OK electronic wizards here is the problem

[Lou Earle]

I have a quired a 58 Dodge with an actual working 8 track player actually has great sound. I can get blank tapes to record.

So I also have several Cd's of various artists. Question is can I run cable and RCA jacks to the recorder 8 track player/recorder and record the Cd's on to 8 track tapes-I know it is in reverse but hell I have been doing things backwards along time

Lou

[Don Coatney]

Lou;

My guess is no, you cannot do this. I dont recall ever being able to record 8 track tapes. They heads are set to play and not to record. Perhaps a real radioguy could better answer your question.

[55 Fargo]

I am in total agreement with Don on this one, all my 8 tracks, and all my friends 8 tracks, never had a capabliity to record, if it were possible to record on the 8 track, then connected a CD player to it might work.

I always thought 8 track tapes were only factory made, I have never personally seen a home recorded 8 track tape, and I have seen plenty of these years ago......Fred ps Lou get out to some yard sales and see what youy can find for tapes

[55 Fargo]

I have a quired a 58 Dodge with an actual working 8 track player actually has great sound. I can get blank tapes to record.

So I also have several Cd's of various artists. Question is can I run cable and RCA jacks to the recorder 8 track player/recorder and record the Cd's on to 8 track tapes-I know it is in reverse but hell I have been doing things backwards along time

Lou

The way I am reading this is you already have an 8 track recorder, and blank tapes.

If this be the case, then you should be able to record off the cd player somehow, it will be a digital to analog recording, will of course lose a lot of quality in the process, if it can be done......Fred

[Dennis Hemingway]

I wish you had asked that about 2 months ago as I just got rid of an 8 track player/recorder, I gave it to a guy that had an 8 track player in his car. Keep a eye out at swapmeets & antique stores.

Dennis:o

[Frank Elder]

Just what you needed Lou....one more excuse to go to a swap meet/garage sale/auction house:eek:

[greg g]

will a digitized signal even record in a format the the analog will recognize??? The tape will take the signal but will the pickup head pass anything but noise to the amp?? Probably need a dig to analog thingie in between. Or am I showing my total lack of knowlege in this matter?

[msawdey44]

If you spend enough time at garage sales, you may eventually come up with a home 8-track setup that records. I had one some years ago, but sent it on its way to someone who had a use for it. As far as recording from a digital source: the output from CD players etc. is analog where it is sent through regular RCA jacks ("phono jacks" to those of us old enough to remember phonographs). But, no, you can't record by sending a signal into the jacks on a "play only" machine--those are outputs. The tape in an 8-track cartridge is regular 1/4 inch magnetic tape, but the four pairs of stereo tracks (hence the "8-track" designation) are recorded end to end/side by side on the continuous loop of tape. That's the "clunk" when the thing changes tracks, as the playback head is bumped from one set of tracks to the next. After the fourth bump, it goes back to the beginning. It was sort of an ingenious system, brainchild of Bill Lear of the Learjet. In the early days, it had the advantage over cassettes that the tape speed was twice as high, so high-frequency response was way better....

[james curl]

I have a friend who back in the day had a Mad Man Munz 4/8 track player, and I still have a Munz 4 track player and a box of 4 track tapes. My friend could record 4 or 8 track cartridges; maybe still can I do not know. He now buys all of the 8 track tapes he can find at swap meets and garage sales. He has restored several Chargers and Challengers all with factory 8 track tape players. He was a civil service electronic tech for the Air Force repairing terrain-flying radar so tape players are not a problem for him. He also built a Heath Kit color TV and an organ for his sister. He recorded 90 minutes of Ray Price for a friend who had a Lear 8 track player and it would not pull the tape fast enough to sound right but the Mad Man Munz 4/8 would because the rubbing wheel for the 4 track pushed the roller on the 8 track tight against the spindle. I think I know too much about nothing important. I believe the Munz 4 and 8 track players were before Bill Lear built his. I bought mine in 65.

Edited August 22, 2009 by james curl

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have recorded many an 8 track tape back in the day..however I had never had a mobile unit that recorded. We had a home base player set up for this. The RCA outut jack to RCA input jack should denote the preamp connections and thus you should be able to record..

[adam_knox]

Yeah, keep yours eyes peeled at thrift stores and garage sales. Spread the word to friends and neighbors. Usually someone has one in a box somewhere. Used to make 8 tracks years ago, it was fun at the time. One of the heads was out of alignment though, so playing pre-recorded 8tracks had some audio bleed through on a few tracks. Let us know how it goes when you find one.

Here's some on ebay:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1311&_nkw=8+track+recorder&_sacat=See-All-Categories

[P-12 Tommy]

Lou;

My guess is no, you cannot do this. I dont recall ever being able to record 8 track tapes. They heads are set to play and not to record. Perhaps a real radioguy could better answer your question.

Yes you can.. I had an 8 track recorder in 1975.

[Don Coatney]

Yes you can.. I had an 8 track recorder in 1975.

Thanks. Learn something new every day.

[deadbodyman]

its been a while,but you can always play a cd through your home player and use a mike to record from the speakers to the 8 track recorder...kindof a simple solution but then I'm simple minded...

[WatchingWolf]

Keep your eye out for "bookshelf size" stereo units. AM/FM ~ 8 track ~ turn table jobs with the big smoked plastic cover on top to cover the record player.

If it has a Fast Forward feature for the 8 track, start looking for a record button. You needed to fast forward to the end of the track to start the next song, otherwise you ended up with the dreaded "clunk" in the middle of your favorite tune.