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The best reel to reel tape recorders of the 80s. Remembering Soviet reel-to-reel tape recorders

In the Soviet Union, experiments with magnetic recording began actively in the 30s of the last century. Such experiments were carried out by scientists of the Scientific Research Institute of the All-Union Radio Committee, as well as in other similar organizations.

Single copies of reel-to-reel tape recorders were produced on the eve of the war. Their purpose is special application. The very first serial equipment, which was called SM-45, appeared in 1942. Two years later, the MAG-1 and MAG-2 tape recorders began to arrive at the broadcasting centers of the Soviet state. True, there were about 70 of them in total.
In the victorious 1945, the Soviet authorities not only created a research institute for sound recording, but also formed an industrial base for the production of tape recorders.
This collection contains a description of reel-to-reel tape recorders produced in the vastness of the USSR.


Studio reel-to-reel tape recorder \"AMZ-6A\" designed and manufactured presumably in 1949\"IRPA\". There is no information on the tape recorder, only visual.


Network reel tape recorder "Astra" from the I quarter of 1960, the Leningrad plant \"Tekhpribor\" produced. The tape recorder \"\"Astra\"\" became the first model from a series of subsequent tape recorders with the name \"\"Astra\"\". The tape recorder is intended for recording and (or) playing two-track phonograms. The capacity of the reels used is 180 meters of magnetic tape type 1 or 2, allowing you to get the duration of the sound (recording) up to two hours at the lower of the two speeds. The speed of pulling a magnetic tape in a tape recorder is 9.53 and 4.76 cm / s. The range of effectively recorded or reproduced sound frequencies at a speed of 4.76 is not narrower - 100 ... 3000 Hz, and at a speed of 9.53 - 100 ... 6000 Hz. The rated output power of the amplifier is 2 W. Power consumption 90 W. Model dimensions - 450x335x235 mm. Weight 16.5 kg. The price of the tape recorder is 230 rubles from April 1961.

Tape recorders \"Astra-5\", \"Astra-205\" and \"Astra-206\" respectively, from 1971, 1973 and 1975, the Leningrad plant\"Tekhpribor\" produced. All tape recorders have the same design and practically the same electrical circuit. The devices are designed to record phonograms from a microphone, pickup, receiver, TV, radio line and other tape recorder with subsequent playback through their own or external speakers. The LPM is assembled according to a single-motor scheme and is designed for the use of coils No. 18 with a capacity of 525 meters with a tape of type 6 or 10. Tape speeds: 9.53 and 4.76 cm / sec. Unlike the tape recorder \"\"Astra-4\"\" made on lamps, these models have only 3 lamps, 11 transistors and 11 p / n diodes, which made it possible to halve the power consumption. The models have a three-decade tape consumption counter, an electro-optical indicator of the recording level on a 6E3P lamp, the ability to overlay a new recording on an existing one. The acoustic parameters have improved due to the use of 2 front loudspeakers 1GD-36, while the maximum output power has increased to 3 watts. The operating frequency range is 40...12000 Hz at higher speeds and 63...6300 Hz at lower speeds. Mains powered. Power consumption 50 W. Dimensions of any model 420x340x105 mm, weight 10.5 kg. The price of any of the tape recorders is 210 rubles. Tape recorder \"\"Astra-206\"\" has minor schema changes on inputs

Radio tape recorder \"Vaiva\" since 1960 it has been produced by the Kaunas radio factory. The radio tape recorder \"\"Vaiva\"\" is a combined device consisting of a class 2 superheterodyne radio receiver and a tape recorder \"\"Elfa-17\"\". The radio tape recorder is designed for reception in the ranges: DV, SV, HF and VHF, as well as for recording and reproducing sound. The radio tape recorder is made in a wooden case with a rising lid. The rated output power of the radio is 2 watts. Mains supply 127 or 220 V. Power consumption when receiving 80, when the tape recorder is 125 watts. Model dimensions 622x435x375 mm, weight 26 kg. Price since 1961 189 rubles. 75 kop. The first radios had a 6E5C tuning indicator, which was later replaced by 6E1P.


Network reel tape recorder \"Wilma-M1\" from the beginning of 1971, the Vilnius Instrument-Making Plant \"Vilma\" produced. The tape recorder "Wilma-M1" is designed for recording and playback of monophonic sound recordings at two speeds of the magnetic tape advance of 9.53 cm/sec or 19.05 cm/sec. The recommended tape type is 6 or 10. The reels can hold 250 and 350 meters of tape respectively. The range of recorded and reproduced frequencies on a type 6 magnetic tape at a higher speed is 60 ... 12500 Hz, at a lower speed - 60 ... 8000 Hz, on a type 10 tape, respectively 40 ... 15000 Hz and 60 ... 12500 Hz . In the electrical circuit of the model, radio tubes are used: 6Zh32P, 6N23P (2 pcs) and 6P14P. The tape recorder is powered by the mains alternating current 127 or 220 volts, consuming 65 watts of power. The acoustic system uses 2 loudspeakers. Tape recorder dimensions 430x190x300 mm, weight 12.5 kg. Price 190 rubles.


Tape recorder \"Vilnale-Stereo\" presumably developed in 1964 by the Vilnius Instrument-Making Plant \"Vilma\". The tape recorder panel was developed for the "Latvia" radio tape recorder, which, like the panel, did not go into mass production. Tape recorder panel two-speed, 9.53 and 19.05 cm / sec, designed for recording and playback of mono and stereo phonograms. The panel has recording control by cathode-beam indicator with a moving and fixed tape, separate external plug connections. There is a \"pause\" mode and a \"Trick\" function. Reels up to #18 on 350 m of magnetic tape are used. The operating frequency range is 63...10000 Hz at lower speeds and 40...12500 Hz at higher speeds. SOI 4%. The panel is powered by 127 V.


Tape recorder "Wave" since the autumn of 1954, the Moscow plant \"Detal\" produced. The tape recorder \"\"Wave \"\" combined the simplicity of design and electrical circuit, had a number of advantages and disadvantages. The set-top box did not have an electric motor; the EPU disk of the apparatus was used here, with which the set-top box was operated. The model circuit contained one radio tube, which served as an erasure and bias generator, a corrective recording amplifier, and preamplifier signal. All other functions were performed by the base unit (household radio or bass amplifier) ​​to which the set-top box was connected through a special connector. Such a connector could be installed on the device itself, it was attached to the set-top box, and some serial devices already had similar connectors, for example, radiograms \"\"Estonia-55\"\", \"\"Kazan\"\" and others. Recording on a magnetic tape is two-track, carried out by turning over and rearranging the coils. The range of recorded and reproduced frequencies at a speed of 78 rpm is 100...7000 Hz, at 33 rpm 100...3000 Hz. The speed of pulling the magnetic tape in this case was 19.8 and 9.4 cm/sec, respectively. The prefix did not have a power supply, so it received the necessary voltages from the base device through the connector, consuming about 1.5 W of power. There were no rewind modes in the set-top box, although in principle this was done, but in a very ingenious way. The tape recorder "Wave" cost 300 rubles.

Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Gintaras\" Since 1960, the Vilnius Electrotechnical Plant "Elf" has been producing. The network stationary reel-to-reel tube tape recorder \"\"Gintaras\"\" (type Elfa-19) is designed for recording or playing two-track phonograms at a magnetic tape advance speed of 19.05 cm/sec. With a coil capacity of 350 meters, the duration of recording or playback is 2x30 minutes. The range of recorded and reproducible frequencies (at the line output) of the tape recorder is 50 ... 10000 Hz, and those reproduced through a loudspeaker of the 1GD-9 type installed in the acoustic system of the tape recorder are 120 ... 8000 Hz. The rated output power of the low frequency amplifier is 1 W. The tape recorder has a fast rewind of the magnetic tape in both directions. The power consumed from the electrical network is not more than 85 watts. The dimensions of the tape recorder "Gintaras" are 385x346x180 mm, weight is about 15 kg.


Reel-to-reel tape recorder "Daina" (Elfa-29) Since 1969, the Vilnius Electrotechnical Plant "Elf" has been producing. Tube tape recorder of the 3rd class \"\"Daina\"\" in design and appearance is fundamentally different from the models previously produced by the plant. It provides recording and playback of phonograms from any sound signal sources. The tape recorder has two tape speeds of 9.53 and 2.38 cm/sec. The first is used when recording music, and the second was introduced specifically, by order of the All-Union Society of the Blind for listening to phonograms such as \"\"Talking book\"\" and recording speech. The LPM of the tape recorder differs from the LPM of devices previously produced by the plant. At the same time, some components that have proven themselves in previous models have been retained in the new tape recorder. LPM of the device works from the KD-3,5 electric motor serving two kinematic chains. The universal amplifier of the tape recorder is made on the basis of the amplifier of the tape recorder \"\"Idas-9M\"\" (2nd version) and the changes affected the introduction of a lower speed and a treble tone control. The duration of the sound when working with reels No. 18, containing 360 m of type 6 magnetic tape at a speed of 9.53 cm / s - 2x60 min, at a speed of 2.38 cm / s - 2x240 min. The frequency range on the LV at a speed of 9.53 cm / s - 40 ... 12500 Hz, 2.38 cm / s - 200 ... 3500 Hz. The noise level is not worse than -44 dB. Detonation ±0.3% at 9.53 cm/sec and ±5% at 2.38 cm/sec. Maximum output power 1.5W. The device is powered by electricity. Power consumption 70 W. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 370x240x155 mm.


Network reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Dnipro-11\" since 1960 produced by the Kyiv Radio Plant. The tape recorder uses a two-track system for recording on magnetic tape type 2 and CH. The tape recorder has tape speeds of 19.05 and 9.53 cm/sec. Recording time 2x30 and 2x60 minutes when using reels No. 18, with a capacity of 350 m of tape. LPM also allows the use of coils No. 22 with a capacity of 500 m of tape. Frequency range 40...12000 Hz at higher speed and 100...6000 Hz at lower speed. There are tone controls. Detonation coefficient 0.5 and 0.9%. The sensitivity of the recording amplifier from a microphone is 0.5 mV, a pickup is 200 mV, linear is 10 mV. Maximum output power 5W. Control LPM keyboard. Power consumption 160 W. Dimensions 55x33x33 cm. Weight 24 kg. The tape recorder differs from previous models by an indirect drive. asynchronous motor DVA-U4 was replaced by synchronous DVS-U1. A second belt speed has been introduced. The erasure and bias generator, as well as the bass amplifier, are made according to a push-pull scheme. The tape recorder allows you to make trick recordings. From the tape recorder \"\"Dnepr-11\"\" subsequent models began to be called \"\"Dnipro\"\" with the addition of development numbers


Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Dnipro-11M\" since 1962 produced by the Kyiv plant of radio equipment. The upgraded desktop tape recorder \"\"Dnipro-11M\"\" differs from the previous model of the plant, the tape recorder \"\"Dnipro-11\"\" in a different design of the front panel and minor changes in the electrical circuit. The modernized tape recorder \"Dnipro-11M\" was produced by the radio equipment plant until the end of 1965.


Desktop reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Dnipro-12N\" from the I quarter of 1966 produced the Kyiv plant\"Mayak\". Tape recorder \"\"Dnipro-12N\"\" (N desktop) is designed to record soundtracks from a microphone, pickup, radio line. LPM has 2 tape speeds of 9.53 and 4.76 cm/sec. Two-track recording. The duration of continuous recording when using coils No. 15 with a capacity of 250 m of magnetic tape type 2, at the highest speed 2x44 min., the lowest 2x88 min. Rewind time in any direction 2 min. Sensitivity from microphone 3 μV, pickup 0.2 V, radio line 10 V. Rated voltage on LV - 0.5 V. Operating frequency band at a speed of 9.53 cm / s 60 ... 10000 Hz, at 4.76 cm / sec 80...5000 Hz. Rated output power 3W. There are bass and treble tone controls. Detonation 0.6% at 9.53 cm/sec and 1.5% at 4.76 cm/sec. Power consumption in recording mode 110 watts. The dimensions of the apparatus are 620x340x280 mm. Its weight is 22 kg. At first, the tape recorder was called \"\"Dnipro-12\"\", but a portable model \"\"Dnipro-12P\"\" was created on its basis, and in order to avoid confusion, the letter \"\"N\"\ was added to the name ".


Tape recorder \"Dnipro-14A\" from the I quarter of 1969 produced the Kyiv plant\"Mayak\". The tape recorder \"Dnipro-14A\" (Dnepr-14A) is designed for two-track recording of audio phonograms from a microphone, pickup, receiver, TV, other tape recorder or radio line. The speed of movement of the magnetic tape is 9.53 and 4.76 cm / s with an unevenness of 0.3 and 0.4%. Duration of recording with reels No. 15 containing 250 m of type 6 magnetic tape at a higher speed is 2x44 minutes, less than 2x88 minutes. Rated output power 3W. The frequency range reproduced by loudspeakers at a higher speed is 63 ... 10000, less than 63 ... 6300 Hz. The voltage at the line output is 0.25 V. There is a separate tone control for bass and treble. Power supply from the mains voltage of 127 or 220 volts. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 620x320x305 mm, weight 25 kg. The retail price of the tape recorder is 170 rubles. The tape recorder has a magnetic tape consumption scale, an overlay button, a remote start of the LPM, a signal switch for recording, a pause button. There are 3 engines installed in the LPM, a leading one of the EDG-2K type and two rewinders of the EDG-2PK type. The tape recorder circuit is made on seven lamps, including an optical indicator. The speaker has 2 loudspeakers 2-GD-19 in front and 2 1GD-19 on the sides.


Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Dnepr\" since 1949 it has been produced by the Kyiv Musical Combine. \"\"Dnepr\"\" one of the first reel-to-reel tape recorders for recording and reproducing sound in semi-professional and amateur conditions on a ferromagnetic tape. Recording is made from any source of a sound signal. The tape recorder has 2 tape speeds: 18 and 46.5 cm / sec. Rewinding the tape is carried out only on the right reel. The duration of recording and playback with a capacity of coils of 500 meters and a speed of 18 cm / s is 45 minutes, at a speed of 46.5 cm / s 20 minutes. Sensitivity when recording from a microphone 2 mV, a pickup 200 mV, a radio transmission line 30 V. The range of recorded or reproduced frequencies by a loudspeaker built into the device at a speed of 46.5 cm / s 90 ... 7000 Hz, at a speed of 18 cm / s 90.. .3500 Hz. Noise level -34 dB. The coefficient of non-linear distortion is 5%. Rated output power 3W. Power is supplied from the mains 127 or 220 V. The power consumed from the mains does not exceed 140 watts. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 510x390x245 mm. Its mass is 29 kg. The tape recorder is assembled in a case, convenient for carrying. On the top panel there are axes of cassette holders, a block of magnetic heads covered with a plastic cover, a mechanical filter roller, a pressure roller and a tape movement mode switch knob. On the front panel there is a loudspeaker, a switch for the type of work, a volume control, a power switch. Here are the signal input and output sockets. LPM works from the DAM-1 electric motor.

Network reel-to-reel tube tape recorder \"Dnepr-3\" from the I quarter of 1952 produced by the Kyiv Musical Complex. The tape recorder is designed for single-track recording or playback of audio phonograms on a ferromagnetic tape. The recording is made from a radio broadcasting wired network, a microphone or a pickup. The tape recorder has a fast rewind tape in one direction. Belt speed 19.05 cm/sec. Recording time, with a coil capacity of 500 meters 44 minutes. Output power rating 3W. Sensitivity 2 mV from the microphone, 200 mV from the pickup and 30 V from the radio link. Recording frequency range 100...5000 Hz. Relative level of noise and interference -35 dB. SOI 5%. The device is powered from the mains 110, 127 or 220 V. The size of the device is 518x315x330 mm. Weight 28 kg. The tape recorder is assembled in a decoratively designed for valuable species wooden box, with a rising cover, under which there is a panel with LPM. On the panel there are coil pads, a control knob for the type of work, a block of heads closed with a removable cover. The block consists of a universal and erasing heads, a pressure roller, guide posts and a drive shaft. On the front panel there is a recording level control, volume control and a backlit scale indicating the type of work. The loudspeaker is mounted on the front panel on the left and covered with radio fabric. On the rear wall of the device there are connectors for a microphone, a pickup, a radio line and head phones, as well as a block for switching the mains voltage and a power cord. The case is closed at the back with a cardboard lid with holes.


Network reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Dnepr-9\" since 1956 it has been producing the Kyiv Equipment Plant. The tape recorder \"\"Dnepr-9\"\" is another modernization of the tape recorders of the \"\"Dnepr\"\" series. It is intended for recording and (or) playback of monophonic, two-track phonograms. The transition from track to track is made by rearranging and turning over the reels of magnetic tape. The capacity of the coils is 350 m. The speed of the tape is 19.05 cm/sec. The duration of the recording is 30 minutes on each track. The model has a double-sided fast-forward tape, tone control for low and high frequencies, recording level indicator. The tape recorder is assembled in a polished wooden case with a rising top cover. Under the cover there is a steel panel of the tape drive mechanism, on which reels with magnetic tape are placed, a removable decorative casing with a slot for refilling the tape and 5 buttons for switching the type of work. Under the cover are the erasing and universal heads, antiphonal reel, the magnetic tape pressure lever to the universal head, the drive shaft, the pressure roller and the magnetic tape guide stand. To the right of the case are the level and tone controls. On the front wall of the case, which is a reflective board covered with decor, there is a recording level indicator, two loudspeakers. The amplifier sockets, AC switch are brought back. The network switching block, with a fuse, is located on the power transformer housing. The frequency range of the recording / playback channel is 50 ... 10000 Hz. Distortion factor 5%. Noise level -35 dB. Sensitivity 3 mV from a microphone, 200 mV from a pickup or receiver, 10 V when recording from a broadcast line. Rated output power 2.5W. Detonation coefficient 0.6%. The device is powered by 110, 127 or 220 V. Power consumption 100 watts. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 510x350x320 mm. Its mass is 28 kg.


Special reel tape recorder \"Sound-1\" produced since 1967. The stationary reel-to-reel tube tape recorder \"Sound-1\" (M-64) is designed for high-quality recording and playback of sound tracks. The device is assembled in a metal case and has 5 speeds for pulling a magnetic tape: 9.53; May 19; 28.0; 38.1 and 76.2 cm/sec. There is an additional nozzle on the capstan for an additional increase in speeds. The tape recorder has 4 magnetic heads; recording, erasing and two reproducing, in order to listen to the recorded program during recording. There are three engines installed on the tape recorder: the leading DM-3, the left and right DPN-1. There are lamps in the tape recorder: 6p1p, 6n6p, 6n3p (5 pieces). To cool the circuit elements, a G-31A fan is installed. If necessary, it is possible to install a ring cassette. The range of recorded and reproduced frequencies at the lowest speed is 100 ... 5000 Hz, at the highest 100 ... 12000 Hz, when using a nozzle (152.4 cm / s) 100 ... 14000 Hz. The set comes with a wired remote control with a relay unit that allows you to control all modes of the device at a distance of up to 20 m. The weight of the device is 48 kg.


Network reel tape recorder \"KV-100\" produced since 1956 by the VEB Fernmeldewerk telephone plant of the RFT company in Leipzig (GDR). The tape recorder is in the post because it was supplied to the USSR from 1957 to 1959 inclusive with inscriptions and instructions in Russian. The tape recorder has 2 tape speeds: 9.53 cm/sec and 4.75 cm/sec. Recording is made from a microphone, a radio receiver and other sources. Control LPM keyboard. For recording, a tape of the type \"CH\" is used. Duration of sounding at a speed of 9.53 cm / s 2x45 minutes, 4.75 cm / s 2x90 minutes. Fast rewinding of the tape in both directions is provided, as well as automatic removal of the tape from the heads during rewinding. The counter allows you to find the right place on the tape; the limit switch stops the LPM at a break or at the end of the tape. The recording level indicator is the lamp EM-83. The LPM is powered by a two-speed synchronous motor (1500/750 rpm) via a flat rubber belt. Rated output power 1.5W. The operating frequency band is 60...10000 Hz at a speed of 9.53 cm/s and 60...5000 Hz at a speed of 4.75 cm/s. The tape recorder is powered by AC 110, 127 or 220 volts, consuming 50 watts of power. The top panel, the cover of the tape recorder, the keys and the loudspeaker grille are made of plastic, the frame of the box is made of a metal sheet, and the side walls of the box are covered with thick cardboard covered with decorated polyvinyl chloride of bright colors. The case of the tape recorder is made of dense waterproof fabric of blue color with zipper. For carrying the tape recorder is supplied with a belt. Dimensions of the apparatus 160x320x360 mm; weight with accessories and case 13 kg.

Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Comet MG-201\" since 1962 produced by the Novosibirsk plant\"TochMash\". The tape recorder is a modernization of the previous model \"\"Comet\"\". Options and appearance tape recorder remained almost the same as the old model. The electrical circuit and switching have undergone a slight modernization, the dimensions and weight of the apparatus have been reduced. The tape recorder is two-track and is designed for the use of type 2 and 6 magnetic tape wound on reels of 250 meters. Three speeds: 19.05, 9.53, 4.76 cm/sec. The frequency range of the recording and playback channel when using a type 2 magnetic tape is 50...10000, 100...6000 and 100...3500 Hz, respectively. When using tape type 6, the range increases to: 40...12000, 80...7000 and 100...4000 Hz. It is not recommended to use magnetic tape type 10 due to the unsuitability of the LPM for it. The rated output power of the amplifier is 1.5 W. Power consumption 65 W. Model dimensions - 400x350x220 mm, weight 14 kg. Having undergone three improvements in the electrical circuit over the years of production, at the beginning of 1968 the tape recorder was modernized into the model \"\"Comet MG-201M\"\".


Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Kometa MG-201M\" from the I quarter of 1968 produced by the Novosibirsk Plant of Precision Engineering. Network reel tape recorder 2 class \"\"Comet MG-201M\"\" is a modernization of the previous model \"\"Comet MG-201\"\". New tape recorder in design and external design practically does not differ from the previous one. The main difference of the model was the transfer of the recording level indicator to the right side of the false panel, with its replacement from 6E5S to 6E1P, as well as the appearance of the input switch in the place where the recording level indicator used to be. In the tape recorder, the acoustic system was improved, the electrical circuit of the tape recorder underwent changes. The tape drive mechanism has also been improved in connection with the possibility of using a new, thinner type 10 magnetic tape. When recording on a magnetic tape of this type, the frequency range is 63 ... 7000 Hz at a speed of 4.76 cm / s, at a speed of 9.53 cm / sec 63...12500 Hz and at a speed of 19.05 cm/sec 40...14000 Hz. When using magnetic tapes of type 6 and 9, the upper frequency limit is reduced by 2-3 thousand Hz, respectively. It is not recommended to use old magnetic tapes of types CH or 6 due to a sharp deterioration in the frequency response and very rapid wear of the magnetic heads.


Tube reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Lyra\" in 1958, an experimental batch was produced by the Gorky Plant named after. G.I. Petrovsky. The tape recorder \"Lira\" is designed for recording and subsequent playback of phonograms from various sources on magnetic tape (type 2) at 9.53 and 19.05 cm/sec. Single-engine tape recorder (KD-2). The operating frequency band is 100...6000 and 50...10000 Hz, respectively. Power consumption 80 W. The mass of the tape recorder is 15 kg. Apparently, the recording indicator was planned to be installed round, on a 6E5 lamp, since the panel was made for it, but everything else in the MG was already done under a 6E1P lamp.


Studio single-track tape recorder \"MAG-2\" produced since 1948. The tape recorder uses a magnetic tape of the "C" or "1" type. For less wear on the magnetic heads during recording and playback, the magnetic tape was loaded in different ways. Tape advance speed 45.6 cm/sec. Type of used microphone \"SDM\" or \"RDM\". Used radio tubes: 6Zh7 (2), 6F6 (2), 5Ts4S (1). Power consumption 200 W. The operating frequency range on the LV is 70 ... 6000 Hz. The voltage at the linear output is 0.5 V. Nonlinear distortion is 1%. The tape recorder had the functions of rewinding the magnetic tape in both directions. LPM three motor, engines \"DO-50\". Included with the tape recorder was a power supply and a speaker system with an amplifier.


Universal tape recorder \"MAG-4\" developed at VNIIZ and produced since the IV quarter of 1948 in Ukraine. Designed for single-track recording on a magnetic tape 6.5 mm wide. LPM speed 45.6 cm/sec. The range of recorded and reproduced sound frequencies is 80...6500 Hz.


Network reel tape recorder \"MAG-8\" Since 1950, the Moscow plant \"Gosteasvet\" has been producing. The semi-studio reel-to-reel tape recorder \"\"MAG-8\"\" was created on the basis of the serial tape recorder \"\"MAG-3\"\". The tape recorder \"\"MAG-8\"\" has three speeds for pulling a magnetic tape; 76, 38 and 19 cm/s. It is designed for recording and playing already pre-recorded one-track audio programs. Magnetic tape is used type \"\"1\"\", wound on special cores. A full core contains 500 meters of tape. Recording or playback time respectively; 10, 21 and 42 minutes. The tape recorder uses separate recording and playback amplifiers, which allows you to control the quality of phonograms directly during recording. Seven radio tubes are used in the electrical circuit of the tape recorder. Two loudspeakers of the 3GD-2 type are installed in the speakers. The operating range of recorded or reproduced frequencies at a higher speed is 40 ... 12000 Hz, at an average speed - 50 ... 7000 Hz and at a lower speed - 60 ... 4000 Hz. The tape recorder amplifier has a nominal output power of 3 watts, a maximum of 7 watts. The coefficient of non-linear distortion of the recording path is 3%, the playback path at a rated output power is 5%. In the tape drive mechanism, 3 asynchronous capacitor motors are used. The tape recorder is powered from the mains. Power consumption for recording 250 W, for playback 280 W. The case of the tape recorder is made of wood with imitation of valuable breeds, polished. The mass of the tape recorder is 50.5 kg. The tape recorder\"\"MAG-8\"\" was produced by the plant until the beginning of 1955, and in 1952 its production was transferred to the Gorky Plant named after. Petrovsky, where, after modernization, it was produced in an iron case, under the name \"\"MAG-8M\"\".


Stationary reel-to-reel tape recorder \"MAG-8M-II\" since the beginning of 1953, the Gorky Plant named after G. Petrovsky has been producing. The tape recorder \"\"MAG-8M-II\"\" (M2) is designed to record or play single-track phonograms at a speed of 19.05 cm / sec. The volume of the coils is 500 m (the tape can also be located on the cores). The duration of the recording is 43 minutes. There is a two-way fast forward function. Separate recording and playback amplifiers are used, allowing you to control future recording in the process of its implementation. Operating frequency range 50...10000 Hz. Relative noise level -35 dB. Sensitivity from microphone 0.5 mV, pickup 200 mV, radio network 10 V. Rated output power 2.5 W. Detonation coefficient 0.6%. Power consumption 250 W. Tape recorder dimensions 300x535x440 mm, weight 52 kg. The tape recorder is assembled in a metal case with a lifting lid. On the front wall of the device there is a reflective board with loudspeakers, indicator lights, volume, tone, recording level controls, and an input switch. On the right side wall there are input and output sockets. At the back are the sockets for an external amplifier and a fuse. Under the cover there is a LPM board on which there are tape spools, magnetic heads, a drive shaft, a pressure and guide roller, guide racks, a switch for the type of work, an arrow indicator of the recording level, a button for fast rewinding the tape forward, a button to turn on the recording mode, a general power switch , speaker switch and input and output control switch.

Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"MAG-59\" from the 1st quarter of 1959, the Gorky Plant named after G.I. Petrovsky produced. Stationary single-speed tape recorder \"\"MAG-59\"\" is designed for recording and playing two-track phonograms. The capacity of the reels used is 350 meters of magnetic tape type CH or 1. The speed of the CVL is 19.05 cm/sec. There is a fast rewind tape in both directions. The tape recorder uses separate recording and playback amplifiers, which allows you to listen to the phonogram during the recording process. The operating frequency range on the LV is 50 ... 10000 Hz. The rated output power of the bass amplifier is 3 watts. Power consumption 300 W. LPM three motor. The speaker has 4 speakers. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 490x450x260 mm, its weight is 38 kg. The circuit of the tape recorder was modernized several times both in terms of part ratings and construction, and the tape recorder itself was produced until the beginning of 1967.


Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"MAG-59M\"(Timbre) from the beginning of 1964 was produced by the Petrovsky Gorky Plant. Since 1965, the tape recorder, with the same design, scheme and design (except for the loudspeaker grille, in the MAG-59M model it is iron, and in the Timbre model it is plastic, and minor changes in the scheme and design) began to be referred to as \"\"Timbre\"\". Designed for two-track recording and playback of phonograms. The transition from track to track is carried out by rearranging and flipping the coils. The tape recorder is designed to use a type 6 magnetic tape. The capacity of the reels is 350 m. The recording time on one track is 30 minutes. Velocity 19.05 cm/sec. There is a double-sided fast-forward. The tape recorder uses 2 separate amplifiers for recording and playback, which allows you to listen to the recording even in the process of its implementation. Operating frequency range 40...12000 Hz. SOI 4%. Relative noise level -40 dB. Detonation coefficient 0.6%. The voltage at the linear output is about 0.7 V. The rated output power is 3 W. Power consumption is about 180 watts. The tape recorder is assembled in a wooden, pasted over decorative material box with carrying handles. The lid of the box is removable. Under it is a decorative panel. Covers are fixed on the panel, giving access to the magnetic head assembly and the pressure roller. Above the top panel are reels with tape, keys for switching the type of work, a pause button, knobs for adjusting the recording level, volume and tone for treble and bass. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 605x460x285 mm. Weight 33 kg. The price is 275 rubles.

Tape recorder \"Melody MG-56\" from the beginning of 1956 produced by the Novosibirsk plant\"Tochmash\". The tape recorder \"\"Melody MG-56\"\" is designed for recording or playing sound programs on magnetic tape type 2 with reels No. 18. Two-track sound recording. Tape advance speed 9.53 and 19.05 cm/sec. The frequency range of the recording-playback channel at a higher speed is 50 ... 10000 Hz, at a lower speed 100 ... 6000 Hz. The rated output power of two loudspeakers 2GD-3 is at least 2 watts. Power consumption for recording 100 W, playback 80 W. The tape recorder has a recording level indicator, and a tape length indicator similar to it, a pause button, bass and treble tone controls, and a shutdown device at the end of the tape roll. All kinds of switching in the tape recorder are carried out using conventional and traction relays, as well as using electromagnetic clutches. Control of all operating modes - push-button. Assembled tape recorder \"Melody MG-56\" in a wooden case, pasted over with decorative material. Model dimensions 420x420x210 mm. Weight 24 kg. The price of a tape recorder after the monetary reform of 1961 is 290 rubles

Special wire tape recorder \"MIZ-10\" presumably since 1961 it has been producing the Rybinsk Instrument-Making Plant. The tape recorder is intended for the needs of the newly created strategic missile forces. This is only an assumption, since information about the tape recorder could not be found.


Network tube radio "Miniya-3" from I quarter of 1964 produced by the Kaunas radio factory. \"Miniya-3\" is a modernized version of the radio\"\"Miniya-2\"\". The radio tape recorder is an eight-tube receiver of the 1st class, combined with a tape recorder panel of the \"\"Vilnale\"\" type. The radio tape recorder is used to receive radio stations in the ranges of DV, MW, HF and VHF-FM, as well as to record or play voice and music programs. Tape speeds 19.05 cm/sec and 9.53 cm/sec. Time of continuous recording with a coil capacity of 350 meters and a speed of 19.05 cm / s - 30 minutes, at a speed of 9.53 cm / s about one hour on each track. The rated output power of the amplifier is about 1.5 watts. Sensitivity 3 mV from the microphone and 200 mV from the pickup. The operating frequency range at a speed of 19.05 cm / s is 40 ... 12000 Hz, 9.53 - 63 ... 10000 Hz. The bandwidth of the LF and AC path is 40 ... 12000 Hz. The coefficient of non-linear distortion is 5%. Relative noise level -40 dB. Detonation coefficient 0.3% at 9.53 cm/sec. The frequency of the erasing and biasing current generator is 55 kHz. Power consumption during operation of the receiver 85 watts, tape recorder 125 watts. The dimensions of the radio tape recorder are 826x404x377 mm. Weight 29 kg. The radio tape recorder is placed in a wooden decorative box. Under the top cover there is a MP, where there are coilovers, a block of heads, knobs for switching speed, type of work, recording level, a temporary stop button, a recording level indicator, a microphone jack. On the front wall, under the scale of the receiver, there is a key switch for ranges, a volume and tone control. The speaker consists of two loudspeakers of the 4GD-28 type located on the front panel on the left, and one side 1GD-28. On the rear wall there are sockets for antennas, grounding, external speaker, pickup and signal output. There is also a mains switch and fuses. The radio tape recorder was produced in desktop and floor versions.


Professional tape recorder \"MEZ-28A\" since the beginning of 1960, the Gorky Plant named after G. Petrovsky has been producing. The professional stationary two-speed tape recorder \"\"MEZ-28A\"\" is designed to work in recording studios, broadcasting, cinema, and research work. \"\"MEZ-28A\"\" provides: high-quality recording and playback of phonograms, their dubbing to and from another device. Two or more tape recorders can work together without adapters. The device allows recording and playback at 2 tape speeds of type 1 - 76.2 and 38.1 cm / s and provides a frequency band of 30 ... 15000 Hz at a speed of 76.2 cm / s and 60 ... 10000 Hz at a speed of 38.1 cm / sec. The tape recorder is powered from a 220 V network. Power consumption is 300 watts. Since 1957, the plant has been producing a tape recorder \"MEZ-28\" similar to the one described, but with a narrower range of operating sound frequencies at a higher speed: 30 ... 12000 Hz.


Radio \"Neringa\" produced since 1959 by the Kaunas radio factory. It has a seven-tube receiver and a 4-tube tape recorder \"\"Elf-17\"\". The receiver has ranges: LW, MW, HF divided into 2 sub-bands, overlapping waves from 24 to 75 m and a standard VHF range. The sensitivity of the receiver in the AM bands is 200 μV, in the VHF-FM bands - 20 μV. Adjacent channel selectivity is 30 dB on AM and 20 dB on VHF. The rated output power of the amplifier on two loudspeakers of the type 2GD-3 and two 1GD-9 is at least 2 watts. The operating frequency range of the receiver is 80 ... 4000 Hz, on the VHF-FM band or when the tape recorder is operating 80 ... 10000 Hz. LPM speed 19.05 cm/sec. The price of the model since 1961 after the monetary reform is 190 rubles. All these radio tape recorders were produced with inscriptions in Russian and Lithuanian.


Tape recorder \"Nota-303\" since the autumn of 1972 it has been produced by the Novosibirsk Electromechanical Plant. The tape recorder \"\"Nota-303\"\" is designed to record magnetic phonograms from a microphone, radio, TV, radio line, any other sound signal sources and playback of recorded phonograms using any high-quality external low-frequency amplifier with a speaker system. The speed of pulling the magnetic tape in the tape drive mechanism is 9.53 cm/sec. The range of operating sound frequencies during recording or playback is 63 ... 12500 Hz. Mains powered. Power consumption 50 W. The dimensions of the console are 339x273x137 mm. Its mass is 9 kg.

Wire tape recorder \"PM-39\" since 1939 produced by the Leningrad plant. Kozitsky. Rather, he did not produce, but remade the devices of the \"C.Lorenz\" company purchased in Germany for domestic radio tubes and put plates with Russian inscriptions. At a time when the Germans already in 1935 demonstrated the tape recorder they invented with recording phonograms on magnetic tape, the USSR continued to develop sound recording equipment on other media. Much has been developed, but industrial production it didn't fit. Therefore, for the needs of various departments (mainly military), a batch of wire tape recorders was purchased in Germany and transferred to the Kozitsky plant. After the alteration, the device received the name \"PMrkt-39\", later simply \"PM-39\" (Wire tape recorder of 1939). The tape recorder was an exhibit in the Polytechnic Museum of Moscow. It is unnamed and marked with the date 1941. The tape recorder used a thin steel wire on a reel containing about 4 ... 4.5 kilometers. The speed of wire drawing through special, separate heads is variable and regulated from 10 to 60 cm/sec. Sound operating frequency range 300...7000 Hz at maximum speed. Recording or sounding time of one reel is up to 24 hours.


Radio tape recorder \"Record-301\" since 1970 it has been produced by the Berdsk Radio Plant. Designed to receive radio stations in the ranges of LW, MW, HF (2 sub-bands) and VHF-FM, as well as for recording or playing back sound using a modernized tape recorder \"\"Nota\"\". MP allows you to record from a microphone, pickup, radio link, receiver. It provides fast rewinding of the tape in both directions. Tape advance speed 9.53 cm/sec. Rated output power 0.5W. Operating frequency range with LV - 63 ... 10000 Hz., reproduced speakers - 125 ... 10000 Hz., when receiving in the VHF-FM range 125 ... 7100 Hz, when receiving in AM - 125 ... 3500 Hz . Power consumption when receiving 60 W, when the MP is working - 100 W. Model dimensions 675x322x252 mm. Weight 19 kg.


Reel tape recorders "Snezhet-301" and "Bryansk-301" since the beginning of 1973, the Bryansk Electromechanical Plant has been producing. Both tape recorders are identical in electrical circuit and design and differ only in external design. Tape recorders were produced jointly only to increase the range of items. Any of the tape recorders meets the requirements of GOST 12392-71 and is designed to record sound on a ferromagnetic tape of the A4402-6 type with subsequent playback. The tape recorder records from a microphone, radio and TV, radio line, sound pickup and tape recorder. The recording level can be monitored using an electron beam indicator. Power is supplied or mains 127 or 220 V. Power consumption 75 watts. The sound carrier is a ferromagnetic tape - A4402-6. Recording tracks - 2. The speed of the magnetic tape in the LPM - 9.53 cm / sec. The operating frequency range at the linear output is 63...12500 Hz. Recording time when using reels No. 15 with tape type A4402-6 - 2x65 minutes. Tone control only for high frequencies. The number of loudspeakers in the acoustic system of the tape recorder is 2. The rated output electric power is 1 W, the maximum is 2 W. The dimensions of the tape recorder "Snezhet-301" are 388x311x155 mm. Its mass is 9.5 kg. The dimensions and weight of the tape recorder \"Bryansk-301\" are similar to the tape recorder\"Bryansk.


Reel-to-reel tape recorder \"Sonata-1\" Since 1967, the Velikoluksky Radio Plant has been producing. It is designed to record and play back sound on magnetic tape type 6. Recording is made from a microphone, receiver, radio network, pickup and other tape recorder. There is a double-sided fast rewinding of the magnetic tape. Recording and playback speed 9.53 cm/sec. The playing time on the reel with 250 meters of tape is 45 minutes on each track. Rated output power 1W. Operating frequency range 40...12500 Hz. Noise level -42 dB. SOI ~ 5%. Detonation coefficient 0.3%. Sensitivity from microphone 3 mV, receiver 10 V, pickup 150 mV, radio line 5 V. Nominal output voltage per LV 0.25 V. Mains powered. Power consumption 80 W. Model dimensions 367x307x164. Weight 10 kg. Portable tape recorder in a wooden case. LPM is mounted on a board, which is fixed on the internal racks of the case. An amplifier is attached to the board. The top of the board is closed with a false panel, on which there are coil pads, a head unit closed with a decorative removable cover, knobs for the type of work, volume and timbres, a pause key, an optical recording level indicator and a signal light. At the back there is a compartment with sockets and a mains switch with a fuse. The front panel is covered with a plastic strip. Behind it are 2 loudspeakers of the 1GD-28 type.

The victorious march of tape recorders began during the Second World War. And after the war, the first household tape recorders appeared, including in the Soviet Union.
Studio tape recorder "MAG-2". VNAIZ, model 1947
It used the first domestic magnetic tape of the "ML" type. For less wear on the magnetic heads during recording or playback, the magnetic tape was loaded in different ways. Tape advance speed 45.6 cm/sec. The range of operating audio frequencies at the line output is 50 ... 7000 Hz. Nonlinear distortion 1%. In the Soviet Union, the first household tape recorder "Dnepr" was released in 1947. But then, due to the scarcity and high cost, few people could afford such a luxury at home, mainly different organizations owned tape recorders. This tape recorder had very modest (from today's point of view, of course) characteristics, it was single-track, with a very large tape consumption due to high speed.
By 1950, tape recording already existed, but was not available to the general population of the country due to the high price. The first attempt to make magnetic recording more accessible was the release of the MP-1 tape recorder in early 1954. It was simple in design and could work in conjunction with any type of radio equipment for playing records. Since 1950, the Elfa plant, however, has already mass-produced a similar model as part of the Elfa-6-1 radiogramophone, but it was very expensive and had a significant drawback - the speed of the tape was unstable and depended on the size of the roll receiving coil. The "Volna" tape recorder, like its predecessors, combined the simplicity of design and electrical circuitry, had a number of advantages and disadvantages, but most importantly, the speed of the tape was already constant.

MP-2 tape recorder, 1950s
On the left is an electronics unit, in the center is a mechanism with magnetic heads, on the right is an MD-41 microphone. It was used together with an electric player, at a speed of 78 rpm it provided a tape speed of 19.05 cm/s.


Tape recorder - "Wave" (Sound recorder). Beginning of production in 1955
The set-top box did not have an electric motor; a record player disk was used to drive it, with which the set-top box was operated. The circuit contained one radio tube, which acted as an erasure and bias generator, a recording correction amplifier, and a signal pre-amplifier. All other functions were performed by the base unit, to which the set-top box was connected through a special connector. Such a connector could be installed on the device itself, it was attached to the set-top box, and some serial devices already had similar connectors, for example, the Estonia-55 and Kazan radiograms.
Recording on a two-track tape is carried out by turning over and rearranging the coils. The range of recorded / reproduced sound frequencies of the set-top box at a speed of 78 rpm. is 100 ... 7000 Hz, at 33 rpm - 100 ... 3000 Hz. The prefix did not have its own power supply, therefore, through the connector, it received the necessary anode voltage and filament voltage also from the base device, consuming about 1.5 W of power. There were no rewind modes in the console. A tape recorder cost 300 rubles at the rate of 1955 (that is, 30 rubles in post-reform prices).


But progress does not stand still. After the first Dnepr, subsequent modifications appeared, with much better characteristics, with standard belt speeds.
Reel tube tape recorder "Dnepr-3", 1952
The tape recorder is designed for single-track recording. The tape recorder has a fast rewind tape in one direction. The speed of the magnetic tape is 19.05 cm/sec. Recording time, with a coil capacity of 500 meters 44 minutes. Recording frequency range 100...5000 Hz. Relative noise level -35 dB. SOI 5%. The size of the apparatus is 518x315x330 mm. Weight 28 kg.


"Dnepr-3" view from the inside.


Tape recorder "Dnepr-9"
"Dnepr-9" has already become a two-track, had a very good speaker system in a wooden case. The subsequent models of this family were for a long time the dream of the then music lovers, as they had very good performance at a relatively low price.
One of the first Soviet two-track tape recorders. I used standard “number 18” spools with a volume of 350 m (tape on an acetate basis with a thickness of 55 microns), which ensured a recording time of 30 minutes at a speed of 19.05 cm / s. Frequency range 70-8000Hz, output power 2.5W. Weight 28 kg, price 120 rubles.


Reel tube tape recorder 2nd class "Melody MG-56", 1956
Tape recorder "Melody MG-56" is designed for recording or playing sound programs on magnetic tape type 2 with coils No. 18. Two-track sound recording. Draw speed 9.53 and 19.05 cm/sec. The AF range of the recording-playback channel at a higher speed is 50 ... 10000 Hz, at a lower one - 100 ... 6000 Hz. The rated output power on two 2GD-3 loudspeakers is about 2 watts. The tape recorder has a recording level indicator, a tape length indicator similar to it in design, a pause button, bass and treble tone controls, and a shutdown device at the end of the tape roll. All kinds of switching in the tape recorder are carried out using relays and electromagnetic clutches. Push-button control of the device. Dimensions - 420x420x210 mm. Gross weight 24 kg. The price of a tape recorder after the monetary reform of 1961 is 290 rubles.

Tape recorder "Melody MG-56"


Disk special tape recorder "MAG-D1" (P-181). Model 1957
The disc rotation speed during recording and playback is variable from 35 to 100 rpm. Recording time at maximum speed is about 1.5-2 minutes. The operating frequency range is variable and varies from 300...5000 Hz at the beginning of the disc to 300...3000 Hz at the end. The point of using a disc is to provide quick access and replay of any part of the recording.


Portable self-powered tape recorders (reportage) have also been developed. In order to save batteries, they were driven by a cranked spring (like gramophones)
Reporter's tape recorder - "MIZ-8". Model 1953.
"MIZ-8" is the first domestic reportage portable, self-powered tape recorder with a spring drive, "gramophone type". The tape recorder uses two heads, erasing and universal, for recording and playback. The apparatus was assembled on three radio tubes. Power is supplied by two batteries (compartment on the left). The range of recorded and reproduced frequencies at the linear output is 200-5000 Hz. LPM broaching speed 26 cm / sec. Single track recording time is 15 minutes. Tape recorder dimensions 350x246x177 mm, weight 7.2 kg

In 1954, the Kyiv Equipment Plant began production of the Dnepr-8 household portable tape recorder, created on the basis of the MIZ-8 model. The home model used smaller spools that could hold 100 meters of magnetic tape, and the tape feed speed was also reduced.


Desktop tube reel-to-reel tape recorder "Gintaras". Vilnius Electrotechnical Plant "Elfa". 1960
Tape recorder "Gintaras" (Elfa-19) is designed for recording and playback of two-track phonograms, at a speed of 19 cm / sec. With a coil capacity of 350 meters, the duration of recording / playback is 2x30 minutes. The operating frequency range of the tape recorder at the linear output is 50 ... 10000 Hz, and those reproduced through the 1GD-9 loudspeaker installed in the acoustic system of the device are 120 ... 8000 Hz. The output power of the bass amplifier is 1 W. There is a fast rewind tape in both directions. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 385x346x180 mm, its weight is 15 kg.

Desktop reel-to-reel tape recorder "Aidas" (Elfa-20). The tape recorder was produced from 1962 to 1966.
"Aidas" in Lithuanian means "Echo". The Aidas tape recorder uses a two-track recording system on magnetic tape type 2 or 6. The tape speed is 19.05 cm / sec. The tape recorder is equipped with cassettes No. 15 with a capacity of 250 meters of tape, the recording duration on
two lanes about 45 min. The range of frequencies recorded and reproduced by the tape recorder along the electrical path is 40 ... 12,000 Hz when working with a type 6 tape, on a type 2 tape, the range is somewhat narrower and amounts to 50 ... 10,000 Hz. The rated output power of the tape recorder amplifier is 1 W, with a distortion factor at the linear output of not more than 3%, at a loudspeaker equivalent of 6%. The noise level is not worse than 40 dB, detonation 0.4%. The dimensions of the tape recorder are 400x300x186 mm, weight 12 kg. IN
In 1965, the electrical circuit and LPM of the tape recorder were modernized, and in 1966 it was modernized into "Idas-9M".

In 1960, the Velikoluksky Radio Plant mastered the production of the most affordable "folk" tape recorder "The Seagull" - its price in post-reform rubles was only 105 rubles! Only the prefixes "Nota" and "MP" were cheaper.
Tape recorders "Chaika" and "Chaika-M". Production from 1960 and 1964 respectively. Externally, the models are identical.
LPM speed 9.53 cm/sec. The reels can hold 240 meters of magnetic tape. Recording 2-track, recording duration 40 minutes. When using type 2 or CH tape, the amplifier reproduces the audio frequency band 40...6000 Hz. The output power of the bass amplifier on the loudspeaker 1GD-18 is 1 watt. The tape recorder is assembled on 4 lamps. The body of the tape recorder is wooden, made of bent plywood, lined with synthetic plastic. Tape recorder dimensions - 340x270x180 mm, weight 12 kg. The "Seagull-M" tape recorder, produced since the beginning of 1964, has minor differences in the electrical circuit and design compared to the "Seagull" base tape recorder, the sound quality is slightly improved, when using type 2 or CH tape, the tape recorder reproduces the frequency band 40...10000 Hz.

Tape recorder "Yauza-10"
"Yauza-10", the first Soviet stereo tape recorder (which cost almost 400 rubles in the 60s - a considerable amount at that time). Especially for this model, nodes were developed that were not previously used in the domestic household appliances: tape meter, dual controls, track selector. Unfortunately, the fate of this model was not very successful: due to the high price and the lack of high-quality stereo signal sources in the mid-60s, by 1968 the production of Yauza-10 was curtailed: there was no point for the consumer to buy such an expensive device, the capabilities of which couldn't use.
Recording was carried out on two tracks (left and right channels), in addition, monophonic recording was allowed, which made it possible to use four tracks on one reel of tape (250 meters). At a speed of 19.05 cm / s with a frequency range of 40-15000 Hz, the duration of the recording on one track was 22 minutes. It was equipped with two external acoustic systems (right and left channels), in addition, it had two built-in speakers. The weight of the tape recorder is 14.5 kg, the speakers are 4.5 kg.

Tape recorder "Spring", released in 1963.
A portable portable apparatus that operated both from batteries (10 pieces of type 373) and from the AC mains through an external rectifier. Tape speed 9.53 cm/s, 100 m "number 10" spools were used, which provided 17 minutes per track. Frequency range 100-6000 Hz. Weight with batteries 5.5 kg, price 150 rubles.


Portable tape recorder "Mriya". Released 1967

Tape recorder "MAG-8M11"
A semi-professional single-track tape recorder produced in 1953. Reels with a capacity of 500 m were used, at a speed of 19.05 cm / s, the recording duration was 43 minutes. Operating range 50-10000 Hz, output power 2.5 W, weight 52 kg, price 365 rubles.

Tape recorder "Mayak 201" mono
The tape recorders of the Mayak family (in addition to the first mono model 201, later stereophonic 203 and 205), Jupiter, Rostov, Orbita were widely used, and already in the early 80s, semi-professional models Electronics TA-001 appeared "And his" relative "in the class" Olympus ". These machines provided almost studio quality and allowed the use of tape on reels up to the 22nd number and were the dream of the "underground" musicians of the late 70s and early 80s. Many subsequently famous performers and groups at first "wrote" it to the "Olymps".


Tape recorder "Jupiter-201-stereo"
The class II stereo tape recorder, which provided a frequency range of 40-16000 Hz at a speed of 19.05 cm / s, had a built-in two-channel amplifier with an output power of 7 W per channel, and was equipped with two two-way acoustic systems in a wooden case. Weighed 15 kg.

And some more photos of old reel-to-reel tape recorders.




































































Once I thought about VCRs in the USSR, but now I remember the seemingly forgotten rubbing of the pickup head with cologne on simple tape recorders.
My first (or rather, not mine, but my father's tape recorder) was a reel-to-reel stereophonic tape recorder "Mayak-203". His father bought it in 1979 before the Moscow Olympics, and it had Olympic symbols on it. When I grew up and became interested in music myself, I was very dissatisfied with this tape recorder. First, he weighed 12.5 kg. and dragging it to friends for re-recording was quite inconvenient.

And secondly, it was horizontal, which was not considered cool, unlike the vertical "Jupiter", "Orbit" or "Saturn" (not to mention the semi-professional "Olympus"). And to them without fail (to give greater steepness) speakers, an amplifier and color music relied.


"Olimp", by the way, provided almost studio-quality recording and playback of music, and many now famous performers and groups in the early 80s recorded their music and songs precisely on "Olimp". And then we listened to these recordings: “Aquarium”, “Zoo”, “Time Machine”, etc., and were not at all surprised by the poor sound quality, writing it off as the twentieth or thirtieth re-recording of the tape.

Therefore, in 1984, I still asked my father to buy a real Japanese cassette recorder “Sharp GF 9191” for my personal use. This cassette recorder was bought second-hand from a foreign sailor and was about the same age as Mayak-203 (released in 1980). 700 rubles, it seems that his father gave for him: and to hell with them - then I gave more.
The owners of good reel-to-reel tape recorders treated cassette tape recorders with contempt (they say the sound quality is not at all there), but compare the Sharp GF 9191 with Mayak-203, and you will agree that this is heaven and earth. Moreover, this miracle of Japanese electronics recorded and reproduced music, as for me, it is so perfect.
And I will say without false modesty - with this Sharp I was cool, although I had the sense not to wear it with the music turned on on a bent arm or on my shoulder, dancing. By the way, that Sharp worked for me until the mid-90s, and is still alive (lying around somewhere with his parents). The tape heads there, of course, have been erased, but the receiver can still be listened to.


Unlike rock musicians, for whom high-quality recording of music was very important, domestic bards: Galich, Vysotsky, Vizbor, etc., completely recorded their apartment on cassette recorders. Imported, of course, because the domestic industry has not mastered high-quality cassette tape recorders, although there were successful brands. First of all, of course, this is a series of various models and modifications of portable cassette tape recorders "Spring" and their clones "Rhythm" and "Sonata".

First of all, these cassettes were valued for their lightness and reliability - they could be easily carried with you to the beach, to parties, to the yard or to the construction team. And secondly, through the amplifier and acoustics, they reproduced quite a good sound. But the quality of dubbing on these tape recorders left much to be desired - almost all domestic cassette players gave a dull sound during recording. And one more detail - for some reason, the cover of the cassette receiver almost always flew off at the "Spring" quite quickly.
Soon these tape recorders will become as rare as gramophones and radiograms, but not so much time has passed - in many brands of cars, even before 2003, a car radio with a cassette receiver was installed without fail. A few years have passed, but it already seems that these tape recorders were in a completely different life ...

Music in the USSR was considered something optional for the everyday life of a citizen, a kind of acceptable excess (except, of course, songs performed by the choir - on the pioneer line, in the military ranks, etc.). And therefore, devices for playing and recording music were interpreted more as a thing closer to luxury items than everyday use.

Buying a tape recorder in the Soviet years was a very serious undertaking! First, in relation to salaries, they were extremely expensive. For example, this handsome man called the cassette tape recorder "Spring 211-1-stereo" together with the speakers cost 365 rubles! With a regular salary of 120 rubles! Three monthly salaries for an ordinary device for playing cassettes! And some high-end reel-to-reel tape recorders could cost much more.

Secondly, it was a big problem to buy a model that would not break in the first month of operation, which happened quite often. “Soviet material is a soft thing,” one of Platonov's heroes said, and this fully applied to Soviet tape recorders.

However, in fairness, I must say that by the mid-80s in the USSR they had learned to produce pretty good reel-to-reel tape recorders. They didn't break often and gave a good sound. However, who in those years wanted a reel-to-reel tape recorder? They were bulky, non-transportable, even the process of loading the film required a certain skill. And most importantly, by that time reels were rapidly being replaced by cassettes. In general, in adolescence among the reel-to-reel tape recorder was considered hopeless archaism. Well, or, at least, a thing for fans of radio electronics.

But with cassette tape recorders, things were tight. It's good that they were of a terrifying design (see the picture above - isn't it true, how elegant this “suitcase” Spring is?). Worst of all, they were outrageously unreliable in operation. The normal mode of operation of a Soviet cassette player is from one repair in a service center to the next.

This fact speaks volumes. Manufacturers in the warranty indicated that if in the first year of operation the product is repaired at the service center a certain number of times (either five or six), then the buyer will be able to exchange it for a new model for free. That is, the manufacturer initially assumed that his product could break five times in the first year! And many of my friends took advantage of this right - their tape recorders broke just the right number of times.

I will clarify that we were not talking about some minor breakdowns like a fallen off button. Such a trifle was corrected at home. I must say that the mechanical control buttons were probably designed by engineers specifically to occupy the consumer's leisure time. They constantly fell out, sank, fell off, etc. Moreover, they were a very cunning design of springs, gear levers, pulleys. Sometimes it was already a wonder what engineering thought could reach in an effort to complicate the simple!

Probably the champion of breakdowns was the nightmarish hybrids of tape recorder, radio and record player. These bulky monsters had much more "bottlenecks" than ordinary tape recorders, and therefore brought a lot of trouble to their owners. But one of the more or less reliable models of the middle class was the Mayak line of tape recorders.

These cassette decks cost about 200 rubles without speakers, if I'm not mistaken. It would probably be wrong to say that they did not break. Of course they broke! But compared to many other models, they were, how should I say, more amenable to repair. folk remedies- for example, kicks in the body. Or a simple method worked: disassembled, reassembled and everything works. Sometimes I had to resort to more clever tricks.

For example, it was often possible to see in houses how a tape recorder stands at an angle, because something was substituted under its leg. It turned out that he could only work in such an inclined position (the angle of inclination was calculated empirically). Or, on the contrary, the tape recorder began to work only if a hefty pile of books was loaded on top of it. But I saw the most striking design of one comrade.

He had to put a spoon under the cassette, and put a weight on the spoon for weighting. Only with such crutches did the manitophone work. But nevertheless, if the "Mayak" could somehow work with all these ridiculous methods, then the aforementioned "Spring" died completely and did not react to any poultices.

Well, the height of desire, of course, was Japanese tape recorders - Sharp, Sony, Panasonic. They proudly stood on the shelves of commission shops, flaunting breathtaking price tags. They differed from their Soviet counterparts for a mile away by their catchy design, and most importantly, many of them were double-cassette - an extraordinary rarity for Soviet technology, which was very much appreciated during the years of re-recording from cassette to cassette.

By the way, Soviet cassettes were a curiosity much worse than Soviet tape recorders. It was hard to find a more unfortunate thing.

Oddly enough, but in the USSR tape cassettes were not in short supply. It was a rare case when a product that could potentially be in short supply was sold everywhere, but at a price that excluded any hype. In any radio store, the shelves were filled with imported cassettes of the most different brands They all cost exactly the same, regardless of the manufacturer - nine rubles for a 90-minute cassette. The price by today's standards, of course, is completely absurd. An engineer's monthly salary of 120 rubles could be swelled with chic as much as 13 cassettes!

However, it was possible not to show off, but to modestly buy domestically produced cassettes - four rubles a piece. But what were those cassettes! A song, not a cassette! If a certain Cossack, mishandled, would start up in the State Planning Commission, who would directly order the producers of cassettes - “make such a cassette so that by its very existence it would discredit Soviet industry” - he would have to be extremely pleased with what happened. Because it turned out not even “as always”, but much worse.

When a Soviet cassette lay on the counter next to its imported counterparts, it gave the impression of not even a poor relative, no! Rather, some kind of under-fence bastard, quietly attached to the tail of a decent company. Start at least with the name. Imported cassettes were called by sonorous names of manufacturers - Basf, Denon, Sony, Toshiba, TDK, Agfa. The Soviet bastard was named without the slightest glimpse of fantasy - MK, which meant nothing more than a tape cassette. It is strange that it is not KM - a tape cassette.

The appearance of this namesake of Moskovsky Komsomolets was terrible. Imported cassettes were packed in bright polyethylene wrappers, under which were the same colorful inserts. Their Soviet counterpart was sold without a wrapper at all, and the design used mainly gray, red and brown tones. Apparently the aforementioned Cossack sent personally supervised the design.

The insert (a piece of paper in a cassette box for recording the title of songs) in imported cassettes was made of nice glossy paper. It was very convenient for a pencil to write on it, and if necessary, it was easily erased with an elastic band. In Soviet cassettes, the insert was made of cardboard-newsprint rough paper. It was still possible to write on it once, but when you tried to erase the inscription with an elastic band, the paper turned into a dirty mess.

However, this circumstance was just a trifle. Who would need to erase song titles and write new ones, if the tape itself was, in principle, poorly suited for re-recording? For the film in the cassettes was a match for everything else. It could only provide a very modest recording quality, and if you tried to overwrite it often, it quickly failed.

But on the other hand, tape recorders really liked this film! They chewed it with great pleasure at any opportunity. This case was presciently provided for by the cassette manufacturers, and therefore there were often no screws on the case. All imported cassettes were collapsible, that is, they were subject to minor repairs - for example, to straighten the film. Many Soviet cassettes were glued, they honestly tried to accompany playback with a squeak and whistle, but, alas, they could not be repaired. If the film jammed in the cassette, then the cassette could be immediately thrown away. Better yet, don't buy at all.

But who bought them? Bought. Either completely unpretentious consumers, or absolutely miserly. In any case, at school, flashing an MK cassette meant dooming yourself to true ridicule. However, considering that now you can find memories of the Soviet times, sustained in the most rosy colors, I would not be surprised if someone writes that Soviet cassettes were significantly superior imported analogues, worked perfectly and in general still serve someone regularly. I won't be surprised at all.

No, this story is not about the ridiculous Soviet stage. And not about how the cops chased the hippies to cut off their valuable trade hair. It's just a memory of what antediluvian audio technology we had to coexist with. Well, about the smuggling of music, of course.

Oleg "Orange" Bocharov

Brief information

First, some organized information so that you can easily navigate without using your brain.

60s in the USSR: mono sound, black-and-white TV, tube equipment, vinyl players, reel-to-reel tape recorders.

1970s: stereo sound, gradual transition to color TV and transistor circuits, turntables, reel and cassette recorders, antediluvian reel-to-reel video recorders.

80s: everything the same as in the 70s, plus consumer VHS video, and by the end of the decade - CDs and digital circuitry.

End of quick reference

Let's start with the fact that radio equipment and electronics in the USSR were divided into classes according to state standards. Moreover, in order to understand what social class a tape recorder or TV belongs to, it was not at all necessary to look for a description on the Internet. The first digit in the name of the device usually denoted exactly its level. Let's say "Vega 108" is clearly a first-class player. And "Legend 404" is clearly the fourth. The first class "Vega" is, as it were, the premium segment, and the fourth class "Legends" is the starting budget segment. "Olimp-004", thus, is not even a premium, but a luxury, that is, the highest class.

Of course, we, ordinary consumers, wanted to have a device of a higher class, but in Soviet reality there was always an element of chaos. People loved some brands for their unpretentiousness and stability, and some they avoided with all their might, even if labels of the first or second class were stuck on them. Indeed, all these class designations were based only on the passport data of the device, and not at all on its real reliability and suitability.

Buying an unverified brand, made spontaneously, without consulting expert friends, usually ended up with you carrying this unfortunate tape recorder for repair for the rest of your life. And what is especially sad, I would watch that the workshop is littered with exactly the same broken devices as yours!

Why do all former children of the USSR still fondly remember the Elektronika-302 or Mayak-205 tape recorders? Not at all because they were somehow particularly high quality, beautiful or cheap. In fact, they did not have any of these three qualities! But on the other hand, they were indestructible, ate any film, turned on in the most filthy electrical network. And as a bonus, they also played some music.

Was it possible to buy a good stereo recorder for one salary of a worker? Theoretically, yes, there were good second-class models for 200-250 rubles, but it must be borne in mind that these were mainly the so-called “decks”, they are also “prefixes”, that is, a device that only twisted cassettes / coils, but you need to it was necessary to cut a separate stereo amplifier and two speakers. In general, it was already necessary to talk about three salaries.

Few people know, but the lion's share of popular Soviet players, tape recorders and even speakers were copied from some Western (mostly Japanese and German) hit models. Outwardly, it happened, the similarity succeeded. Let's talk about quality politely.

Reelers (they are also reelers) were still able to re-record the sound in a human way. But still, here's what you had to go through to listen to one record.

1. Remove the reel from the box and make sure that the side of the tape that you want to listen to is ready. If this is not the case, rewind the entire spool onto an empty one. 2-4 minutes.

2. Load the spool by passing the tape between a cloud of rollers with your hands and winding the colored tip of the tape (leader cord) onto an empty receiving spool. 1 minute.

3. Turn on the tape recorder and amplifier. Release film. At every second start, it turned out that the sound was completely deaf. It was necessary to stop playback, pull out the film, wipe the head with a cotton swab with alcohol or vodka. Charge everything back. 1-2 minutes.

4. Cassette recorders still often required a screwdriver to adjust the head for recordings made on other tape recorders. This was done right on the go, during playback.

The most common dangers:

1. Jamming the film into the mechanism. It rarely happened on reel-to-reel players, on cassette recorders it was so constant that it was equated to the norm of life.

2. Film break. He was treated with a tedious procedure with trimming and gluing with tape. If the recording was made at low speed, then a small gap appeared in the music at the place of gluing.

3. We already wrote about the constant contamination of the head a little higher. The reason for this, as a rule, is filthy Soviet tapes. Among the coils, the brand of the Svema factory was especially terrible. "Tasma" - neither fish nor meat. "Slavich" - already not bad. OrWo made in the GDR - very good. Well, the bourgeois ones are completely fine, but they cost cosmically.

4. If tape reels made in the USSR could somehow still be used, then the legendary Soviet cassettes MK-60 were a real curse of the whole country and were widely considered unsuitable.

Over time, and rather quickly, the reproducing heads wore out on the tape recorder (replacement was required). Rubber belts were also stretched (the sound began to float).

Mind you, we don't even consider how terrible the quality of the recordings themselves were. After all, even on the most first-class devices, sound losses during dubbing were noticeable. The most expensive three-head tape recorders made it possible to compare the original and the resulting recording on the go, the system was called "through channel".

“Why did you endure such torment? youth will be surprised. - Well, you didn’t have money for a branded iPod in the USSR. But you could turn the vinyl!”

This is even more interesting. In almost every house there were records of Alla Pugacheva, as well as the Paul Mauriat ensemble, Boni Em and ABBA No. This is a little of the popular music that the Melodiya company honestly and a lot released. True, for the "Boney Em" would have to stand in line. And it was useless to wait for the licensed record of the Uriya Hip ensemble in the store - you immediately had to go to the speculators. By the way, this is the only capitalist hard-and-heavy band published in the USSR before perestroika.

The quality of Soviet vinyl was somewhere around the world average. It was worse than English, Japanese or Dutch records, but still much better than the Bulgarians or Poles. According to legend, the highest quality pressings of Melodiya were pasted over with a black apple label in the center of the disc. Next came blue and then red (as in the photo above). Worst of all - pink and white. I must say that black and blue labels really looked richer.

Worst of all, the workers of the all-Union recording company Melodiya were successful at the covers: everything was terrible, from mutilated pictures to muddy colors and loose thin paper.

But even such records had to be searched for a long time and persistently. In a constant assortment and without queues there was a children's repertoire, variety art and not the most popular classical music. Most of all there were disks with speeches of general secretaries, collections of the best party speeches and audio histories of the heroic Komsomol on the shelves.

Soviet vinyl was inexpensive, usually from one and a half to three rubles. What is especially gratifying is that in the Soviet Union for some reason they knew how to make good vinyl turntables, which are still collectible and are in working condition. Everyone especially likes to remember the Corvette, however, it cost several monthly salaries.

Now you can buy one from an ad on Molotok or Avito, but given the purely mechanical nature of the device, it has worn out over the years and requires careful refinement.

Here is the time to remember that they are not at all sinless radiant carriers of music, as they are now being written about in audiophile forums and near-musical magazines. Let's list all the troubles associated with listening to vinyl in those days, and even now.

1. Record damage from everything: bumps, scratches, liquids, sun, improper storage.

2. Record wear.

3. Deterioration of the turntable needle (the most advanced expensive diamond needles still require regular replacement).

4. An abundance of records with factory defects: crooked, faulty, sandy. Moreover, many of these defects cannot be checked upon purchase. And they are typical not only for Soviet, but even for bourgeois firm plastics.

5. A characteristic strong drop in sound quality on songs that are closer to the center (since the speed of writing / reading information decreases, and the density of information increases).

6. Capriciousness of technology. If you actively dance and stomp your feet at a party, then the needle on the records will jump.

7. Spindles with cheap or worn out needles ruined the plastic. Sometimes one listening is enough to cause irreparable troubles in a record.

8. Falling sound quality as the circulation of the album increases (since the stamping die wears out at the factory).

In fact, the list of vinyl troubles is far from complete; in a fit of inspiration, an experienced vinyl user will compile a catalog of claims for five hundred points.

Foreign records were smuggled into the country and were worth the corresponding smuggled money. In port cities like Murmansk, the price is lower, and in Moscow, where the demand is greatest, the prices were not for children, respectively. 70-80 rubles for an imported record was the usual price, which is more than a student's scholarship. Actual and popular albums - 100-150 rubles apiece, it's like the salary of a researcher or employee. That is, being a music fan and supporting a family was almost impossible. Although many collectors were involved in this business and had a stable illegal income.