Cassette deck
A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of a portable mini system or a part of a home component system. In the latter case it is also called a component cassette deck or just a component deck.[1][2]
A tape recorder is a more generic term to identify a device that usually has a self-contained power amplifier and either has a built-in speaker or comes packaged with one.
In-car entertainment systems[edit]
A key element of the cassette's success was its use in in-car entertainment systems, where the small size of the tape was significantly more convenient than the competing 8-track cartridge system. Cassette players in cars and for home use were often integrated with a radio receiver. In-car cassette players were the first to adopt automatic reverse ("auto-reverse") of the tape direction at each end, allowing a cassette to be played endlessly without manual intervention. Home cassette decks soon added the feature.
Cassette tape adaptors have been developed which allow newer media players to be played through existing cassette decks, in particular those in cars which generally do not have input jacks. These units do not suffer from reception problems from FM transmitter based system to play back media players through the FM radio, though supported frequencies for FM transmitters that are not used on commercial broadcasters in a given region (e.g. any frequency below 88.1 in the US) somewhat eliminates that problem.
Maintenance[edit]
Cassette equipment needs regular maintenance, as cassette tape is a magnetic medium that is in physical contact with the tape head and other metallic parts of the recorder/player mechanism. Without such maintenance, the high-frequency response of the cassette equipment will suffer.
One problem occurs when iron oxide (or similar) particles from the tape itself become lodged in the playback head. As a result, the tape heads will require occasional cleaning to remove such particles. The metal capstan and the rubber pinch roller can become coated with these particles, leading them to pull the tape less precisely over the head; this in turn leads to misalignment of the tape over the head azimuth, producing noticeably unclear high tones, just as if the head itself were out of alignment. Isopropyl alcohol and denatured alcohol are both suitable head-cleaning fluids.
The heads and other metallic components in the tape path (such as spindles and capstans) may become magnetized with use, and require demagnetizing (see Cassette demagnetizer).
Media related to Cassette decks at Wikimedia Commons