How to test an 8 track player and install it? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

bobbydazzler74 · 10th Jul 2012, 5:41 pm

Hi, I'm hoping someone out there may be able to help.

While sifting through a pile of old car bits I acquired with a classic Capri I purchased, I came across an old Ross 8 track player. Its complete with wires hanging out the back and a black connector plug with 4 terminals.

Now I know nothing about audio systems of any type, but I thought how good would it be to put the 8 track into the Capri... well some may think not but I'd like to give it a go.

Anyway, I've no idea how to see if it works. Can this be done before its installed?

On an installation point, is this easy? Can anyone tell me how to wire it up? I have a radio cassette player installed presently and would like to wire the 8 track as well as keeping the radio.

Thanks...

SiriusHardware · 10th Jul 2012, 7:02 pm

First question: Do you actually have any 8-track tapes?

Second: How many wires does the unit have coming out of it altogether? Just the four in the black connector? Or more? (I would guess there are possibly 6 altogether).

The simplest way to wire this unit will be to provide it with its own power feed and its own pair of speakers. (Maybe hide them under the seats). If you wanted to use the existing radio speakers that would make it a bit more complicated, you'd need to provide a speaker switch to ensure that only either the radio -or- the 8-track was wired to the speakers at any one time.

An alternative would be to connect the 8-track's speaker outputs (through a suitable resistor network) to one of the small FM transmitters meant for use with ipods, etc. You could then listen to the 8-track through the car radio and its speakers.

Nickthedentist · 10th Jul 2012, 7:38 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbydazzler74

Anyway, I've no idea how to see if it works. Can this be done before its installed?

Yes.

You will need a couple of speakers. Anything will do, a pair rescued from a cheap stereo that's being thrown out would be ideal.

You'll also need a 12V power supply. A car battery could be used (even a tired one), or you could see if you have any items around the house which have power units that supply 12V at about 1.5A or more - you might find the power supply from an old scanner, DAB radio etc. etc. fits the bill.

Note that a lot of the old cartridges you might find will need repair before they'll be playable.

Nick.

emeritus · 10th Jul 2012, 8:13 pm

I remember a Philips advert circa 1970 when the 8track/compact cassette systems were in active competion, which said that the design life of an 8 track cartridge was 500 hours, and a compact cassette 1500 hours. The continuous loop design of the 8 track needed the tape to be lubricated as there are no spools as such. No doubt the original lubricant will have dried out somewhat by now.

bobbydazzler74 · 10th Jul 2012, 8:42 pm

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm beginning to think may be it'll look just as good without connecting it! But then theres no fun in that!

Ok, I'll start with the easy one. No, I don't have an 8 track cassette but I see they're only a couple quid on Ebay so I can sort that no problem.

As for the speakers, I can bearly get my hand under the seats never mind a set of speakers. I'm known for wanting a bit of a challenge too. If its possible to wire it up to the stereo speakers that would be ideal.

As for lubrication, I did take the casing off earlier to see what was going on inside and its fair to say the belt was as dry as old boots. It wasn't cracked, seemed in good condition but then I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway!

What sort of oil is it? or is worth buying a new belt?

That said, is there anywhere that services these things these days?

The wires:

There are only four - Green, Black, Red, Grey. The black one could do with being replaced!

Thanks.

hamid_1 · 10th Jul 2012, 10:22 pm

From your description, the belt sounds all right. Sometimes, on 8 track players of this vintage, the rubber belt decomposes and either turns into horrible sticky tar, or becomes brittle and cracks. Luckily that hasn't happened.

DO NOT oil a rubber belt. The 8 track tape cartridges need no lubrication either. The tape is coated with graphite on the back. As you've probably never seen one, the tape in an 8-track cartridge is on a single spool which unwinds from the middle and winds itself back on the outside. The graphite coating allows the tape to move through the spool. The two ends of tape are joined with a foil splice, forming an endless loop. When the tape has played to the end, it starts again from the beginning.
The problem with old 8-track tapes is that the splice can lose its stickiness over time and can come off, breaking the loop. You may have to fix this if (or preferably before) your tape breaks. Another problem is that the tape is pressed against the playback head usually by a foam pad in the cartridge. After many years the foam disintegrates. Draught excluder is a good replacement for the foam. Look for 8-track tapes from RCA - they are better quality and have a copper spring with felt pressure pads instead of fragile foam.

As for wiring up your player, if your car's speakers are inaccessible you can test it with another pair of speakers, e.g. from a hi-fi system. You'll also need a 12 volt power source (car battery or 12v DC mains adaptor). Normally the connections are as follows:
Red - positive of 12v battery
Black - negative of 12v battery
Green -positive of one of the speakers
Grey - positive of the other speaker
Negatives of the two speakers both connect to negative of battery or power supply.

Note that usually the 8 track player will not do anything until a cartridge is inserted. Inserting a tape presses a switch that turns it on ; removal of the tape turns it off. If you can find the switch and press it, you should see and hear the motor start.

emeritus · 10th Jul 2012, 10:41 pm

A few years ago I was asked to look at a Radiomobile car radio cum 8 track player that was original equipment of a colleague's vintage Aston Martin. I soon established that, not only was the belt very soggy and of a size for which I could find no direct replacement, but that one of the output transistors was blown. As the owner had no 8 track cartidges anyway, rather than have me repair it, he found a firm that fitted a modern radio and MP3 player inside the original casing. The Radiomobile had individual figure of 8 cables for the 12V and speaker connections, so no problem identifying what went where. The mechanism for changing tracks used a cam driven by a solenoid-operated ratchet to physically move the head, and it required more than the 2A that my Farnell PSU could deliver to operate the solenoid. It operated OK from a 12V lead-acid battery. I think that the track changing mechanism did operate with no cartridge inserted, the appropriate lamp lighting to indicate the track selected.

Radio Wrangler · 11th Jul 2012, 7:55 pm

It's one thing to rebuild an 8-track player for a period vehicle, and to be able to demonstrate it working. It's an entirely different matter listening to one for any period greater than a few seconds. Some things did go extinct to perfectly good reasons.

I have a feeling 50% of all surviving cartridges are Klaus Wunderlich and the others are all "the ripoffs sing THE BEATLES GREATEST HITS"

David

emeritus · 11th Jul 2012, 8:45 pm

No idea who did the radio conversion, but it was a 6 speaker system and not cheap. I see from the date data on the "before" photos I took at the time before delving into the innards that it was in 2005. I never saw it in the "after" condition.

Jimmyhaflinger · 11th Jul 2012, 9:34 pm

That Radiomobile is an Italian Voxson in disguise... they often have rotten wiring but were otherwise great radios.

ben · 12th Jul 2012, 3:21 pm

I'd go for a repair.
you will need a DPDT switch for connection to the car's existing speakers, or install a radio cassette with a line input jack which may work out easier.

You can usually find a vcr belt to get these decks going again. You can also find home 8 track decks that record so you an make your own tapes recorded from your stereo or you tube or whatever. No shortage of crummy MOR tapes to record over!

As has been said, you may need to splice a few as they sometimes break on the switching foil joint, but splicing tape is available on ebay. The pressure pad problem is also relatively easily fixed if you're a bit handy.
At the end of the day you can try on a few sacrificial tapes and it won't cost much, you'll have fun. There are sites like 8 track heaven :http://www.8trackheaven.com/archive/repair.html with gudes, and lots of DIY youtube vids.

10th Jul 2012, 5:41 pm	#1
bobbydazzler74 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 12	How to test an 8 track player and install it? Hi, I'm hoping someone out there may be able to help. While sifting through a pile of old car bits I acquired with a classic Capri I purchased, I came across an old Ross 8 track player. Its complete with wires hanging out the back and a black connector plug with 4 terminals. Now I know nothing about audio systems of any type, but I thought how good would it be to put the 8 track into the Capri... well some may think not but I'd like to give it a go. Anyway, I've no idea how to see if it works. Can this be done before its installed? On an installation point, is this easy? Can anyone tell me how to wire it up? I have a radio cassette player installed presently and would like to wire the 8 track as well as keeping the radio. Thanks...

10th Jul 2012, 7:02 pm	#2
SiriusHardware Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 11,586	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it?? First question: Do you actually have any 8-track tapes? Second: How many wires does the unit have coming out of it altogether? Just the four in the black connector? Or more? (I would guess there are possibly 6 altogether). The simplest way to wire this unit will be to provide it with its own power feed and its own pair of speakers. (Maybe hide them under the seats). If you wanted to use the existing radio speakers that would make it a bit more complicated, you'd need to provide a speaker switch to ensure that only either the radio -or- the 8-track was wired to the speakers at any one time. An alternative would be to connect the 8-track's speaker outputs (through a suitable resistor network) to one of the small FM transmitters meant for use with ipods, etc. You could then listen to the 8-track through the car radio and its speakers.

10th Jul 2012, 8:13 pm	#4
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,349	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it?? I remember a Philips advert circa 1970 when the 8track/compact cassette systems were in active competion, which said that the design life of an 8 track cartridge was 500 hours, and a compact cassette 1500 hours. The continuous loop design of the 8 track needed the tape to be lubricated as there are no spools as such. No doubt the original lubricant will have dried out somewhat by now.

10th Jul 2012, 8:42 pm	#5
bobbydazzler74 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 12	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? Thanks for the replies so far. I'm beginning to think may be it'll look just as good without connecting it! But then theres no fun in that! Ok, I'll start with the easy one. No, I don't have an 8 track cassette but I see they're only a couple quid on Ebay so I can sort that no problem. As for the speakers, I can bearly get my hand under the seats never mind a set of speakers. I'm known for wanting a bit of a challenge too. If its possible to wire it up to the stereo speakers that would be ideal. As for lubrication, I did take the casing off earlier to see what was going on inside and its fair to say the belt was as dry as old boots. It wasn't cracked, seemed in good condition but then I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway! What sort of oil is it? or is worth buying a new belt? That said, is there anywhere that services these things these days? The wires: There are only four - Green, Black, Red, Grey. The black one could do with being replaced! Thanks.

10th Jul 2012, 10:22 pm	#6
hamid_1 Heptode Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks. UK. Posts: 811	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? From your description, the belt sounds all right. Sometimes, on 8 track players of this vintage, the rubber belt decomposes and either turns into horrible sticky tar, or becomes brittle and cracks. Luckily that hasn't happened. DO NOT oil a rubber belt. The 8 track tape cartridges need no lubrication either. The tape is coated with graphite on the back. As you've probably never seen one, the tape in an 8-track cartridge is on a single spool which unwinds from the middle and winds itself back on the outside. The graphite coating allows the tape to move through the spool. The two ends of tape are joined with a foil splice, forming an endless loop. When the tape has played to the end, it starts again from the beginning. The problem with old 8-track tapes is that the splice can lose its stickiness over time and can come off, breaking the loop. You may have to fix this if (or preferably before) your tape breaks. Another problem is that the tape is pressed against the playback head usually by a foam pad in the cartridge. After many years the foam disintegrates. Draught excluder is a good replacement for the foam. Look for 8-track tapes from RCA - they are better quality and have a copper spring with felt pressure pads instead of fragile foam. As for wiring up your player, if your car's speakers are inaccessible you can test it with another pair of speakers, e.g. from a hi-fi system. You'll also need a 12 volt power source (car battery or 12v DC mains adaptor). Normally the connections are as follows: Red - positive of 12v battery Black - negative of 12v battery Green -positive of one of the speakers Grey - positive of the other speaker Negatives of the two speakers both connect to negative of battery or power supply. Note that usually the 8 track player will not do anything until a cartridge is inserted. Inserting a tape presses a switch that turns it on ; removal of the tape turns it off. If you can find the switch and press it, you should see and hear the motor start.

10th Jul 2012, 10:41 pm	#7
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,349	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? A few years ago I was asked to look at a Radiomobile car radio cum 8 track player that was original equipment of a colleague's vintage Aston Martin. I soon established that, not only was the belt very soggy and of a size for which I could find no direct replacement, but that one of the output transistors was blown. As the owner had no 8 track cartidges anyway, rather than have me repair it, he found a firm that fitted a modern radio and MP3 player inside the original casing. The Radiomobile had individual figure of 8 cables for the 12V and speaker connections, so no problem identifying what went where. The mechanism for changing tracks used a cam driven by a solenoid-operated ratchet to physically move the head, and it required more than the 2A that my Farnell PSU could deliver to operate the solenoid. It operated OK from a 12V lead-acid battery. I think that the track changing mechanism did operate with no cartridge inserted, the appropriate lamp lighting to indicate the track selected.

11th Jul 2012, 7:55 pm	#8
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,902	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? It's one thing to rebuild an 8-track player for a period vehicle, and to be able to demonstrate it working. It's an entirely different matter listening to one for any period greater than a few seconds. Some things did go extinct to perfectly good reasons. I have a feeling 50% of all surviving cartridges are Klaus Wunderlich and the others are all "the ripoffs sing THE BEATLES GREATEST HITS" David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

11th Jul 2012, 8:45 pm	#9
emeritus Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK. Posts: 5,349	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? No idea who did the radio conversion, but it was a 6 speaker system and not cheap. I see from the date data on the "before" photos I took at the time before delving into the innards that it was in 2005. I never saw it in the "after" condition. Attached Thumbnails

11th Jul 2012, 9:34 pm	#10
Jimmyhaflinger Heptode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: La Spezia, Italy Posts: 834	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? That Radiomobile is an Italian Voxson in disguise... they often have rotten wiring but were otherwise great radios.

12th Jul 2012, 3:21 pm	#11
ben Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK Posts: 7,498	Re: How to test an 8 track player and install it? I'd go for a repair. you will need a DPDT switch for connection to the car's existing speakers, or install a radio cassette with a line input jack which may work out easier. You can usually find a vcr belt to get these decks going again. You can also find home 8 track decks that record so you an make your own tapes recorded from your stereo or you tube or whatever. No shortage of crummy MOR tapes to record over! As has been said, you may need to splice a few as they sometimes break on the switching foil joint, but splicing tape is available on ebay. The pressure pad problem is also relatively easily fixed if you're a bit handy. At the end of the day you can try on a few sacrificial tapes and it won't cost much, you'll have fun. There are sites like 8 track heaven :http://www.8trackheaven.com/archive/repair.html with gudes, and lots of DIY youtube vids. __________________ Regards, Ben.