I was messing with tape loops on my little Panasonic reel-to-reel. RQ-200S if I remember correctly. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3t2QWoR95o

A portable reel-to-reel tape recorder by JVC (Japan Victor Company/Victor Company of Japan). This machine was also known as the JVC Stenotape, which I believe exported units were. This one, however, is the Japan model. Being the Japan model, it is more original in a way, it bears the "His Master's Voice" iconic dog and phonograph, and Victor name. Find out more of the history of JVC and is relation to the Victor Talking Machine Company on the Wikipedia article on JVC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JVC Also, the inside of the battery compartment reveals Japanese text, more confirming this to be the Japan model, not the exported model. This unit is built like a tank, very solidly constructed with an ALL METAL case, hardly any plastic. The machine is all idler drive, not a single belt, so the drive mechanism is very reliable and long-lasting. Even the aging rubber is good enough to get a grip. Only service I had to do was clean and lubricate the idler for the rewind, but I also went ahead and replaced the "tired" electrolytic capacitors in the amplifier and motor circuit. The originals were OK, but not registering as low and ESR as a fresher one. The amplifier uses six germanium transistors, PNP of course, and the recorder uses DC bias and DC erase. The layout of the PCB is very simple, and all capacitor axial leaded. Manual level control. Frequency response is not the best, and is somewhat comparable to telephone quality. Although not hi-fi, this recorder has good intelligibility for voice, even at the lower speed of 1 7/8 IPS (4.8cm/s). It's a great dictation recorder. Though with its good speed stability, does well for music, sans the limited frequency response. I really love this recorder's style, all metal constuction, and so-forth. A fun recorder to use and show off to other people, recording their voices as they speak! The beautiful website, N's Page: http://ns-page.com/recorder/recorder.html ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml9QisyW9bk

A very nive reel-to-reel I got at an estate sale yesterday. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7uFqjVDpM4

Playing a few recordings from the reel that came with my USSR (Soviet-Lithuanian) reel-to-reel tape recorder, the P-180-M (П-180-M), manufactured by VILMA, a company that not only made tape and wire recorders (and as far as I can tell from their website, still MAKES WIRE RECORDERS TO THIS DAY!!!!!), but also made secret devices for used by the KGB, and the Soviet Air Force and Navy! VILMA Factory Website: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.petrovsky.nnov.ru Crypto museum article on VILMA: http://www.cryptomuseum.com/manuf/vilma/index.htm These may be KGB or other spy or military recordings, or perhaps just someone at his home wanted to record his telephone calls. I don't know, as I don't speak Russian. Did someone mention the nuclear program? Kinda sounded like it at one point, but I'm not sure. This recorder runs at a single speed, 1 7/8 IPS (4.8 cm/sec). AC bias, AC erase. Manual level control. 3-heads, but ONLY can monitor the playback head during recording, so the operator is absolutely certain that recordings are taking place. Setting the level is by means of a neon indicator (why not use a nice meter movement‽). I think that overdrive is shown when the neon lights up, so level is set with the play volume knob set to the red marking, then recording level set where loudest sound lights the neon, of course after a short time delay, as the tape travels from record head to play head. This is what I believe is the proper way to set the level. Correct me if wrong. I have finally built a little amplifier module for this recorder, and installed a battery holder for a set of three 18650 Li-Ion cells to power this unit at about 12VDC. The unit originally used some proprietary or hard-to-find batteries, so 18650's work nicely instead. I can then charge them with a separate Li-Ion charger I built. The 12V goes from the external power input jack (this time used as a power output jack) to power a separate 1.5W transistor amplifier, which has its volume preset, so the recorder's (only designed for headphones or external amp I believe) volume control would control amplifier volume. The little amplifier works nicely. The amplifier's circuit schematic is here: http://www.redcircuits.com/Page33.htm ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYUUGkhC4lc