodged in the read head. As a result, the tape heads will require occasional cleaning to remove such particles.

In addition, the heads, and other metallic components in the tape path (such as spindles and capstans) may become magnetically charged, and require demagnetization. Both cassette demagnetizers and head-cleaning fluid are available. Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used as a tape head cleaner.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cassette equipment", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki