8 Track Tapes

Stereo 8, commonly known as the 8-track cartridge, 8-track tape, or 8-track, is a magnetic tape sound recording technology, popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford, Motorola and RCA Victor Records. A later quadraphonic version of the format was known as Quad 8 or Q8.

The popularity of 8-track cartridges grew from the booming automobile industry. In September 1965, Ford Motor Company introduced dealer-installed 8-track players as an option on most models and RCA Victor introduced 50 Stereo-8 Cartridges of pre-recorded music from their label of artists. By 1966, all of their vehicles offered this upgrade.

The format gained steady popularity due to its convenience and portability. Home players were introduced in 1966 that allowed consumers to share tapes between their home and portable systems. "Boombox" type players were also popular. With the availability of cartridge systems for the home, consumers started thinking of 8-tracks as a viable alternative to vinyl records, not only as a convenience for the car. Within a year, prerecorded releases on 8-track began to arrive within a month of the vinyl release. 8-track recorders had gained popularity by the early 1970s.

Problems with 8-track cartridges included an audible pause and mechanical click when programs were switched, due to the mechanical action of the device and the presence of a length of metallic foil, which a sensor detects and signals the end of the tape and acts as a splice for the loop. Among audio service technicians, there used to be a joke that "the 8-track is the only audio device which knocks itself out of alignment four times during each album."

Stereo 8 tapes and players developed a reputation for unreliability, due mostly to splice failures and the phenomenon of the player "eating" the tape. In the U.S., 8-track cartridges were phased out of retail stores by late 1982.

Source: Wikipedia


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