AIWA CS-85X

Commentary

A radio cassette with a quick reverse mechanism that supports metal tapes.

By adopting the quick reverse mechanism to the radio cassette, it can be used for long time recording.
The Oatley Verse Mechanism automatically reverses the movement of the tape when the tape is finished, so you can enjoy recording and playing back and forth without turning over the cassette tape. However, it has been difficult to improve the sound quality and eliminate the sound cut when the tape is reversed.
The CS-85X eliminates this problem by using a double capstan system, recording / reproducing head 180 ° rotation system, and infrared tape sensor. It detects the end of the magnetic tape and takes approximately 0.4 seconds to reverse the tape. This allows you to enjoy long-term recording and playback with stable sound quality without worrying about the sound cut.
In addition, the operation part is a touch sensor control to realize light operation.

The mechanism uses a double capstan system with a dedicated capstan for both forward and reverse rotations. Moreover, the recording / reproducing head rotates at 180 ° to achieve the same recording / reproducing characteristics in both directions.

In Oatley Verse, the noise gap of the leader tape portion is a problem.
The infrared tape sensor used in the CS-85X operates the reversing mechanism quickly by detecting the end of the magnetic tape. To prevent malfunction at the beginning of winding, click reverse does not operate for more than 10 seconds from the start.
Also, depending on the type of tape, Quick Reverse may not work, but End Reverse will work in this case.

Equipped with a direction mode function that can switch between 3 types of driving mode.
You can choose from three types : one way recording and playback, A/B side recording and playback for one round trip, A/B side continuous repeat playback and one round trip recording.

Equipped with a quick reverse button.
In the case of a tape with a severe crease, the quick reverse may operate at that part. To prevent this, the quick reverse can be turned OFF with the button.
In this case, it is an end reverse which reverses at the tape end of the cassette tape.

The mechanism uses a motor shift with a dedicated motor and a mechanical logic system. This allows operation with a light stroke of approximately 2.5 mm.
It is equipped with two right and left play buttons so that you can enjoy recording and playback from any tape state with one touch operation. Queue / review, follow-up recording, absence recording and pause are also incorporated into this mechanism to improve operability.
All operation modes are indicated by LED indicators.

In addition to ALC (automatic volume alc (automatic volume adjustment), and high-quality recording is possible with the left and right independent knobs while monitoring the large VU meter.

Equipped with a tape selector, each dedicated position of metal / CrO2/LH / normal tape can be selected.
A one lever method is used for shearing which can switch the bias and equalizer simultaneously.

The Sendust guard (SG) head with high saturation magnetic flux density is used for the read / write head, and the Sendust double-gap (SE) head is used for the erase head.

The BTL circuit of ITL-OTL is used for the amplifier.

The speaker is 2-way type and equipped with 16 cm cone type woofer and 5 cm cone type tweeter.
Each unit is equipped with an aluminum cap to improve high-frequency characteristics.

The front end of the FM tuner section is equipped with a 3-row variable capacitor, high-performance transistor, FET, etc. to enable stable reception.
The IF stage employs a highly selective 2-element ceramic filter and high-performance detection circuit, and the MPX circuit employs a PLL-IC.

Built-in recording and playback mixing mechanism with microphone volume.

It has a built-in phono equalizer circuit for direct connection to a record player.

Equipped with line-in / line-out jacks that can be connected to stereo equipment as a deck.

Equipped with external speaker terminal, speakers sold separately can be connected.

Equipped with 4-way large double-row VU meter.
In addition to the input level and output level, this meter also functions as a tuning meter and battery checker.

Equipped with a timer standby mechanism, it can be used for absence recording and alarm clock playback.

It uses an air dump ejection mechanism that simultaneously performs tape stop and ejection with one action.

Equipped with a tracking sound mechanism, it can be switched from playback to immediate recording without pressing the stop button.

Equipped with a full auto-stop mechanism that stops the mechanism when the tape ends.

We invest in a sleep switch that automatically turns off as soon as the tape ends.

It has a sound adjustment function of bass and treble.

Equipped with an AFC switch, it can stably receive FM broadcasting.

Model Rating

Type	Radio cassette
Radio Club
Receiving frequency	FM : 76 MHz to 90 MHz AM : 525 kHz to 1,605 kHz
Antenna	FM : Whip Antenna AM : Ferrite Bar Antenna
Tape Recorder and Common Part
Track system	4-track 2-channel stereo system
Recording system	AC bias
Erasing method	AC erase
Tape used	C-30, C-60, C-90 (C-120)
Recording time	60 minutes (C-60 round trip)
Frequency characteristic	50 Hz ~ 12.5 kHz (LH Tape) 50 Hz ~ 13 kHz (CrO2 Tape) 50 Hz ~ 14 kHz (Metal Tape)
Signal-to-noise ratio	54dB(Line out(JIS))
Wow flutter	0.07%(WRMS)
Mike	2 built-in condenser microphones
Maximum practical power	Total 12W (6.0W + 6.0W, EIAJ/DC)
Input terminal	Mic Jack : 3.5 φ Mini Type x2 Phono/Line in jacks : 2 pin types Mixing Mic Jack : 3.5 φ Mini Type
Output terminal	Line out jack : 2 pin types EXT. SP Jack : 3.5 φ Mini Type x2 Phones jack : 6.3 φ standard jack
Spekers	For low band : 16 cm cone x2 For high pass : 2 x 5.0 cm cone type
Semiconductor used	IC : 9 Transistor : 67 Diode : 37 pcs LED : 8 pcs FET : 1
Pwer	AC Power : 100 VAC, 50Hz/60Hz Battery Power Supply : 12 VDC (8 AAA batteries) Car battery (combined with car adapter)
Power consumption	20W (at AC)
Battery life time	Approximately 8 hours (when using EIAJ and SUM-1 dry battery)
External dimensions	Width 557x Height 332x Depth 170 mm
Weight	8.4 kg (including battery)
Attachment	AC cord Erase Plug x1
Sold Separately	Car Adapter DC-121 (¥ 4,000)