Analog Cassestte Answering Machine?

Question

Ok, so you guys remember back in prehistoric days when answering machines were analog and recorded messages on cassestte tapes? Well, I need one of those answering machines now and unfortunately due to our society turning out more and more crappy digital electronics they are damn near impossible to find brand new. I've looked all over the internet, Ebay, Craigslist, ect. unsuccessfully...now do you guys have any suggestions where I could find such a piece of equipment?

Um, no, nothing that complicated. My dad asked for one for Christmas, that's all....

Answer 1

Try a Goodwill store, flea markets, maybe a rummage sale or garage sales. (I know it may not be the right time of the year for a garage sale, depending on where you live)
It's too bad I didn't know this in September---I just got rid of 2 in perfect working condition at a sale that I had.

Answer 2

You don't say why you "need" a cassette instead of the digital kind. Since the fidelity isn't that much better, if at all, and the maintenance is much tougher, I'm guessing you want to save them for future use (probably in some kind of legal action). A box of cassette tapes probably won't help you, unless you pay for a very expensive, detailed analysis of the recordings to "prove" they weren't altered or re-recorded in any way. (The defense will make that charge, no matter how genuine they seem, if they are the main evidence).

That same analysis can/must be performed on cassettes or other media that have had digital recordings directly transcribed to them, so I'd suggest going with the tech flow and going digital. Find a machine with an output jack (earphone or ?) that you can plug directly into a recorder (you could even consider a digital recorder that uses a memory card). Just play back the messages and record them to your new media. As long as you don't do any editing of any kind, any future examination should show that to be true.