The 8 Track Cartridge...
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The 8-Track was introduced in the mid 1960s primarily to satisfy
music playback in the car. It had a continuous tape loop system
that traveled in just one direction and had the pinch roller as
part of the cartridge. Four 'stereo' audio tracks (so a total of
8 tracks) were recorded across the 0.25" magnetic tape. The tape speed
was twice that of the Philips compact cassettes at 3.75"
per second. The advantage of having four audio tracks
traveling in the same direction with different music on each, was
that it gave the user the ability to jump between the tracks. The
track selection was achieved by moving the tape head across the
tape by means of a magnetic solenoid selecting each twin track
in turn. The 8-Track was popular during the mid to late 1960s and most of the 1970s, but eventually the more popular recordable compact cassette tape overtook sales and won this early battle of the tape media. More information @: |
 An example of the 8-Track cartridge popular in the UK from 1965 to around 1979. |
