Tokai TR-45 Miniature Tape Recorder, 1965?
The Tokai TR-45 has to be one of the rarest of the miniature reel-to-reel tape recorders from the 1960s. I’ve dubbed these little machines ‘Spycorders’, as they made frequent appearances in the spy movies and TV series of the day, though in reality they would have been of little use to secret agents or for covert recording and many of them were little more than toys or novelties. The Tokai TR-45 was a bit different, though, and it really does look the part, being one of the cutest little machines around. It uses smaller than normal 65mm (2.5-inch) reels and unlike most mini tape recorders from that period it’s housed in a tough, crackle-finish metal case.
It follows the usual pattern of a simple rim-drive mechanism, though again it’s a little out of the ordinary as it has a belt-drive to the motor. As you may know the big problem with rim-drive, where the reels are turned by direct contact with a spindle connected to the motor, is the speed variation as the tape passes from one reel to the other. This means that tapes only play back at the correct speed on the machine the recording was made. The TR-45 is no different in that respect and the sound quality is pretty dire, just about okay for speech, and with only around 7 or 8 minutes running time they’re not much use for anything except maybe some brief dictation, which is probably what this model was intended for. Don’t let that put you off, though, these are fantastic little gadgets, beautifully made, terrific fun to play with and hugely nostalgic, especially if – like me -- you remember them from the first time around!
It has just two simple transport controls, a rocker switch for selecting play or rewind, and button for record mode. There’s a thumbwheel for the volume and two jack sockets for earphone and microphone. The 50mm (2-inch) speaker is on the underside, mounted on the hinged cover for the battery compartment, which houses three AA cells.
What Happened To It?
Reel-to-reel tape recorders, which first appeared in the late 1940s lasted well into the 70s but their fate was sealed by the Compact Cassette. It killed machines like this one stone dead; cassette recorders could be made smaller, cheaper, a lot easier to use and with vastly superior performance.
I can’t be absolutely sure about the date but I don’t think 1965 is too far off the mark, either way I doubt that many TR-45s were sold. I’ve only come across one other example in the last few years and there’s no mention of them in the usual web archives, though it may well have sold under different names, as was the custom of the time.
This one is a real survivor and an unexpected ebay bargain. I thought one or more of the growing number of collectors would pitch for it and it would fetch a fancy price but it slipped under the radar. In the end there was only one other bidder and it was all mine for a very reasonable £10.00. It has been very well looked after and is in excellent condition. It actually worked straight out of the box, though it worked a whole lot better – or at least as well as it could -- after a thorough clean and oil change. A most welcome addition to any collection of miniature tape recorders and its comparative rarity means that it has to be a good investment.
DUSTY DATA
First seen: 1965?
Original Price £10?
Value Today? £30 1111
Features: Two-track recording, rim-drive, 65mm reels, Play, Record, Rewind, volume, ear & mic jack sockets
Power req. 3 x AA
Weight: 600g
Dimensions: 155 x 80 x 53mm
Made in: Japan
Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 8
http://www.dustygizmos.com/arcpages/arctape.htm
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Тема: Моята колекция магнетофони (Прочетена 69220 пъти)