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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 14th May 2014, 10:33 am   #141
camtechman
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

This type of "encased" recorder was known as a "Reporter" type.

So far I have acquired 3 types: the Elizabethan LZ9102, Pye-Cambridge PY9104 & a Stella ST472. The one that still eludes me is the American licensed "Mercury" TR 800 version.

They didn't need a carry case as they were designed to be carried around by an integrated shoulder strap/microphone. The strap was fitted with two plastic devices which located either side of the recorder and the flexible material of the adjustable strap also had the wires for the mike moulded in.

Coming from one the end of the strap were the two DIN plugs, one for the mic & the other for the remote socket. The mic at the other end of the strap had a flip action lever to start/pause the machine.

Part of the design was that the cassette lid was made to be lifted off in a "pull-up & forward" action and re-fitted with the opposite action, unfortunately the lid fell off with incredible ease !

Pics:

1) Elizabethan LZ 9102
2) Pye-Cambridge PY 9104
3) Stella ST 472
4) Mercury TR 800
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Old 14th May 2014, 10:57 am   #142
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ekcoman View Post
Billboard Magazine from April 1967 which mentions the Dansette version
Indeed Dansette did produce an early cassette machine but not in the style of the EL33XX series, although the internal mech was based on it, the external featured Piano Key operation.

Note: They call it a "MAGAZINE" recorder.
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Last edited by AC/HL; 14th May 2014 at 8:29 pm. Reason: PS merged
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Old 14th May 2014, 7:17 pm   #143
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Quote:
Originally Posted by camtechman View Post
1) Elizabethan LZ 9102
2) Pye-Cambridge PY 9104
3) Stella ST 472
4) Mercury TR 800
i had a Siera branded version of this encased recorder when i was a kid, sadly my dad binned it after i covered myself and most of the kitchen in belt goo while trying to get it to work
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Old 14th May 2014, 9:41 pm   #144
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

I like these "encased" recorders! The EL3302 and N2202/3 are very pretty, but they scratch very easily; the encased ones look more durable.

Although of course the N2205 is the most handsome ;-)
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Old 15th May 2014, 9:24 am   #145
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

The problem with the reporter units is the combined shoulder strap/mic.
Because the wire passes through the flexible strap, it can go o/c.
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Old 17th May 2014, 5:22 am   #146
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

UPDATE

Taking this topic right back to the beginning and specifically to the 1st & the original "Made In Holland" (AH02): EL3300/00 model, closely followed within weeks by the 1st mod version: the (AH02) EL3300/15, both appearing in the UK in early/mid 1964

Over time, when I've spotted EL3300's being offered and to verify it's one of the above, if the seller hasn't provided photos of the indentification labels (Model/Serial Nos & Country of manufacture & Date Code), I've asked for further info.

In a few cases, I've received not only conflicting but also dubious information. Some have turned out not to be either chassis and were a mish-mash of a late EL3301 or, in one case, an early EL3302 !! chassis, retro fitted to the original chocolate brown housing of the EL3300.

Whether or not this had been done deliberately to solicit a higher price I reserve judgment !

At first I didn't follow up on the other 'conflicting' versions that I came across but now, in hind sight, it seems to me that a few ARE genuine "In House" versions from Philips.

Why this has only dawned on me now I put down to a slowing of my grey cells.

Of course, in some cases, this is normal practice for manufacturers, especially when there is a transition period between models, mods or even surplus or shortage of assembly completion parts. I even remember it happening at the places I once worked at: Thorn Electrical, Chubb Electronics, Acos Cosmocord.....etc.

So let me cut to the chase; it seems to be around the time, between the "Made In Holland" EL3300 versions (brown housing) and the introduction of the "Made In Austria" EL3301 versions (grey housing).

I have several EL3300 versions, the earliest being an EL3300/00 dated: Wk18/64 and the latest being an EL3300/15, dated Wk36/64 (and I thought that this was the final one, before they brought out the EL3301 model)

I have come across two machines listed as EL3300s but fitted in the EL3301 (grey housing) and beneath the logo (by the meter) it clearly states "Made In Austria" !! and the ident labels clearly show the chassis as an EL3300A/15 and the Works/Date label show (WR02 for Austria) & dated Wk37/64 !

So, the date difference between the Made In Holland EL3300/15 (Wk36/64) -brown housing and the Made In Austria EL3300A/15 (Wk37/64) – grey housing is just ONE week.

The first EL3301 Made in Austria (grey housing) I have has a chassis ident of EL3301/15 and is also dated (Wk37/64) and made at WR02 !

I can only suppose that, as the majority of all later versions of the EL33XX machines were made in Austria (WR01 or WR02 factories) this transition started with using an EL3300A/15 chassis in the later EL3301 grey case.

Now all I have to do is get my hands on one of these "missing link" EL3300A/15 versions !!!!

P.S: No Wonder I Haven't Made Much Progress In Writing The Definitive History Of The EL33XX !!
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Last edited by camtechman; 17th May 2014 at 5:41 am. Reason: clarity of data
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Old 17th May 2014, 10:57 am   #147
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

actually, most EL3302 machines sold here in Italy were "made in holland", austrian made units are somewhat less common

also i've just came across an EL3302/00G without any Made in Holland or Made in Austria marking on it, also instead of the usual AH or WR sticker there's a different sticker with "SV00214" printed on it, the s/n is 276177

this unit has japanese transistors and capacitors

also some Austrian made EL3302 units have their prints coated in green solder resist paint instead of the usual Philips "tropicalized" prints with fully tinned tracks

i remember reading somewhere that Austrian made units were sold mainly in EFTA countries (including the UK) while "made in holland" units were mainly sold in EEC countries
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Old 17th May 2014, 1:08 pm   #148
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

That's quite interesting. SV00 214 means it was made in Singapore, revision level 00, most likely 1972 week 14.

@camtechman: sorry to cause further confusion, but you might want to have yet another review of the factory signs on your collection.

While WR (Vienna Austria) and AH (Hasselt Belgium) indicate the factories, the number behind it (00, 01, 02 etc) indicate the revision level. So the very first production model would be numbered AH00 but was probably only in production for a very short while, explaining why most early sets already have the number AH02 on them.

In later models (EL3300 casing, EL3301-like innards) higher revision levels would be expected, indicating the use of modified parts. When production of the EL3301 started they probaly took the latest EL3300 revision and put it in the new EL3301 casing, most likely resetting the counter and starting with AH/WR00 again.
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Old 17th May 2014, 3:05 pm   #149
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maarten View Post
That's quite interesting. SV00 214 means it was made in Singapore, revision level 00, most likely 1972 week 14.
another odd feature of this unit is that both knobs have black numbers on them instead of the usual red numbers on the rec level knob

the build quality seems to be inferior to the European built machines, many components on the print are soldered crooked or with very long leads
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Old 18th May 2014, 11:04 am   #150
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Jimmy & Maarten,

Thanks so much for this additional & valuable information....more to add to the notes for my book, although instead, I'm now considering writing a book about the English World Cup Football victories of the 20th century instead !

Tony
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Old 18th May 2014, 9:38 pm   #151
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder



If you don't mind I'll keep providing you with all the materials for an increasing head-ache.

Have a look at this late model http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips..._el_3302b.html while it is estimated to have been produced in the Netherlands around 1975, it is in reality a Spanish example. ZB for Spain, 50 as a rather high revision level (could be they skipped a bunch of numbers to indicate a major revision; sattelite factories such as Spain and Singapore usually didn't invent more than a few changes as they mostly started production only after the first issues were already ironed out in Hasselt or Vienna) and 401 for week 1 of 1974.

(in later type stickers such as this one, the printing that used to be on the separate sticker was simply put in front of the serial number, where it has been ever since)

Last edited by Maarten; 18th May 2014 at 9:45 pm.
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Old 19th May 2014, 7:41 am   #152
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Maarten & other members, keep the info coming (don't worry, I've bought a bulk lot of paracetamol)

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Old 19th May 2014, 9:43 am   #153
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maarten View Post
in one of the pictures of the innards there's a SV sticker on the flywheel support bracket just like in mine... so maybe even this one is from Singapore?
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Old 19th May 2014, 10:57 am   #154
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Well spotted, I didn't look that far. There's pics of more than 1 example under the same model, so things can get a bit confusing very fast.

Pics 527398 through 527480 are for a Spanish example proven to be a EL3302B/76P by the sticker.

Pics 981151 through 981159 belong to a machine of an unknown model (may be EL3302B but with another suffix), owned by someone from Italy. So together with Jimmyhaflingers set this may hint that around 1972, imported models from Singapore were sold in Italy. Chances are it is the same model as the one jimmyhaflinger encountered, so without the B and with a /00G suffix.

Which brings me to another point. I haven't found out the meaning of the first letter (such as the B directly behind EL3302). Any theories on that so I have something to verify? The letter behind the suffix (such as the P behind /76) should traditionally point to a cosmetic difference such as colour or trim, but that should be verified as well.

By the way, I don't know whether I already mentioned that, but the numeral part of the suffix (e.g. /00 or /76) indicates the version of a set and is often tied to the destination. /00 is always the basic version, often for export to countries that don't have particular market or legal demands. /01 might be a variation on that set. Somewhat higher numbers such as /15 for the UK and /22 for Germany indicate specific destinations while numbers that are much higher (some multiple of 10 was added to the 'normal' suffix) indicate versions with a certain improvement in specs or construction (it might not be a coincidence that a set with suffix /76 has a revision level ZB50, there might be for example an earlier version of the EL3302B with suffix /16 or /26 and revision level ZB00).

Disclaimer: The suffix system was revised during the 1980's, numbers such as /15 and /22 are only valid for sets from before that date (not relevant here, as all EL33xx models are).

Last edited by Maarten; 19th May 2014 at 11:23 am.
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Old 19th May 2014, 5:26 pm   #155
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Forgot to mention one thing, which may or may not be evident: Every factory had their own count for revision levels. For example SV00 could equal ZB01 but also WR07. Or it isn't equal to any other revision at all.

The numbers 00, 01, 07 are chosen to look realistic but they are completely fictional. The correct numbers are mostly mentioned along with the relevant differences in the change sheets that (ideally) accompany the service documentation.
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Old 20th May 2014, 12:08 am   #156
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

apparently, the "Pepito" nickname for the EL33xx recorders was also used in Sweden and Norway and at this point i guess also in many other countries

http://www.mypaper.se/show/radio-tv-...765856&page=24

http://www.nrhf.no/radiohistorie/sk_kassettspillere.php

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Old 20th May 2014, 6:25 am   #157
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

That's interesting, the frequency response is claimed as 80 to 10 kHz within 3 dB. I would say that is a true hi-fi performance, or at least it was in the 1960's. All the machines I have owned have been 80 to 10 kHz within 6 dB - I wonder if they were aligned more carefully for some markets?

Pepito - I like that name, but we all called them Bowers, because of the wow that resulted if you moved them too quickly!

It seems it was called Pepito in Indonesia as well:

http://retro-gizmo.blogspot.co.uk/19...ps-el3302.html

Another clone on that page too!

Paul

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Old 20th May 2014, 5:28 pm   #158
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Its a shame the Swedish site never mentions the /numbers. For Sweden this could theoretically have been /19, for Norway I'm not sure. Different destinations could have had parts with a tighter tolerance fitted and different alignments, but I'm not convinced they really did.
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Old 21st May 2014, 5:29 am   #159
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmyhaflinger View Post
apparently, the "Pepito" nickname for the EL33xx recorders was also used in Sweden and Norway and at this point i guess also in many other countries
http://www.mypaper.se/show/radio-tv-...765856&page=24
Just for completeness: Although the site is Swedish, this particular magazine (Radio Tv Bladet Jan/Feb 67) is definitely Norwegian.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulE27 View Post
That's interesting, the frequency response is claimed as 80 to 10 kHz within 3 dB. I would say that is a true hi-fi performance, or at least it was in the 1960's. All the machines I have owned have been 80 to 10 kHz within 6 dB - I wonder if they were aligned more carefully for some markets?
The DIN hi-fi standard DIN 45500 mentions 40-12.5 kHz with a fairly tight tolerance; This page: http://www.hifimuseum.de/45-500-die-...e-version.html specifically quotes 40-12 kHz for tape recorders, with a +0/-3dB tolerance for most of the range and +0/-5dB at the ends of the range (http://www.hifimuseum.de/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=uploads%2Fpics%2 FDIN-45500-engl-Fig-2_01.jpg&width=1280m&height=1024m&bodyTag=%3Cbody% 20style%3D%22margin%3A0%3B%20background%3A%23fff%3 B%22%3E&wrap=%3Ca%20href%3D%22javascript%3Aclose%2 8%29%3B%22%3E%20|%20%3C%2Fa%3E&md5=d901df30204098d 3555b07afd13c11c1).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maarten View Post
Its a shame the Swedish site never mentions the /numbers. For Sweden this could theoretically have been /19, for Norway I'm not sure. Different destinations could have had parts with a tighter tolerance fitted and different alignments, but I'm not convinced they really did.
At least /19 I think I've mainly seen on mains operated equipment, leading me to believe that at least that particular variant code predominantly had to do with the mains regarding frequency, permissible voltages and safety standards (for instance, many Swedish variants of valved machines seemed to have had an added fuse for the output stage anode circuit, I think for safety reasons: I'm supposing that excessive current in that part of the circuit could have caused overheating without activating other fuses, and that this point was specifically taken up in Swedish standards but not elsewhere).

Last edited by ricard; 21st May 2014 at 5:38 am.
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Old 21st May 2014, 9:46 am   #160
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Default Re: History Of Philips EL33XX Series Cassette Recorder

Apart from the safety standards you mention, also things like intermediate frequency (468kHz instead of 452 I think), the dial, the language. The exact differences vary between models, the only thing those /19 models have all in common is destination Sweden (of course they could be and sometimes were sold elsewhere as well).

It is very well possible that there was no Swedish or Scandinavian version of battery operated equipment without an intermediate frequency (the EL3300 for example). Should you happen to find a relevant service manual (by Servex AB I think?) this can easily be verified, as can be the specs.
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