The Revere Ancient M2 Cassette Player 1963
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Check out a dead format that predates cassettes!
Finally, after years of searching, I was able to obtain a 3M Revere Wollensak Stereo Tape Cartridge M2 tape recorder player to evaluate and repair. Also, in this video, we look at some familiar media formats.
New Wireless Mic Link: (added 2/15/22)
amzn.to/34CTavW
Sound like you're in a 16mm film from the 60s with this one:
amzn.to/3u1OiZC (used in this video)
Rubber Renue Product:
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Hey everyone! Thanks for your feedback on the mic! It’s going back to Amazon this week! If I find a better sounding model, I’ll replace the link.
YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF REPLACING THE LINK, DO YOU??
@@JESUSCHRYSLER5512 STOP YELLING!!! YES I DO EXCEPT FOR YOU!!
Hello, amazing video, the quality of the wireless mic is horrible tho, keep using the other one, it sounds way waayyyyyyyy better.
Agreed!
The playback quality is superb, particularly considering both the era it's from, and the fact that it's running at 1-7/8 ips. I had done a little research on these a few years ago and an article I came across (I think it was in POPULAR ELECTRONICS: I can't locate it right this moment) mentioned something that might be relevant here. The article mentioned that the 'secret' to the M2's good sound was a special magnetic formulation for the tape media.
It's no secret that the Revere M2 landed in the market with a sickening thud. Almost all ad and promotional reference to the M2 dried up by 1965. But a few years later there was a profound development in another tape format, the Philips compact cassette. The cassette had been introduced mostly as a utilitarian tape format, but starting in the mid 1960s, there had been efforts to improve its capabilities for use in music, and one of the most significant improvement was the introduction to the cassette format of a high-bias tape formulation, Chromium Dioxide (CrO2).
I seriously doubt that it's coincidence. My guess is 3M salvaged some of their R&D on this beastie by either selling or licensing the CrO2 technology they'd developed to the folks working to improve the cassette.
The idea of a tape changer was radical, that's for sure. But I think if 3M had made this simply as an auto-loading unit instead of a full-blown changer, with the correspondingly simpler mechanism, and made the transition to solid state eletronics, this might have had a better chance.
The level of mechanical engineering is insane. But it was just too ambitious. Elaborate mechanisms require periodic adjustment, and this is an all-metal Rube Goldberg contraption. I imagine it would have worked for a year, maybe two, of moderate use, then some minor thing fell out of adjustment, needing expensive repairs. Little wonder the Muntz Stereo-Pak and later the Stereo-8 tape systems caught on.
I think this format did worse on the market than the DCC or Elcaset!
Amazing sound quality considering that machine is nearly 60 years old! It sounds better than any "new" cassette deck you can purchase these days. Although that's mostly because the only tape decks made these days are complete junk.
Hi, great video! Impressive sound for caps that old. Just a quick note, the grooves on that “grooved” piece at 28:49 would be called “splines,” and I agree that there’s clearly some kind of cog or cam missing.
35:41 That was serviced in Philadelphia. I have not heard phone numbers with the first 2 digits as letters (lo 7) since the early 70s. That service center was around into the 80s when I was in high school. I wonder if the school district owned it? It's hard to imagine any consumer would buy it.
maybe you can have the missing parts 3d printed from some patent drawings
Cool thing!
The missing part is most likely a cam lobe that advances the mech. Can't be sure though since I've never seen anything like that mech. Closest I can think of is old gambling machines and jukeboxes. It's insane. :D
I think the cam lobe is actually still there, but it's just pushed up to the frame. At 29:36, the yellowed plastic piece may be snapped and not able to give it the torque needed to move the piece.
For how slow that large wheel is turning that is some good audio quality for a tape machine.
24:30. Noisy idler. Tip: Lubrication. Also likely the problem with none of the loading functions working automatically. Old grease can get gummy.
Those 2 "rectifier" tubes are audio output types. The rectifiers in this unit are solid state Silicone top hat diodes. The brown plastic bodied caps, the 2 white tubular ceramic bodied paper caps, and the chassis mounted electrolytic can caps will eventually go bad and should be changed eventually.
If this unit recorded only 2-track on a cassette width (1/8") tape then it probably sounded better than a 4-track stereo cassette did when it first came out since the tracks were double the width of stereo cassette tracks (same width as stereo 4-track Reel to Reel tracks). The 2 main factors that contribute to audio tape format performance are width of the tracks, and speed. A 4 track stereo reel to reel tape recorded at the same standard 3.75ips speed 8-tracks use sounds better than a stereo 8-track tape because the reel tape has double the track width of an 8-track. 8-track and stereo cassette tape track widths are basically the same.
Have you dug into the Sam's Photofact service information library? I believe they cover one of these Wollensak tape changer mechs with an exploded view of the mechanism, parts list, and other info. I tried to look it up in their online index, but couldn't find it (the online index is missing a lot of info the older paper indexes covered).
I forget if this unit was covered in the book "The Evolution Of The Audio Tape Recorder" or not, but I'm almost certain I have seen a Photofact folder for one of these machines before.
There probably was a linkage to allow the motor to operate the loading mode wheel. There had to be mechanical lockouts on some parts of it to keep it from jumping past playback mode.
The machine sounds amazing, full bass, low flutter clear sound. Your voice, the opposite but no flutter
The microphone is cute. Too bad it doesn't work for all humans who use Android. Only for a (very) few who use Apple devices, with their proprietary connectors.
Ok fine, here you go: amzn.to/34EAXxC
Mic makes you sound like a Currah speech cartridge from a Commodore 64.
mic is poo poo
Could you imagine being the one that had to solder all of that mess?
Great in-depth video as always. It's hard to convey the quality of the reproduction via the speakers, but it does sound quite rich?
LOL,,, I wonder if anyone ever HAS public addressed themselves to infinity ??? :)
The two tubes are audio output tubes left/right channel 27:14
There was a video up on UA-cam some years ago with a guy who had one that was absolutely perfect and functioning flawlessly in every way..
It disappeared some years ago.
I wish I'd had a way to capture it back when it was up..
He walked through all the functionality ,, played several tapes,, played quite a bit of a Marty Robbin's tape,,, the thing sounded really good..
It may have gotten banned due to the Marty Robbins music that was in it. Always a challenge to demonstrate something and you can’t play the tapes that originally came with it.
@@databits That may have been it!
I downloaded it while it was still up. He also played a circa 1995 radio recording on it.
@@oldradiosnphonographs Way to go I blew it,, lol ...
@@2packs4sure I knew SOME DAY back when I got my Bell-o-matic I was gonna get ahold of one someday
No wow or flutter amazing stable motor!
It's at times like these we must realise how good Compact Cassette was... Try fitting all that gear in to a dashboard...
In fairness most of it is supporting mech for the autochanger, which is not required in a car as you're rarely >.5m from the deck. But yes, cassette are better than we remember, our memories are marred by cassettes spilling their guts or getting chewed up and ruined but really how often did that happen? Personally maybe 3 tapes total, admittedly my use of tapes was mainly in the 90s. But given a decent mech and good media tapes sounded pretty acceptable - think back to the early days of mp3 players with people cranking up the compression to deal with the shortcomings of the portable media of the day (cf, smartmedia, eventually sd but all low capacities)
20:31 No. Play that George Wright tape for us, right now!
George Wright recordings are not on the music YT-Music Mafia hot list. The big labels only care about top 40, pop etc.
Surprisingly good sound quality for a consumer tape system of its age.
I'm still amazed how many mediadevices I don't know about I still have a lot to learn great video very informative keep up the good work
I have extensive experience with this machine. I found mine at a flea market in the 1980s and much earlier I found a large box full of pre-recorded tape cartridges. Yes, there is a cam with a rubber ring that is missing form your machine. That ring controls the automatic thread-play-rewind-cassette drop-load function. My machine has motor with noisy bearings and a worn load idler. Replacing that idler requires removing the entire top-layer mechanism. At this point I will use it as a demonstration of early tape recorder technology. I will give credit to the engineers of Revere Camera Co. of Chicago for a brilliant but complicated invention.
Hello! Thank you for your comment and verification. I'm not real hopeful of finding the missing cam. I'm happy tho, that I can listen to tapes anyway!
@@databits @databits Greetings! FYI, I happen to have a spare cam! I happened to find it from a parts machine. It could use a new rubber tire though. There are sources for the rubber belts and tires. I have the FIFTY page service manual for the MII. Includes exploded diagrams of the complex mechanism and schematic. Just to let you know, if you get this deck to load tape and rewind by the motor and getting it to function like it is supposed to is, in itself, a project. Most of the adjustments are by what I call, calibrated bending of levers and cams. There are two belts that need replacing to enable everything to function properly. That involves lifting the top mechanical platform.
@@xmttrman - Fantastic! Would you be willing to sell me the cam? 😀
@@databits No Problem... one of these to service is enough for this guy! If I find another one, it will be for spare parts. Make me an offer (I'm not selling Marantz or McIntosh parts so bid accordingly 😁) As a bonus I'll throw in a few tapes, I have duplicates. Also, I'll send the amp schematic and a couple of blow ups of the mechanicals, and names of places that rebuild idlers and belts. Check out my You Tube vid of this machine.
@@xmttrman - Please look on my channel page under “about”, could you send me an email via the address that is there?
Hi, I just saw your video, so a couple of years late to the game. I have been renovating one of these the better part of, uh, the last 4 years. Reason is I really do not like dealing with deadly voltages, especially in something so fiddly. So the first thing I did was replace the hysteresis motor with a modern low VDC stepper motor. That required a new mounting plate, some 4mm to 1/4 inch adaptors, etc., but worked out fine. I also replaced the solenoid with a low voltage unit. Now the unit is half the height and runs quietly. Recently I also built transistor tape playback amp. as a result. I can stick my fingers in without fear of getting a nasty shock or be killed.
And, stick your fingers in, you have to do often! Your missing cam does not always work perfectly...sometimes some other part fails to deliver...
In any case the sound quality I now get is superb. I just wish there was a better selection of tapes!. I bought some 100 of them and about 35 (mostly classical) are listenable, the rest...OMG, whomever wanted to hear those?
*Philips: Einloch-Kassett? Not a good idea! (Einloch-Kassett is German for single hole cassette)
Philips: We picked a better solution. It's henceforth to be called, the Compact Cassette.
3M: *Copies the Einloch-Kassett* YEAH! We are launching a changer using the NEW Revere Tape Cartridge!
*It's a joke, to be clear.
Great video, i went half way through the video thinking it as a very early video cartridge player, but all that loading complexity and just plays audio! Not bad quality though and amazing electronics without a pcb!. Your voice quality isn't as good as it normally is with new microphone. The bits without it sound better.
That has much better sound quality than I expected with all of that old rubber and old caps! Those tape cartridges look pretty neat although fairly strange in design and the machine itself looks incredibly overcomplicated making me want one even more even though I would probably never get it working!
Unique machine. Thanks for showing it! Never seen that type of machine before.
Cheers! 🍻 -Al
That has got to be one of the most complicated and over engineered piece of HiFi equipment I’ve ever seen 🤣 😂. Why??? 😆. Imagine owning a stereo shop and bill brings in one of these tape players because something doesn’t work in it lol.
Compact cassettes did not really become a "thing" for music until the very late 60s. People often forget that. So this machine was playing music via cassette much earlier.
We'd gone through a building trades training class that used those 8-track/filmstrip cartridges...
The big black transformer is the power transformer. The two big tubes are probably the audio output tubes -- they drive the speakers. I am thinking there is no rectifier tube -- this unit was late enough that the rectifiers are probably solid-state. I think I even saw them -- the four "hat" shaped diodes are wired as a bridge rectifier. The small transformers are probably for audio output -- they couple the high-voltage tube outputs to the speakers.
15:00 7591 is a pentode output tube.
Which are now very expensive as the Guitar people love them. I don't know if the remanufactured 7591 will fit in that space as their glass envelope is the size of a 6550.
I had some of those Chrysler training films. Took them out and wound on regular super 8 reels.
That flange on the back of the reel caused them to not fit on my projector.
I have that George Wright album on reel to reel. Sounds trippy
"For now Polaroid Polavision is a pile of crap." Nono, it always was. People working for Dr Land tried and tried and tried to tell him it was, and he refused to listen. It came out to... mediocre reviews and was downhill from there. It *was* the impetus for the Polaroid Instant 35mm film system, which *was not* a pile of crap, but sadly it went away when Polaroid went bankrupt.
Just noticed the channel knobs go to 11. Nice!
Ugg, no; most people have never heard of, or forgotten what a record changer is.
Vibration problem you're having with the motor it could possibly be the bushings are worn if they have any it's just a guess like yourself I've got no familiarity without mechanism it just sounds like it's a possibility that the bushings are worn
That deck sounds AWESOME! So many failed tape formats came out in the 60's, its amazing that the Compact Cassette managed to come out on top!
Ok databits I have the bottom taken off mine and I’m looking down where you said. There is also nothing on that ribbed black part. But there is a rubberized Cam further down in there… do you see it on yours? EDIT: Yes you’re missing that cam.
Thank you! I knew something was gone!
@@databits I sent a FB message with a picture of mine. BTW I’m not sure how to get the sides off so I can have access to where the rubber pad needs to go
Another unknown format for many including me, thanks for sharing! I just subscribed. I think I've seen some of your videos already.
29:15. That smooth shaft also has a groove near it's end, so perhaps missing a second "C" clip. The dark residue on the splined shaft may be your proof something was there. I think you're on to something. Look for ANY evidence of bits of a plastic cam of some sort in the case. It may have disintegrated. If you could locate a parts diagram, you'd know what's missing. That may be difficult.
Interesting piece, and I was astonished about its sound! But speaking of sound: When you disconnected the lav mic, the sound suddenly got WAYY better. As a feedback, I'd ditch this mic and get another one.
I am surprised by the quality of the internals as well as the OG tape for it's age. Though the the prerecorded album is a tad low quality (muffled) however it could just be either bad mixing, tape degrade, or a little of both (Dot Records were never that great in the mixing department). At least if the original tape does go bad you can easily replace the magnetic part with regular type-1 cassette tapes. I am curious though on how much actual recordable tape time (with splicing when needed) you can actually get into a single cartridge.
That sounds awesome. The two big valves at the side (14:55) are the amplifier output stage valves, which is why it sounds so good. :)
At 27:47 those four silver components on the tag strip, (they look like top hats), are the diodes for the full wave rectifier. :)
What a fantastically complicated piece of equipment! Well done for getting it working and thanks for sharing.
That amplifier circuitry looks like Escher tried painting a waterslide park...
looks like 3 3/4 ips
Glad to see you again! Looking forward to seeing everything else demonstrated. The fact you got the tape machine working is impressive! I don’t care if a knowitall says otherwise!
Cool stuff. I have something even more rare because it was never released. It was a compact cartridge video film system called EVR by goldmark communications.
You must have skipped the first 10 minutes of the video! 😅
@@databits I watched the whole thing. The other cartridge super 8 systems is what made me think of my dad's work on EVR. It was smaller than super 8 as I remember. I still have the promo box.
@@jked7463 - that is so cool! I made a video about EVR. An engineer friend of mine helped me restore it. I would love to see photos of what you have. You could email me if you wanted. Check my channel about page.
@@databits Will do. Goldmark Communications transfered film to video to make money to develop dr. Goldmark's inventions. My father told me he developed the first direct film to video transfer machine in the industry. They never sold it, only used it internally. He was very proud of that. This was in the early to mid 70's.
@@databits by the way, my company has a microfiche viewer that I believe they are getting rid of. If you are interested in it, let me know.
i love all the detail you go into on these videos, pretty awesome stuff :)
That mic sounds nasty.
I don't think this was a consumer device, it was probably a background music machine for hotels big shops, lifts, etc. The PA function adds to this theory. That thing would have been very expensive far too expensive for the average home user. The two volumes would be for zones in the building.
It actually was marketed as a home unit, and it does play in stereo, but you're right. It was beyond the reach of most, price-wise. It's a big part of why it didn't sell - plus, bear in mind that in the early 1960s, the Muntz Stereo-Pak was making inroads into the market. A much less expensive, and far less elaborate, device - and of course, the precursor to the Lear Stereo-8.
I can see it being promoted for use in schools and training, though - hence the PA feature.
Looks like a nice project for Mr. Carlsons Lab!
Nope the sound is horrible , I noticed it immediately lol
Re: the missing part, I'm guessing some kind of plastic or bakelite cam, but yeah that nurled cylinder is screaming out for something to be fitted on it that turns.
..... I would think the position of the cam on the spindle would be critical, (mode sync.).
and the noisy intermittent wheel would be riding up our of position, missing or worn shim or retainer ?
Makes me feel pretty, pretty, ... old, (older than this machine).
The thing I found, this seems to have the same sort of audio fidelity the new cassettes decks with their cheap Tanashin type mecanisms and Type-1 ferro cassettes. That are 1/8 inch tape running at 1.75 IPS, the same as this 3M Revere.
He's using modern ferro cassette tape in the cartridge in at least one of the demonstrations. Part of what 3M was so proud of when they introduced this was it's excellent sound quality, and I have found reference to 3M developing a special tape formulation to make that happen. I believe their special formulation is actually what later got used to bring the cassette into the realm of hi-fi, Chromium Dioxide.
Even with ferro media, the reason it sounds good is ferro did get a lot of development over the years, too. Today's 'ferro' is miles ahead of 1960s ferro.
Great video! I don’t mind the mic personally but it definitely sounds worse than before.
I appreciate all the feedback. I’m sending it back for another model. I love the concept and convenience. Making videos is super time consuming!
Odd and complicated as it is, has a great sound
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that you saw my video and helped me get an idea what’s wrong with that wheel not turning!! I’m not confident enough about getting in there without screwing something up, so I’ll show my repairman this video.
Great! Let me know if he successfully fixes it! Would love to know about that missing cog.
@@databits mine lowers the tapes and does all the things it should when loading except that wheel isn’t going and the part where it goes back up I have to manually turn by hand. Not entirely sure on removing the mechanism out of the case. I don’t want to turn the wrong screw and goof it up!
@@databits ok silly question but how exactly did you get the works out of the case? I don’t want to accidentally unscrew the wrong thing! 😅
I have the fairchild player and three cartridges that I'm getting rid of. The belt in the player is broken.
Is it listed on eBay?
@@databits Hey there, not yet, but I can list it just for you. Other than the broken belt, it is in beautiful condition as far as I can tell. Really neat technology. The three cartridges I have are for car dealerships, BMW If I remember correctly. I know the players don't sell for very much.
@@born_again_torinos - Sounds great! I’ve been watching them. You can email me the link via my channel about page.
@@databits I'll get on it soon, Take photos etc. The beast weighs as much as a million suns.
I cannot imagine cleaning those tape heads😮
They can be reached with a cotton swab and IPA
did this come out before the lear? and is this considered "hi end" in its era?
4 Track?
Yes it did. This was released in late 1962 and the Lear was released in 1966. Unless you meant Muntz Steteo-Pak released in 1964
3M regarded it as high-end, definitely. And it was expensive (little wonder.....lol). This would have been right around the time Muntz was getting rolling with his four-track, and the very same year as the Philips compact cassette. Cassette wasn't worth spit, though, until it got some major improvements a few years later. 8 Track was first showing up in the market in 1965, but it wasn't until it was adopted by Ford as a factory option for 1966 that it got any real attention.