Naked Continental 101 -Norelco Vintage Tape Recorder

[JerryFreilich]

I owned one of these from 1964 till sometime in the 70's. Yes, it was considered pretty "high end" at the time and they had very spiffy ads in the New Yorker magazine and elsewhere. I remember it had very good sound for the time... and also, a very unusual and distinctive smell! Thanks for posting this vid! (Do away with the big yellow titles, they are not needed and distracting!)

[clydesight]

@JerryFreilich Thank you for your comments and for watching the video!

[Featureman]

I owned a Norelco tape recorder in 1963 or 1964. It was a sound on sound unit which made home multitracking possible. It had several speeds. 7 and a half, 3 and three quarters and 1 and seven eighths and 15 16ths. It was amazing for its era. I am so happy now with multitrack low cost software.

[clydesight]

@Featureman

Digital makes things much easier, once you figure it out (not all software is intuitive, as you probably know). that 15/16ths speed was probably not very useful for music, but it works great for voice extended time recordings.

Norelco made some excellent machines in their time. We owe them a debt for coming out with a workable compact cassette, they changed everything with that!

Nevertheless, Reel to reel is also very nice and wonderful too.

[phogroian]

My parents bought one in the 60s that I had from '75 to about '92. Very well built. I remember opening it up a few times to clean/make adjustments. It got lost between moves a year or so bofore I got married in '93. Who knows, maybe yours is the one!

[clydesight]

@phogroian They built these to last! I got my machine from a trash bin in a college. It belonged to the Speech department and when they cleaned out their offices, they tossed this.

[DSM1G90]

When I found out about the 4inch size, I took full advantage of the extra 150 feet that could be used. Thus, I went crazy in buying tape in this reel size...until 1967 when I finally got a 7inch, 3speed machine. Then the C-101 was used on occasion. I used to record a lot of stuff off the radio using the patch cord that one can use, but that really ate down the batteries since the REC level had to be turned up.

[clydesight]

It was a very nice machine in its day. Expensive though. I remember they sold in 1967 for around $100!

Out of my budget, that's for sure.

[DSM1G90]

I still have my Continental 101 that I got for Christmas of 1964. Shows some age, the top cover has a small crack, case has yellowed some, but still functions.

The frequency range for the 101 was quite high at 1.875ips being almost at 10k when using a good Scotch 120 tape. Philips did a great job with the electronics..and they carried this over to the Continental 150 cassette recorder that came out the following year.

Oh, it will also do 4inch reels.

[clydesight]

Thanks for the comment! The cases on these things all seem to have turned yellow by now! I see them in E-Bay once in a while. There is a knock off machine done in "powder blue".

Yes, these machines do take 4-inch reels, though 4-inch reels are pretty rare these days!

[dadburnde]

looks almost like a Philips El-3585 system

[clydesight]

Norelco is the American name for Philips machines. I've seen these under both Norelco and Philips and I think I once saw a Japanese4 knock off in powder blue as well.

[batterymaker]

When it comes to servicing electronics, there are two camps--there's Philips.....and then there's everyone else!

[clydesight]

Philips (Norelco in the US) made some very fine machines, but they also made some losers. They had a very rare now cassette player-only in the 1960's that was poorly designed and did not sell well. They later came out with a "square" shaped cassette recorder (it was brown/tan in color with push buttons) that had a TERRIBLE amplifier and it also quickly disappeared. Overall, Philips was top notch. However, anyone can make a lemon which they occasionally did.

[sheimers]

My first tape recorder was identical to this, but made by Philips in Holland (type EL3586). I still have it and it is working. Unfortunately I ruined the motor when I was a child, so I had to replace it with an other type of the same speed.

[clydesight]

Norelco is the American division of Philips, so you see the same machines with different numbers depending on the country where it was sold. These were really good machines in their day. And they were expensive, which is why I never had one until I found mine in the trash.

[vieuxson]

nice vid ,i have five models tube and solid state versions of this machine

[guimbadriver]

good deck, i restored the same model two months ago, the more fantastic is the bias osc, the erasehead are the bias coil osc,

[mello67]

i think its the recorder that used in the HELP! movie of the Beatles, right?

[clydesight]

Gosh, I don't know. I've seen the movie, a long time ago, and you may be right. Do you suppose anyone posted it on YouTube? The time period is correct, so it is quite possible. What an interesting revelation, THANKS!

[oviwolf]

very interesting recorder,and at the same time..odd...

[clydesight]

Yes, it was a very odd machine for the time, but durable and greatly loved by many people. It sounds a lot better than many competitors of the time.

[cassette26]

Definately a good sound for 1 7/8 IPS!

[ALERG123]

I have one of these that I recieved as a gift in 1966. Would you be able to repair it?

[clydesight]

Thanks for watching my video. I repair my machines as a hobby, I don't do it professionally and would not feel comfortable working on your machine, which is valuable to you because it was a gift. You might try the Web for professional repair and rebuild services of these old machines.

[28019ab]

this is a rebadged philips - EL3586 I think

[clydesight]

Yes, Norelco was the American branch of Philips. I've seen the original Philips machines on E-Bay. But since I found mine in the trash, I think I got a better price than I'd ever get on E-Bay!

[clydesight]

Oh, and it is fun to read on the Internet about how all the manufacturers related to each other; Philips made machines for Wollensak, Wollensak did some things for Ampex, Emerson got Telectro, Sony linked up with Superscope, Almost everybody got their hands into Marantz at one time or another... It's like trying to follow the characters in a soap opera! Very interesting, and must have been done to secure different market segments.

[coondogtheman1234]

its a shame to see vintage electronics just thrown in the trash for something stupid like a belt i like this unit its neat, i hope you fix this thing up good

[clydesight]

Thanks fr your comment. When it comes to TRs, many people know nothing about them, so when it "goes bad" they just assume it is broken and toss it away. We live in a disposable society, not a good philosophy. But some of us know and do better. The Continental 101 I have is now completely functional and restored, I am happy to say. And I had fun fixing it up and getting it back. Trash to Treasure - my treasure, for sure!

[coondogtheman1234]

exactly you ever go garbage pickin for old electronics lol stupid question probably you just did lol to find this thing, i like finding electronic stuff in the trash and cleanin and fixing it up one time i found a test meter i cleaned and fixed it up works like a charm

[clydesight]

Well, that's the thing about trash. It's amazing what people throw away that is perfectly good with a little TLC. I don't go "dumpster diving" much, but if I see something I'll grab it. I found the Continental in a dumpster at a local college. I was about to toss my empty coffee cup in, and this thing winked at me! Of course, museums are filled with trash from centuries ago! We call them "artifacts" LOL Indiana Jones, are you reading this???!!

[coondogtheman1234]

hahaha indiana jones i like him, im a big fan of the IJ series but im not sure if harrison ford is into vintage audio lol would be nice

[Jimmyhaflinger]

you want to remove the melted rubber mess accurately, otherwise it's going to gunk up the mechanism and seize it over time, the best solvent for melted rubber is a strong degreaser or some aggressive dishwashing soap.

[clydesight]

Thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right about the gunk getting into everything! That stuff is like tar! As you can see in my Wollensak Cassette Recorder video, I discovered that Window cleaning fluid (with an ammonia formula) does this trick quite well. One has to be careful if the gunked part is plastic. Too strong a cleaner (like Goof Off) will destroy it. I tried dishwashing soap, but it didn't work as well.

[Jimmyhaflinger]

Here in Italy we have "CIF" a liquid soap used to clean burned grease from oven trays, it dissolves melted rubber immediately and completely, and of course it's absolutely harmless for plastics, it's a bit abrasive though so it's not a good idea to use it intensively on polished surfaces such as shafts or tape guides...

[clydesight]

Sounds interesting I never thought of using a cleaner like that on these machines. I wonder if an oven cleaner (here in the US) would also work. Here's a question, maybe you know the answer. I have an AIWA TP-719 with plastic luggage style case. It has scuffs I can't remove. I am sure there is plastic under the scuffs. What do you think would clean these marks?

[coondogtheman1234]

try rubbing alcohol that removes some stuff it might work on this but i dunno

[clydesight]

Ammoniated Window Cleaner and WD-40 removes melted belt gunk from machines very well. Rubbing alcohol won't do it. It is good for cleaning belts (not everyone agrees with that) so they have a better grip.

[clydesight]

FEB 26TH UPDATE!!!!!

I got the new rewind belt for the machine and installed it. Works GREAT! I recorded some nice jazz (saxophone and bass and piano) from the radio through the microphone (don't have the line input cord for the machine) and it really sounded good, much better than me talking!

Norelco Continental 101 is now a GO! Fully functional, fully restored. I feel GREAT.

Mission accomplished, full "trash to treasure".

[petpet691821]

why you lost your time with this barrel machine?

[clydesight]

It's not lost time - this machine represents a time in history that will never come again. Tape recorders were at the time what computers are for us today. When cassette recorders were just about to come on the scene, this machine showed the low speed could work well. It is also a rather rare machine these days and well worth preserving.

[thecrystalcauldron]

I didn't think you would get the machine back together - You must have some patience - I was very impressed with the sound and demonstration - A great machine!

[clydesight]

Thanks! Watch E-Bay if you want a machine like this. I see them from time to time, even a BLUE one from Holland! However, some machines don't have a mic, and you can expect that the rubber tires have melted because of the rubber they used.

[CassetteMaster]

WOW! THAT in the TRASH?! WOW! You are VERY fortunate to have got that! That is a certain machine model (well, that style with reels on top-Philips, Norelco) I've always wanted one lik ehtat!! The voice quality surprized me! That sounds SO NICE! 1 7/8 on my AIWA portable reel recorder sound terrible muffled! 3 3/4 on my AIWA is needed to sound good! That is one, AWESOME machine!!! ...if only Dad bought me that Philips one like that for 25 euros...he regrets it now... Very model I wanted too...

[clydesight]

I checked the amp. This machine has a very large AC bias coil in a blue can. Only adjustable from the inside of the amp (which appears to be hand wired!)

[CassetteMaster]

I love it when the AC bias coil is huge! It's like it yells out: "Quality build! AC AC AC bias! AC bias QUALITY!" The big coil gives the feeling of POWER-AC BIAS!!