This assignment requires us to write a technical description of an object through visual images and instructions. As we study the engineering and scientific fields, this type of technical communication throughout our academic and professional careers. Describe in detail the object’s appearance, how it works and explain it in such a way that it can be interpreted by an audience who may lack the sufficient knowledge of the object in question. Talk about the object’s history and how it has been a service to society and what effect it has on us today. What makes this object so special, and persuasively using logic and fact convince your audience why this is true.

Technical Description of Portable Stereo Cassette Player

Parts and components of a standard issue Walkman and It’s development over the past 40 years.

Luis Cortazar

City College of New York (CUNY)

Writing for Engineers – Prof. Clark

Table of Contents

• Introduction Page: 3

• Ion Tape Express, Walkman model (exterior components) page 3

• External components (images 1 and 2) Page 3

• External components cont. (images 1 and 2) Page 4

• External components cont. (images 3 and 4) Page 4

• Ion Tape Express, Walkman model (interior components) Page 5

• Front internal components (images 5 and 6) Page 5

• Back internal components (images 7 and 8) Page 6

• Analog to Digital Conversion: Page 6

• Proper maintenance: Page 7

• Conclusion: Page 7

• Citations Page 8

Introduction

     One of Sony’s co-founders, Masura Ibuka, traveled frequently and desire to listen to opera during his flights. The Chairman of Sony at the time, Akio Morita, described in his book, Made in Japan one of his employees listening to music on their voice recorder, a reporter aimed product, the Pressman (TCM-100). They had the key to what they were looking for, all this time. Making improvements on Pressman, it would become the first commercial Walkman (TPS-L2).

     The success of the Walkman was unforeseen, nobody had expected it to perform so well. The Walkman was the first time that people were able to listen to listen to music on the go, turning a commodity into a necessity. In 2014 it was reported that over 400 million Walkman’s have been sold, 200 million of which were cassette players. This is only observing the Sony brand, there are other companies that produced stereo cassette players such as AIWA, Panasonic, Toshiba to name a few. The Walkman name belongs to Sony and its line of portable music players, but it has been adopted as a shorthand name for all kinds of cassette players.

     Although the cassette player Walkman is discontinued, it laid down the legacy and importance of personal space and personal music. The technology of portable audio systems has improved from Cassettes to CD’s, and presently to digital music and apps on our phones. The purpose of the Walkman and all other audio systems that came after has always been for taking music with you.                            

External View of Cassette Player, components, and features

     The model of cassette player that will be analyzed and observed is the ION tape express cassette conversion system. This is a newer model and incorporates some features not present in the past. The first image is of the front case with cassette window. Image two has most of the operational features. The button labeled DIR, changes the direction of the head. The switch next to it enables the auto reverse function, which allows for continuous listening on both sides of one tape. The F.F., REW, PLAY, and STOP buttons are the features present in most standard-issue players, they are spring loaded. Applying pressure on the F.F. and REW will raise the head, but lower the pinch rollers, allowing the user to get to certain points of their tape.

     The Play button brings down the Tape head and starts the reels of the player. The pinch roller and capstan feed the tape from one side of the tape to the head which reads the tape. The tape head is a type of transducer that converts electrical signals to magnetic fluctuations and vice versa.

                    

Image 1: Front view of Walkman         Image 2: Top of Walkman                

     Image 3 of the cassette player has the headphone jack port, USB port, volume adjuster and the switch that opens the cassette player. In this sample, the original switch has broken off and has been replaced with a wire wrapped with tape, to open the spring-loaded mechanism. The USB port is to allow for analog to digital music conversion.  The back of the tape player in image 4 has the labels for side 3 and a hole for manual operation. This hole allows the user using a small screwdriver (flat head) to turn the oscillator and change the pitch/speed of the tapes played on the system.

                   

Image 3: Side view of Walkman              Image 4: Back of Walkman

                                   

Internal Components of Ion Cassette Player

     Images 5 and 6, feature the battery compartment, reels, Capstan, Pinch Rollers and Head. The head is the rectangular transducer at the top of the Walkman and is what reads the magnetic strips. The Pinch rollers are the wheel like rollers next to the head, they are what feed the tape to the head. The Capstan brings the tape up to the pinch roller, and the little knobs next to them and next to the head keep the tape in line. 

                 

Image 5: Front of Walkman                    Image 6: Top of Walkman 

   

     The back of the cassette player can be accessed by removing the three screws on the side of the system and the three screws present in image 5. Image 7 is the internal structure of this cassette player. It is run by two double A batteries or can be powered by an AC adapter. This cassette player works by applying pressure on the buttons, pressing them down and connecting them to the motor. Most cassette players use belts, and this one does as well. This belt (seen in image 8) wraps around the motor and the back of the two reels. Without the belt(s) the cassette player cannot perform its primary function, because the reels would not turn. The Oscillator is the gold colored screw right of the motor and controls the motor’s speed. The circuit board activates all operations, and each cassette player has their own unique board.

          

Image 7: Inside Walkman                                 Image 8: Walkman Belt

                                                Analog to Digital Conversion

     The trend with current tape players is to save the music on the tapes, by converting them to digital sound files. The Ion Tape line is most known for this feature. Although this functions as a stand-alone tape player, the quality of sound produced are on the lower end. The conversion process works by installing the software on a Mac and connecting the USB port on the player to the computer. Once installed, and a tape is selected, press play on the player and record on the software, allow the entire side of the tape to run, and proceed to do the same on the other side. The software also allows some degree of adjusting by allowing the user to remove background noise and hiss. User interface with this and similar devices show complaints of not working properly or being well understood.

                                                 Proper Maintenance

     In order to keep the cassette player in proper working order, the head and pinch roller should be cleaned after every 10-40 hours of play. If possible, the heads should be demagnetized in the same time frame. Because cassette tapes consist of Ferric or Chromium Oxide particles, the tape head transducer gets bombarded with them and becomes magnetized. The effects of magnetization depend on the duration of use. A magnetized tape head could run the risk of erasing the tape it is playing. Eventually, the belts wear down and break, replacing the belts require the knowledge of the proper width and length, as each belt varies with each make and model.

                                                            Conclusion

     This Ion Cassette While there is a niche population still manufacturing cassette tapes and players, the quality and abundance of these products have diminished greatly. The feature most advertised is the Analog to Digital conversion system, but its effectiveness is debatable. As a cassette player, it is a basic model. Most cassette players from the mid to late 80’s would also have tape select, Dolby B noise reduction, and a 3-5 band equalizer. This is not a product for audiophiles but rather those who want to get the conversion done quickly or desire a cheap alternative, but as an alternative it gets the job done. Cassette players had the singular function of taking your music with you, and since 1979, the goal of Sony and other companies has been to make it easier to do so. While tape players may not have the abundance and level of quality today, they can be enjoyed by a niche audience of analog listeners. Their effects remain with is to this day in our pockets and ever ready to be listened to.

    

Citations

(2013, October 16). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://youtu.be/UWcR21IWMpc

Clearclick

(2014, January 27). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://youtu.be/XBRmq3sYePM

CNET

(2014, October 20). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://youtu.be/lBqseObEt54

Fusion

TAPE EXPRESS PLUS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/tape-express-with-headphones

Morita, A., & Reingold, E. M. (1988). Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony. Glasgow: Penguin.