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Cassette replacements

Gary C

Gary C

Veteran Member
Joined
May 26, 2018
Messages
2,452
Location
Lancashire, UK
What do people use instead of cassette players when a particular machine isn't supported by a device like TZXDuino ?

The Newbrain is loading fine from my laptop from a WAV file, but of course I can't change that into a TAP etc file that one of the arduino type players understand.

I have tried using Digiwavuino without much success. Really all I want is a WAV player that has the standard 2.5mm start/stop connection. Surely there is something out there ?
 
I send the WAV file out the line out and record it on a still working cassette recorder.
play back to the vintage system and load.

I am willing to admit this may not be what you had in mind....
 
Oooh, what an interesting idea.

I am concerned that Newbrain tapes I have wont last too long if I keep using them, but if I store them on PC and write new tapes as needed :)

Now, where can I find new C15's
 
Gary C said:
What do people use instead of cassette players when a particular machine isn't supported by a device like TZXDuino ?

The Newbrain is loading fine from my laptop from a WAV file, but of course I can't change that into a TAP etc file that one of the arduino type players understand.

I have tried using Digiwavuino without much success. Really all I want is a WAV player that has the standard 2.5mm start/stop connection. Surely there is something out there ?
Click to expand...
I use a Tascam DR-05 to record to or play WAVs onto various computers with audio cassette inputs. It works great, the 05 has level and tone adjustment for playback, level for recording, it accepts microSD cards so you can transfer WAV or MP3 files to it, in/out is via 3.5mm mono cable or 3.5mm/RCA. There are a couple similar ones on the market, a DR-03 and a few others. The new ones aren't needed for this application so a used older model is fine. I have never had any errors using a DR-05 as a "cassette drive" and wouldn't think of using actual tape anymore, it's such an easy way to digitally transfer tape. Plus, you have a general use audio recorder as well. The only issue is the naming convention, it uses either a sequential numerical file name or a date based filename. So, one needs to keep track of and log the file names until they get archived properly. I have used this storage method on old SBCs, the Apple II, and the ZX81 with no issues.

Doug
 
Tascam DR-05 on Amazon is $157. Wow!
Since you can still buy cassette recorders for like $35 and still buy cassettes cheap, $157 doesn't look like a good solution.
 
For my Trash-80 I just plug into a laptop. If your laptop doesn't have separate in/out jacks anymore there are loads of cheap little "USB sound cards" out there that will do the job. My favorite is an old Plantronics (the phone headset company) "DSP Adapter -01" I found in a junk pile over a decade ago. It's the size of a thumb drive and I haven't had too much difficulty using it with a standard TRS-80 cassette cable.
 
I use PC audio at times, because I can clean up the tape image and fix the waveforms to get bad tapes working. This is my most common setup when not using a txduino.

I also use a small "Walkman" style player which cost about $20 and will work off batteries or USB power - This also has a USB connection to the PC, so I can transcribe to the PC to clean up ( I record, then export as an analog wave, then analyse this in basic and recreate a square wave. )

eg: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005007082926074.html

lately I picked up a Sony ICD-PX820 for when I want to record something from my old computers, but don't want to record direct to the PC.

eg
sony-icd-px820-digital-voice-recorder-2-gb-flash-memory-lcd-1-3218342945.jpg

And sometimes I just record straight to the PC and use the windows recorder.
 
cj7hawk said:
lately I picked up a Sony ICD-PX820 for when I want to record something from my old computers, but don't want to record direct to the PC.
Click to expand...

When i was looking at things like this (mostly for my pocket computers), they all seemed to have been made "defective by design" by limiting the inputs from the audio jacks. This made them useless for use on my vintage machines.

Has that changed?
 
rlauzon said:
When i was looking at things like this (mostly for my pocket computers), they all seemed to have been made "defective by design" by limiting the inputs from the audio jacks. This made them useless for use on my vintage machines.

Has that changed?
Click to expand...


As I don't really understand what the issue you had was, I can't answer that question. However the above has separate inputs/output jacks in 2.5mm - for mic and earphone - and it works OK with my JR-100U which was rather sensitive to getting the volume correct. It also is a MP3 recorder, so the files can be accessed as MP3 recordings, or played back as MP3 recordings, meaning they can be "side loaded" into the PC or taken from the PC as audio files that an old computer can read.

What we're talking about is just a bridging gap between using a PC to record and play the sound directly, and having something so I don't always have to use my PC.

I haven't checked for stereo function ( though assume it *might* be stereo ) and whether I need to make a custom cable to avoid shorting a channel, but the reason I got the above was that tape recorder/players cost about $70, and need a tape in them and often an extra power supply, while the above costs about $30 second hand, and at least plugs straight into the computer and can hang off the tape cables and I can just use it and access the audio file later when the old computer is turned off... And it seems to work OK?

The volume is reasonable - or at least it worked for me. And there's manual volume adjustment on it also. These only have 2Gb of recording space, so I'm not sure how many MP3 that is, but it's probably enough to hold the entire JR-100U software library. Only downside is that files are numerical only... No file names.

If you have some more information, I might be able to test it and answer it?
 
cj7hawk said:
As I don't really understand what the issue you had was, I can't answer that question.
Click to expand...

The digital recorders I tested purposely limited the audio range when you use the input jacks (as opposed to the built in microphone). This was to "prevent illegal usage".

But the result was that I could not record the programs from my pocket computers (which is what I was testing with) in such a way that playing it back would load the software back in.
 
rlauzon said:
The digital recorders I tested purposely limited the audio range when you use the input jacks (as opposed to the built in microphone). This was to "prevent illegal usage".

But the result was that I could not record the programs from my pocket computers (which is what I was testing with) in such a way that playing it back would load the software back in.
Click to expand...

Do you know how they limited it? Was it band limited, or frequency limited? Added distortion? Gaps in playback? Reduction of information in the signal?

I've never analysed the input/output of the Sony, but it probably came out either before or they cared about "The Analog Loophole". Or maybe the one I have is mono, so not suited to stealing music, but perfect for computer use? Sony is definitely the kind of company that would hobbly anything that can be used for legitimate purposes, because all they care about is music piracy prevention.
 
Lots of useful stuff

Really what I am looking for is something that looks like a cassette player, works like a cassette player but uses an SD card or similar.

Its so that visitors can use the machine as almost intended without us having to have laptops or other 'complex' solutions.

Something like the tascam does seem almost ideal but they are expensive to have one per machine.
 
Gary C said:
Lots of useful stuff

Really what I am looking for is something that looks like a cassette player, works like a cassette player but uses an SD card or similar.

Its so that visitors can use the machine as almost intended without us having to have laptops or other 'complex' solutions.

Something like the tascam does seem almost ideal but they are expensive to have one per machine.
Click to expand...

There are cheaper voice recorders on Amazon - around a quarter of the cost of a tascam - that have separate microphone/earphone jacks. You could easily try one before getting a few, and make custom cables to ensure they were mono...

Or, since you have a retro use, maybe just use tape recorders, so people get a feeling for the actual moving tape... They are still quite cheap.

 
A bit of an 'outfield' thought...

There were digital cassette units around a long while ago. Fairly recently I found one and someone bought it and found it worked fine...

The unit is a solid state (USB-type drive I think) that looks like a cassette. You load it digitally from a PC and it just fits into a conventional cassette player. The interface between the two is via an inductor and the cassette player's head.

That should overcome the longevity issue of cassette tapes.

I think it contains a rechargeable battery (charged through the USB connector).

Just another avenue to consider.

EDIT: Found this on a quick look: https://usb.brando.com/usb-cassette-mp3-player-ii_p01481c035d15.html.

Not sure about whether it uses the PLAY/STOP buttons of the cassette player itself or not (i.e. wither it looks at the rotation of the 'tape spools' or whether it works autonomously.

Dave
 
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As for the DR-05s, there are quite a few on eBay at $60 or less, new or more feature laden recorders are overkill. There are other brands and models out there that are similar.

I have never encountered digital recorders that have been made "defective by design", they capture up to 24bit/96kHz now and the frequency range of a microphone around 20- 20k Hz. I previously used mine as part of a stealth audio recording rig with external power and microphones and had great results. The preamps on these cheaper ones aren't great, but they aren't bad. I am sure there are low resolution digital dictation recorders that do not capture well at all tho. But they may be fine for this application also.
 
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