Why didn't 8 TRACK tape players have a REWIND BUTTON?

Question

Out of curiosity, why didn't any 8 Track players have a rewind button similar to other tape machines, like Cassette players and Open Reel players? A few uper end players had a fast forward button, but never a rewind button.

I understand that the 8 Track tape is a loop within the cartridge, but still, a rewind button to rewind back a bit would have come in handy at times.

Anyone know WHY that there were no designs for a rewind style 8 Tarck player?

Answer 1

hi. bill lear the "inventor of 8 track" took the 4 track concept originated by earl muntz and modified it to "invent" 8 track. lear in fact was one of the original investors in muntz. he doubled the amount of material that could be recorded on a 4 track thereby also introducing crosstalk which is hearing two tracks at once if the machine goes even slightly out of alignment. he also removed the pinch roller from the machine and put it into the cartridge. earl muntz did invent the car stereo player, but did not invent the continous loop cartridge. it was invented by fidelipac and had already been in wide use in the radio broadcast industry. he simply changed the recording method to allow 2 stereo tracks to be placed on the tape using the technology already in use on reel to reel machines. so you see why no rewind, all these guys did was take a concept already in use and adapt it for their purpose. in a 4 track or 8 track the tape is pulled from the inside of the loop past the heads then winds around the outside of the loop. rewinding is simply not technically feasable. rca did have a reel to reel cartridge format for home use in the late 50's about the size of 3 8 track tapes laid side to side. it was a marketing failure, so no attempt was ever made to adapt it to the automotive environment. the cassette was invented by philips of holland and was initially a market failure, in fact, such a flop originally that philips allowed the concept to be used without any royalty payments whatsoever. i carried the original phillips/norelco cassette player in my stores and couldn't give them away. for more info see 8 track heaven.com. they have drawings that show how they function.

Answer 2

Yup your right it is (was) a loop. The reason they never had a rewind Button is because of the way the tape was rolled in the case.

You see it was one roll of tape wound in a spiral it would come from the middle of the tape go through some rollers and across the front where the play heads would be then go back into the case and wind on the outside of the roll.

So if they did have a rewind the tape wouldn't have anywhere to go. You cant shove it back in and make it roll up into the middle of the roll. Its like trying to push a shoelace into the hole of your shoe, you can start it with the hard end but once that's through you have to pull it from the other end.

If you have an old 8 track cassette take it apart you'll see how it works.

Answer 3

8 Track Tape Players

Answer 4

The way the tape was wound on to the single reel it was impossable to rewind. The feed side of the loop was pulled up and out of the center of the wound tape, there is no way to put the tape back into the center.

Answer 5

I had a volkswagen beetle that had a 8 track player and it had a rewind button. Did not know they did not have one. Only 8 track player I ever owned. Worked good, too.

Answer 6

Tape with no end. A loop that just played over and over.

just like running around the athletic track, run all day and never ger any place.