Struss Play Eight with Very Low Sound

Remember the days of portable 8 track tape players?
I certainly do!

[@TommyTester]

I got a battery operated Green Giant Niblets Corn AM transistor radio at a thrift store that had low volume. I watched this video, opened up the one I had and replaced the same cap you did, and now it sounds great. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!! Tom in Minnesota.

[@12voltvids]

That is awesome!

[@Capturing-Memories]

What I like about your videos is the discussion you bring along the repair process, Just like hanging out with some buddies and doing the job while talking about whatever is been going on that day.

[@danmackintosh6325]

Missed this one... That To-Con sure looked like a Toshiba part, the logo was just like the old Toshiba script. I'm a bit young to recall 8 track as a popular format, but the styling of that thing and the simplicity of it's build really appeal.

[@angryshoebox]

The bright orange case & big circular speaker grille holes are early & mid-'70s all the way. I'm surprised it was made in Japan, a lot of basic, budget consumer electronics stuff like this was made in Hong Kong back then. Never heard of Strauss, I wonder if that was a Canada-only brand name. 8-tracks were a thing well into the '70s also, from what I remember.

[@jimdayton8837]

Yup that unit is definitely from the 70's. 8-Tracks pretty much died out after the early 80's here in the US.

[@callumthomas6152]

Aaaahh! I always wondered what that triangular logo was because I've seen it on a few handycam crt tubes as well as my technics tape deck's head and I couldn't find any info on it. Thank you

[@theoloutlaw]

what a cute little unit. Never seen one of those before! My level of repair too :)

[@catman58]

I used to have a recording 8-track player, I record all my favorite songs from my records to tape

[@12voltvids]

I have one.

[@zx8401ztv]

Well done, you homed in to those faulty caps really fast. It's odd but also nice for it's era, and the inside looks clean. Conventional push pull transistor amplifier, no odd chips to fail. My sister had a cassette version, front loaded with the same handle style and same colour. I guess i would of mixed up the capacitor manufacturer brand too.

[@peatmoss4415]

And we say about and you say aboot...

[@jimdayton8837]

This unit is definitely from at least the mid 70's. They weren't using plastic brackets for the playback head like this one has in the 60's.

[@YogSothoth1969]

Cool you got it working fine again! Enjoy your videos a lot! Best wishes from Germany.. Michael

[@Odessia-ij5ys]

Great vintage repair

[@kyoudaiken]

10V 10µF in the 60s and today 16V 10µF is so tiny and cute. We've come a long way.

[@geoffreykeane4072]

Wow that thing is in wonderful condition.

[@R.AudioElectronics]

Thanks Dave for another great repair. BTW we Americans also say garage different. I lived in Sault Ste Marie Mi. Growing up there so close to Canada we picked up the slang on many words.

[@greggaieck4119]

What a cool eight trick play

[@brianwood5220]

Nice retro device, thanks for sharing Dave.🙂

[@bigalsmallengines]

Wow never seen one of those myself. Never one that small anyway. Seeing you work on these 8 track units makes me wonder if mine still work. They been in storage for many years now. Probably not. I need to drag them out and listen to some of my old tapes. I think I even recorded some band practices on those tapes. Be cool to hear those. I finally set me up two of those multi-sony units and linked them like you did. I love it! Cool to load all of your CD's and just shuffle them all day. Great idea buddy! Cheers! 🍻 -AL

[@jimdayton8837]

I'm sure your tapes will probably still work. Keep in mind however that the foil spice on the tapes will probably need to be changed. There are plenty of tutorials on KZbin for that.

[@enricoself2256]

The triangle Matsushita logo has been in use on caps until the 80's, then replaced with the still used today "M" logo. I think too Panasonic caps rarely fail, but on the net you read different opinions.

[@12voltvids]

Well there are tons of fakes out there.

[@GerardPinzone]

I hated 8-Tracks. Some sounds would be cut in two because they went across tracks.

[@luanhana2100]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING VIDEOS IN COLD WEATHER THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK GOD HEALTH .

[@12voltvids]

Well we do have heat. Much nicer working in the cold with heat on than in the summer with no AC in the shop. Gets unbearable at times even with fans running.

[@greggaieck4119]

What cool music you play 12 voltvids

[@zulumax1]

Panasonic TNT Dynamite 8 track player was made in the middle 70's I would imagine this one is from the same time period to be competitive. Did you see any date codes inside? The 60's were still 4 track carts mostly. I have a few of those made by Muntz.

[@jimdayton8837]

Very true. Many people don't even remember the 4-Track now. There was even a very rare portable 4-Track player made by Muntz called the "Porta Four".

[@zulumax1]

@@jimdayton8837 Remember the Muntz mascot? This little bow legged guy with elf shoes, a snarl, and a Captain Crunch hat with the letter M on it? I would like to know the history behind what that was about.

[@jimdayton8837]

@@zulumax1 Yep I've seen it before. That logo is on some of the boxes for my Muntz machines. I'm not quite sure where the design came from.

[@rbtgmnstcs]

A former colleague of mine, kind of a "mentor" for me when it comes to electronics, always says that you MUST resolder after cutting off the excess component leads, otherwise it might fail in the future. He claims that the cutting will alter the "internal force stabilizing structure" of the solder. It should look like a "volcano with concave slopes" for maximum strength and durability. If the cut is made right next where the solder ends/begins it may also affect the strength, when the deformation of the lead will mess with the important end/beginning of the solder. This is maybe kind of nerd knowledge, but I guess it makes sense. Great content btw!

[@Odessia-ij5ys]

I have a 8 track machine ....., RCA stereo baby 8 made in Italy 1970's got two

[@lawrencecavens5760]

The light blue caps that you were wondering about might be European being might be from Germany or Soviet Russian

[@keepingitreal71]

Gee... Now I feel like a caveman.... God I am so OLD....

[@marktubeie07]

Interesting for a 'manual' track change system as I still see the detector that bridges across when the foil strip goes past!

[@12voltvids]

Obviously a standard assembly common to all 8 track players. Probably a mitsui chassis

[@marktubeie07]

@@12voltvids Agreed, good point.

[@JasonHalversonjaydog]

yeah some of those demagnatizers are strong! i did that by mistake once, had one to erase tapes in bulk to record over and i got it only like 6 inches away from a good tape accidentally and it erased it partially

[@zulumax1]

The Japanese radios from 1960 were scary bad I have one here I am recapping for my son. I got a blue Panasonic Panapet ball AM radio on a keychain in 1972 as a Christmas present. I thought the quality was pretty good by then. I was going to say blue ball radio, but that didn't sound right. LOL Love the odd stuff like this unique 8 track. Like 46

[@weerobot]

Cool...

[@Odessia-ij5ys]

The format 8 track stopped in 1980

[@fordmavericksosx3569]

Not true. By '82 you could still get new 8 Tracks from the Columbia Records Club, and the RCA Music Club. 8 track production ended in 1988.

[@pyotyrprepka6422]

This is a budget tape player.they buy the cheapest parts to.manufacture them. I have never heard of that brand but there were many garage operation manufacturers back then.doubtfu! That was Toshiba manufacturing logo. I used to repair electronics back in the sixties and seventies. Good idea to rep!ace all of the same brand caps. Some of those cheaper caps were awful.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

-30 in Calgary is not as bad as -10 in St. John's, NL. Moisture and cold gets into your soul. It is Stab-monton here in Cowtown.

[@12voltvids]

-30 is bad anywhere.

[@akepatinagaraju8564]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@chezsnailez]

Cute unit! Guess it'll soon be Alberta bound... Shame Muntz's 4-track system got squisherated by Lear's 8-track. Sure you had to double the amount of mag tape but it was more compatible with record albums and you didn't have to split songs between tracks... We have a 'Complimentary Tape Cartridge' Compact Cassette™ for Oldsmobile.

[@12voltvids]

So you would rather have the album on 2 tapes?

[@chezsnailez]

@@12voltvids ~ Muntz's 4-track put half a stereo LP record's side on the first two tracks and the other half on the last two tracks. 8-tracks split a stereo LP record into 4 segments. Inevitably, there'd be a song or two cut in half by the split. Another difference between the formats is that the pinch roller was built into the 4-track player - whereas 8-tracks cartidges included the pinch roller - in part to (hopefully) reduce tape tangling and in part so Bill Lear could patent his system. Mr. Lear was able to sign up Ford for his players and other car companies soon followed suit.

[@12voltvids]

@@chezsnailez What tape speed because at 3.75 you are limited to 20 minutes max and that was with a very thin tape. Muntz used basically the NAB cart format but carts ran at 7.5ips

[@celaphingary6853]

Good working

[@jstro-hobbytech]

I swear I was going to mention the word colour and then you did. It was how I was taught to spell it in school haha

[@zulumax1]

Orange, Brown, and Avacodo Green were popular colors in the early 70"s (colours?) I was in high school from 72 to 76. Made money to go out on the weekends by fixing guys 8 tracks back then, very common to blow the output transistors in car stereos. Cassettes did not become popular for car stereo until after I graduated high school. Yes, 8 tracks were as bad back then and were the worst format for music, but I made some money fixing them. Back in the days when you could take a part number and get the original Motorola transistors from an electronics parts house. CB radio was the rage too.

[@12voltvids]

For me 77 to 81 high school. Fixed plenty of car stereos and cb radios for friends.

[@madpom2]

So what has happened to new meter and iron that was on Test?

[@sdiburro1]

Did this have a belt in it or direct drive I seen some of those on eBay

[@12voltvids]

Chain drive lol. 😉

[@fordmavericksosx3569]

Belt driven. Most portable 8 track players use a FRM9.6 belt. However you would need to measure it to be sure.

[@Dutch-linux]

-5 C this week in the south of the netherlands

[@12voltvids]

It's 8 today. Next week supposed to get cold. Might even snow. That's a rarity here. I haven't needed snow tires in 30 years. The last car i actually used snow tires on my my old 86 mustang with the 5.0l and 5 speed manual gearbox. I run all season. Plenty for the tiny bit of snow we get here. Last Lear had 4cm, just over 1" and it lasted all of about 4 days.

[@Dutch-linux]

@@12voltvids we may get as low as -10 c next week so yes very cold but we got your channel to watch and feel cosy and warm

[@Barbarapape]

I have never seen a portable 8 track player. The bulk of the ones i repaired have been car or home players. The capacitors in gear this age are going to be dried out just to ageing. I hope you survive the cold spell.

[@zulumax1]

18:30 Can't quite make out the logo, but isn't that Hitachi? Circle with a line going almost through the circle

[@zulumax1]

No it is not Hitachi

[@zulumax1]

Looks more like the Mopar logo

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

@@zulumax1 yep it’ll be Mopar.

[@tyronenelson9124]

UK - Solder is pronounced solder US - Solder is pronounced sodder? Or I'm going to put gas in my car, even though it is a liquid?

[@12voltvids]

It's petrol. Everyone knows that. or gasoline. Gas is what what you emit that clears an elevator fast.

[@zulumax1]

I call it saul der not soder with an "L" so does Mr. Carlson. We are both from the US. Sod is what your lawn is is. I do pronounce Lever Leah ver, not Leave er however. You are Canadian, but I never hear you say "Aye"after a sentence, why is that?

[@12voltvids]

Because I am not a "hoser eh"

[@zulumax1]

@@12voltvids I was on a soccer team in 1968 and we were playing the Canadian team from Vancouver. I got to stay with a Canadian family for a week, and then the fellow from Vancouver stayed at our house in Washington state for a week. We went to see the Batman movie from the TV series there in Vancouver. The Canadian's kicked our butts at soccer ( or do you call it football?) They also eat, drink, and breathe Hockey. In 1982 I was in the US Coast Guard and out ship pulled in to Victoria BC. British Columbia is beautiful, can't wait for this covid to be done so I can see it again.

[@12voltvids]

@@zulumax1 I can't wait for this crap to end too.

[@flippers49]

Nice player that was...used mine for years untill all my tapes has gone bad. About spelling...why do Americans use "tires" on their cars while the rest of the world use "tyres"... lol.

[@12voltvids]

We spell it tires here too.

[@CV-lx3zy]

Not worth buying, even being new back in the day, today, and any day.

[@marka1986]

Not a big fan either of 8 track, but nice to have a machine to play tapes you already have.

[@darinb.3273]

Most fascinating thing about 8 track at least the ones I remember had no noise reduction I suppose it wasn't necessary because the speed was 3 3/4 ips (inches per second) I don't know what that is in centimeters per second, anyway the hiss wasn't terrible compared to original cassette machines before the formulas and machines were made to be considered good for HiFi and Dolby noise reduction was introduced making the hiss even less noticeable.

[@enricoself2256]

@@darinb.3273 Stereo 8 tape speed is twice that of compact cassette; tape is also twice the width, but it has 8 tracks instead of 4. But tape hiss is mostly related to tape speed, the higher the speed, the lower tape hiss.

[@darinb.3273]

@@enricoself2256 That's exactly right, track width has A LOT to do with the level of hiss also. Mono reel to reel machines used approximately half the tape width which means a VERY WIDE signal to noise ratio that coupled with the tape speed of at least 3 3/4 ips made the recorded material much stronger while the hiss remained the levels it is with lesser recording widths such as 4 track verses 8 track (same tape width but the 4 tracks are now split into stereo. I wouldn't say the signal to noise ratio was cut in half but it definitely suffered as a result of losing half the signal ability. Even shoe box with a mono head really fills the approximately half of the 1/8 inch tape width typical shoe box records weren't built to the standards of even the low end standard of mid range HiFi stereo cassette decks for home stereo systems. Of course EVERYTHING improved (tape formulas, better mechanisms and of course the electronics). That only went so far in manufacturing shoe box recorders, unless one sought professional studio equipment which could cost much more than what you could get at the local department store. All of it combined made drastic improvements in the sound quality of the 1/8 inch cassette tape and the slow speed of 1 7/8 inches per second (ips). Terrible, in regards to 3 3/4, 7 1/2 and even 19 ips of some higher end home reel to reel decks, to which a huge number of didn't have any Dolby noise reduction systems to my knowledge many higher cost machines they were that well designed.

[@enricoself2256]

@@darinb.3273 I'm not so sure about the strong improvements of hiss with tape width: by increasing tape width you get a stronger signal but also a stronger hiss as the head surface is larger. But audio signal is a coherent magnetisation of the tape while hiss is due to random residual magnetisation and surface noise; I would say that audio signal increases its amplitude with tape width while hiss increases its power. Therefore, by doubling the tape width you get twice the tape hiss power and for times the signal power, overall a modest improvement. Tape speed is what really decreases hiss and that is why recording studios used those incredible speeds of 15 or even 30 ips; surely studios used wider tapes but that was mostly for multi-tracks recording (16, 24 tracks).

[@srtamplification]

Americans do say the word about correctly though. Another one I've noticed is the word again. Americans butcher that one and say agin.