SONY TC-100A revised TC-100 first cassette recorder with box, accessories~c.1967

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Offered for your consideration is a nicely-preserved SONY TC-100A Cassette-Corder . The TC-100 was introduced in 1966 as SONY’s first cassette player-recorder after lengthy negotiations with Dutch industrial giant Philips, the inventor of the cassette tape. Roughly half the size of the smallest reel-to-reel machine, and featuring mono output/recording to an acceptable 10kHz, the unit was an immediate success. Please see the large photos, manual excerpts, and period advertising pic I’ve presented to decide if this remarkable SONY collectible is correct for your needs. Dating to 1967-68, the TC-100A is the mildly revised version of the TC-100. They differ only in three minor cosmetic details… ∙ the entire cassette bay door was made transparent (instead of just the center), ∙ the small “A-B” plaque bears the term END ALARM instead of the initial MAGAZINE MATIC , ∙ and MAGAZINE UP or CASSETTE UP (both were used early-on) was renamed to the familiar EJECT . Otherwise, the A-variant is identical to the TC-100. In fact, the only place SONY even acknowledged the update was on the underside product label—the factory packaging and Owner’s Manual were still titled TC-100 since the two are functionally identical . This TC-100A is in clean, near excellent condition. It's constructed very solidly of aluminum with hard plastics and, at nearly four pounds, is heavier than it looks. Cosmetically, the only noted detraction is a good amount of light scuffs on the plastic flip-up door. They could probably be minimized with a quality clear plastic polish, but I’ll leave that to the new owner’s discretion as the unit presents quite nicely. In addition, I noticed some oxidation inside the battery compartment. There was no white corrosive residue, as you often see from a battery leak, but I buffed the terminals with steel wool anyways to ensure proper contact. For being some 45 years old, this early portable SONY deck is in splendid overall shape. Most importantly, the unit plays and records quite nicely using battery power (four “C” batteries) or the supplied AC cord. There’s a voltage switch on the side for 100V/110-120V/220-240V and the cord has a North American-style two-prong plug. In places where other voltages are standard, users just need a common plug adapter to be up and running without batteries! I did notice that the rewind/fast-forward doesn’t seem as rapid as on more modern units, and those two keys don’t lock down, but nevertheless work correctly as designed (SONY felt that sustained use of FF or REW drained batteries too quickly). Plus, the microphone has an ON-OFF switch which starts/stops the recording without having to reach for the “piano” keys on the unit—a very useful feature, especially in limited light, when on the move, etc. Moreover, this SONY deck is complete with its original packaging, outer box over styrofoam tray, Owner’s Manual, and factory accessories which is not so common with units this old. The three-language (English, German, & French) Owner’s Instruction Manual is complete, and nicely illustrated with plenty of photos. But, it does have a split on the entire cover spine (the cover is in two pieces, front & back). Also included are the AC cord, interface/dubbing cord, microphone, earpiece, and protective leatherette case. I’m also including the four pictured Duracell “C” batteries that I recently installed for testing. The only thing I didn’t find is the carry strap, but a suitable replacement should be easy to locate should you want to go ‘in the field’ with it over your shoulder as reporters did in the 1960’s. Lastly, the oldest Maxell cassette I’ve ever seen, that’s been with the unit for decades, is included with this ensemble. It has some radio music and news recorded on it that sounds surprisingly good given the age! SONY’s early interpretation of the compact cassette player—a tidy, robustly-built package coupled with straightforward controls—had an immediate impact upon the lower-end reel-to-reel market and reigned supreme over consumer 8-track offerings.... read more

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