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Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Steelman Phonograph & Radio Co., Inc.
Description (Brief)
About ten years after the invention of transistors, Steelman Phonograph & Radio Company produced this portable tape recorder that used seven transistors in its circuits. Although heavy by today’s standards, weighing about 6.5 pounds, the “Transitape” recorder demonstrated possibilities of size and weight reduction that using transistors could provide. The Transitape used a reel-to-reel tape design with tapes that could record for sixty-four minutes. Six mercury cell AA batteries operated the amplifier for about 300 hours and another seven batteries operated the motor for 50 hours.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
from Ben Kleinerman
ca 1960
ID Number
1987.0520.01
accession number
1987.0520
catalog number
1987.0520.01
Object Name
tape recorder
recording device
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
leather (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
rubber (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 10 1/2 in x 7 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 26.67 cm x 18.415 cm x 8.255 cm
See more items in
Work and Industry: Electricity
Magnetic Recording
Communications
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1344190
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-b872-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Tape recorder, transistor, top.
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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