1966 RCA YHS-15E Reel to Reel Demonstration

A quick user review and demo of a relatively rare 1966 Radio Company of America YHS-15E 3" reel to reel. This was the first solid state truly portable reel to reel made by RCA. It is battery operated and features play and record as well as two-speeds. When compared against my Teac A2300SX, the unit has significant wow-and-flutter, which is to be expected from an unserviced 57 year old deck with a battery-operated small-mass fly wheel. 3" tapes were commonly used for 'audio letters' posted between home and abroad from the 1950's to early 1970's.
Jump to:
3:57 to see how to change speeds,
6:04 for a quality comparison against my 7.5" Teac A2300SX.

[@arlenebeaman6339]

VERY helpful!!!!!!! I bought a recorder like this on EBay to listen to tapes my fiancé sent from Okinawa in 1967-1968. We were married when he returned and spent 28 beautiful years together. Unfortunately he died suddenly at the age of 49. Just recently I started re-reading his letters after all of these years. It took a lot of strength approach the tapes. Once I got the recorder there were no instructions for threading the tape. Did that wrong and broke tape twice. Then I found your UA-cam post. Turned it on and the voice was soooooooo slow. Didn’t know what to do. Finished watching your post where you show the little thing that changes speed. I thought that was something that held the machine together. Screwed the thingy on……..there he was….. we were 20 again.
Writing this long explanation to let you know what a GREAT thing you did with your post. If no one else watches it, please know you have brought daily joy into a widows life. Thank you. 😊

[@pescado99]

It was a joy to read your comment. I initially started collecting these reel-to-reels as a curiosity, then a family member had the same issue as you "how can I play these tapes from the 1960's (in one case from 1959). I am surprised how clear the recordings can be, even after 65 years. Thanks, your comment really made my day :-)

[@cjackfly]

Yeah but can you play it backwards and harness the forces of darkness? 😅

[@pescado99]

!NATAS EVOL EW