Fancy a bit of entertainment while on the move? Speak your instruction and your in-car Android multimedia device will play you whatever reached No 42 in the Hungarian pop chart of October 1958, while your passenger watches May 1961’s Bonanza episodes – if they’re what you want.
It wasn’t always thus. In September 1970, the Philips N2602 became the first compact cassette player to be offered as standard equipment in a British car. It was a Dutch product but had been developed here in the UK.
Before this, the first experiments with recording on magnetic tape were conducted in Germany during World War Two. Reel-to-reel became the accepted format, but the bulky equipment required to play it was clearly unsuitable for use in motor vehicles.
In 1965, Ford introduced an eight-track cartridge audio system. It was also fitted to some Rolls-Royce and Bentley models. By 1968, Slot Stereo had augmented this by developing stereo reproduction projected through the car’s radio speakers. A year later, Motorola offered a similar player for £39 18s 6d, though in this case the five-inch speakers were mounted on the rear parcel shelf. Maximum playing time was 40 minutes. Despite the eight-track still being inconveniently sized for in-car use, this system apparently continued to be offered by Ford until 1983.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Best of British.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Best of British.
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THE FEW ON SCREEN
Steven Taylor looks at the Battle of Britain across film and TV
Table Service
Rachel Toy looks at the history of Ridgway Homemaker tableware
Hever Forever
Claire Saul studies the newly refurbished Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle & Gardens - a castle fit for a queen
Shining a Light
Tony O’Neil tunes into the history of the last manned lightvessel
The Man With the Goldeneye
Film stills photographer Keith Hamshere describes how he came to enter the world of James Bond
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BALLS
lan Wheeler looks back on 70 years of Tiger comic and Roy of the Rovers, and chats to the man who edited and oversaw both titles
To Play the Queen
Chris Hallam looks back on the life of one of the UK’s best known lookalikes
POOLING RESOURCES
Martin Handley looks at what life was like after the Vernons Girls
POSTCARD FROM= SUSSEX
Bob Barton indulges in pleasure piers and fairground delights, as well as fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the home of Rudyard Kipling
Oh, Miss Jones
Chris Hallam looks back at the origins and legacy of Rising Damp, ITV's most successful sitcom