# Can You Still Buy Blank 8-Track Cartridges? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961 "2009-12-29T21:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/21 "2009-12-30T16:48:59Z")
Elcaset ( think I spelled it right) was a failed taped format that came out in the 70s or 80s. Don’t think they ever made it on to store shelves. It was supposed to be a better version of a casette. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/22 "2009-12-31T16:40:25Z")
Wow! 8-Track lives! another question: my late uncle bought a new Ford Mustang coup-1967, I believe. It came with a strange faux-stereo radio-the radio had a reverb feature (a mechanical delay line, which delayed the audio signal from front to rear). This gave a strange "stereo"like effect…until you ran over a bump-in which case, you heard a whole lot of noise and distortion. I think this system was made by the lear Corp.-anybody know how long these things were made? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/23 "2009-12-31T16:48:56Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Elcaset ( think I spelled it right) was a failed taped format that came out in the 70s or 80s. Don’t think they ever made it on to store shelves. It was supposed to be a better version of a casette. Better sound quality, but they achieved that by sacrificing the biggest advantage of the standard cassette: its compact size. Elcasets were _huge_; about the size of a VHS tape. No wonder they never caught on. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/24 "2009-12-31T17:19:22Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Not sure if carts are still used in radio now, they may only use CDs. From what friends in radio have told me, they mostly use stored digital media (not CDs, but mp3s or similar formats stored on a hard drive) for everything…ads, music, sound effects. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/25 "2009-12-31T17:37:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The problem with 8 track is the belts. I bought my mom & dad a very nice Zenith console stereo in 1978. The finish on the pecan wood cabinet is still perfect, the radio and record player works great. 8 track is dead thanks to a dry rotted belt. > > Even if a replacement could be found, the cost of getting the unit serviced is just too much. This brings back memories. We had a nice old stereo (think piece of furniture) that the 8 track player was always breaking in. My grandfather was pretty handy with that type of stuff and he showed me how to remove the covers to access the belts. I was either asking my mom to make the trip to Radio Shack to buy a new belt, or applying some white grease to the existing belt to keep it from slipping. It’s amazing to me that I can now fit thousands of songs in my shirt pocket. ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/26 "2009-12-31T21:39:16Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Wow! 8-Track lives! > another question: my late uncle bought a new Ford Mustang coup-1967, I believe. It came with a strange faux-stereo radio-the radio had a reverb feature (a mechanical delay line, which delayed the audio signal from front to rear). This gave a strange "stereo"like effect..until you ran over a bump-in which case, you heard a whole lot of noise and distortion. > I think this system was made by the lear Corp.-anybody know how long these things were made? The 1967 Mustang had an AM/FM 8-track radio available as an option, though it was fairly rare. It was a stereo unit. Such cars came with a ribbed panel at the bottom of each door which concealed the speakers. But there was also a very rare Reverb system available also. It was a mechanical reverb, so the sound was basically carried down a wound coil spring to give the delay. In the Mustang, it was controlled by a second headlamp dimmer switch mounted on the floor near the original dimmer switch. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/27 "2010-01-02T16:44:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This thread has dredged up a few memories. During college (1976-1980) my eight track in the car got out of alignment. You’d hear two tracks playing at once. My old girlfriend got very good at sliding a pocket knife blade under the cartridge to raise it up. Worked every time. I eventually replaced it with a cassette player that could play both sides without taking it out of the machine. Yep, my memories of 8-track are mostly funny-my dad had a car equipped with one-and many times, the tapes would come shooting out of the front of the player! My cousin had an 8-track deck, and one day it stopped working-he thought a good repair would be to spray the innards with WD-40 (BIG mistake-WD-40 dissolves natural rubber). Needless to say, it ate the next cartridge inserted, and stopped forever! It was weird how the tape came off the center of the spindle-how anybody expected this design to last for long, is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/28 "2010-01-02T16:53:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I find it incredibly humorous that “8-Track Shack” also carries Edison wax cylinders. Your home for all out-of-date audio technology! 😃 Damnit…I checked, but they don’t have _blank_ Edison wax cylinders. I can’t even find an Edison cylinder _player_, much less one that connects to USB. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy Arthur Fields’ _Hunting the Hun_ properly, now? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961/29 "2010-01-02T16:58:17Z")
I had a couple of 8-track players in my '68 Bug. They never lasted long enough to break down–they both got stolen. I had an 8-track recorder as well; I bought blank tapes from the PX at Moffett Field. I think I got both Ampex and Ampeg cassettes back in the day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-still-buy-blank-8-track-cartridges/522961.md?page=1)