Let's play "Guess what I found in my dumpster, today?" 1-13 edition-

[Budnicks]

It always amazed me that someone thought of and developed the 8 track mechanism before someone though of simply scaling down reel to reel and enclosing them in a cassette.

There actually was a 2 track {4 track stero} type "cassette/cartridge" player before or maybe the same time as the 8 tracks
I got one from my Aunt with a Herman's Hermits & Animals 2 track tape,
both that looked allot like a cassette of later years...
sorry not actual photo's, I think it was a Tandy Brand, might have been a Cobra or Toshiba maybe
from someplace like RadioShack maybe ??

 

[Greg Ducato]

Very Cool find! My daughter still plays 8-tracks in her 1979 Aspen Wagon on the factory tape player, she has quite a little collection

 

[Car Nut]

Cool find!

 

[Deleted member 214]

People throw out the stupidest stuff. I walk the neighborhood and got some nice scores on trash days. Got a Jackson contractor grade wheelbarrow - it had a flat tire that only had to the bead set on the rim and aired up. Computer powered subwoofer-satellite system. Nice coffee table. Purple Martin birdhouse. Lawn mower - I just replaced the broken throttle cable and it ran great. Bench with storage underneath that I painted and put in the mud room. Fertilizer spreader - I just had to pop the drive gear back on the axle. Old kitchen cabinets that are now workbenches and storage in my garage. Now, if somebody would just put a Gen II hemi on the curb... :hello2:

 

[Runner 68]

Nice find! I purchased a rental property a few years back and found a box with about 40 8 Track cartridges in it, but I don't have a player. Thinking about finding a period correct player for one of my old cars and seeing if they are any good.

PM me Coyote if you're serious. I have a late 70s underdash Panasonic player that I would be willing to part with. Great shape. Not sure if it still works but I'll bet it does. Christmas present from the parents years ago.

Don't listen to RC. He just showed his punk @ss stripes. "Back in the day" cassettes were for the weenies that were into fads but had no ear for music.The sound quality of 8 tracks was always far better than cassettes.

 

[64BEL]

Nice score, YY1.

My buddy in high school had 8 tracks, but I told him cassettes were the way of the future and the way to go.
He said I was crazy.
:laughing4:
Well, who's crazy now? :icon_eyes::tongueflap:
Now I'm running an IPod Touch in my glove box hooked into the stereo.
Cat's ***.:headbang:

 

[WileERobby]

Have a Spark-O-matic 8-track player under my dash just like I had back in my youth. Also, still have my Wollensak 8075A home deck.

 

[Photon440]

You have a Wollensak? Wow, those were decent. Yours was the last stereo one they sold. I haven't seen many with dolby.

 

[dual fours]

Not today but, I found a full box (50).38 Special, (20).38 Special CCI shot shells, a partial box (48).357 Mags. in a dumpster a few years back, yes I did Dumper Dive for the firearm, no luck.
I had the best of all worlds back in the day, Factory AM 8 Track, under dash FM receiver and, and the Sparkomatic 8 Track Cassette Adaptor. And when it came time to get a little psyched up before the Light to Light Street action started and blow the doors off of something not Mopar, I had a modified (cut and retaped) 8 Track that played Smoke on The Water continuously or just left in what ever was playing. Then again some times shut all music down just to hear the motors revving and to be aware of what was going on around you at that time.

 

[Photon440]

That's the only cassette adapter I've seen for an 8 track. Just....wow.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Ah...yes....

The always cheerful "Mr wonderful" and his efferevesent and merry disposition!
Thank you RC...

It aint just me..................

That's what I always hated about 8 Tracks. If you wanted to hear a song again you had to hit the Program button, go to the program before the one you wanted, then listen to all the songs in that program and the one your song was on again. I was soooooo happy when cassettes came out and I could fast forward and rewind!

 

[YY1]

8 track to cassette adapters were almost as popular as fm converters.

Yes there is a "Mott The Hoople" tape.
It has three songs spanning tracks!

I will disagree strongly that 8 tracks sound better than cassettes.
There is MUCH more "warble" or "wow and flutter" on an 8 track.

Use a good "chrome" cassette and record a little "hot". Use Dolby B for recording but not for playback.

 

[Photon440]

This was my preferred tape for car decks

 

[YY1]

I was a Maxell UDS II guy.

Best bang for the buck sound quality wise and less likely for the dust to detach from the mylar than others I tested.

TDK SA was a good second choice, but delaminated more easily.

Maxell UDXL II was IMO not noticeably better than UDS II, but sure was more expensive.


Why do I still have this taking up space in my head?

- - - Updated - - -

If you haven't seen them...wal-mart is selling a home stereo that looks like a vitage emerson or something, complete with blue backlit analog VU meters.

Speaking of TDK...they are selling a couple portable audio systems that have volume knobs that go to...wait for it... ELEVEN.

No kidding. They're pretty nice, too.

 

[Photon440]

What blows my mind is how much I used to pay for tapes. $40 for a box of ten was no big deal...but blank CDRs sure are a lot cheaper these days. Not that I even record to disc much any longer. USB key will do fine.

 

[YY1]

Yep.

It took a long time for someone to market an interface I was comfortable with (intuitive with up/down/left/right).

...and now it's to the point of the folder list being so long that it takes minutes to scroll from A (or#) to M, let alone S or Z.

My Pioneeers default to search at the beginning. I wish you could choose beginning or current folder.

What really sold me on them was the adjustable input gain for the USB and aux.

 

[Sonny Black]

Have a Spark-O-matic 8-track player under my dash just like I had back in my youth. Also, still have my Wollensak 8075A home deck.

Sonny had a Spark-O-Matic 3 speed floor shift in my '55 chev...(yes I had a 265 pos) then a (POS 283) blew the both up!...JFYI

 

[Runner 68]

It aint just me..................

There is no doubt that 8 tracks were a pain in the ***. Cassettes were the next evolution and added alot more function. There is however something very nostaglic about 8-Tracks that make them extremely cool.

Kind of like our old B-Bodies. Which era produced the cooler B-Bodies, the 60s or the 70s?

 

[YY1]

Depends on if you think the following items are "cool":

Pistol Grips
Slap Sticks
Machine gun tips
Rallye wheels
Go Wings
Tuff wheels
HIP paint
Cassette recorders
Elastomer colored bumpers
"Pop-up" Air Grabbers

 

[Deleted member 214]

Depends on if you think the following items are "cool":

Pistol Grips
Slap Sticks
Machine gun tips
Rallye wheels
Go Wings
Tuff wheels
HIP paint
Cassette recorders
Elastomer colored bumpers
"Pop-up" Air Grabbers

My car has #1, #5, #6, #7, and #10. I'm a lucky guy!