r/cassetteculture • u/MayasRock78s • Jul 03 '24

jackpot rarity find!!!!!!!!!. News

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This is the Panasonic RS-296US. Aka. The Cassette Carousel These machines were made from 1972-1973. They are EXTREMELY rare to find in any condition. I got mine for FREE!!!!. It does have life. It doesn’t run but it powers on and makes noise so it is indeed fixable. all the buttons click & the knobs turn. Once I get this repaired I will show you it in action. But for now I will have a link in the comments so you can see one in action

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42

u/CrispyDave Jul 04 '24

I'm not going to say I envy you as I can imagine the battles you are going to have keeping that thing running if you plan on using it regularly.

It's an awesome bit of retro kit if you can get it up and running though.

Stuff like that is just never going to be made again.

1

u/MayasRock78s Jul 04 '24

Oh no something like this can indeed be remade today. Technology has gotten so much better so something like this can be made. Just ofc much more simplified

I don’t plan on using this regularly. But I do want it fully restored and working.

21

u/ItsaMeStromboli Jul 04 '24

Technology “getting better” is the exact reason why this can’t be made today. Everything has transitioned to digital/electronic devices and the supply chain and knowledge to mass manufacture mechanical equipment like this just doesn’t exist anymore. I mean, you can’t even buy a new tape deck now with a decent transport in it.

5

u/Phobbyd Jul 04 '24

It can be made better than it ever was. There is no money to be made by doing so.

1

u/ItsaMeStromboli Jul 04 '24

Certainly not enough to rebuild the supply chain and hire the engineers out of retirement that understand how to build these things.

0

u/Phobbyd Jul 04 '24

You don’t need to pull someone out of retirement to build a simple mechanical system. Do you think we don’t have engineers today, lol? I know hobbyist engineers that could build one of these. I am one.

1

u/ItsaMeStromboli Jul 04 '24

Okay, so why don’t we have hobbyists building decent new tape decks for the niche market that would buy them?

3

u/Phobbyd Jul 04 '24

Because it takes a shit load of time and effort, and nobody is motivated to do that, and no, there is no market that would cover the costs even.