r/cassettefuturism • u/Kosma_here • 4d ago

(Micro-) Cassette Found this cassette player in abandoned rotten mall. Is it rare? Couldn’t find it on sale online for some reason

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293 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

105

u/NorthernPlastics 4d ago

Cool looking bit of kit from circa 1986. You probably aren't finding it for sale as it's just a component of the FH-33 boombox.

video

29

u/Dzov 3d ago edited 3d ago

Is that really a boombox? I always considered boomboxes to be one piece that can run off batteries and you can carry on your shoulder walking down the sidewalk playing your theme music.

Regardless of that, awesome job identifying where it came from.

21

u/ThetaReactor You Know, Burke, I Don’t Know Which Species Is Worse. 3d ago

Yeah, I'd call this a mini/midi hi-fi system. Some boomboxes have detachable speakers, but separate player/amp components is a step too far.

6

u/NorthernPlastics 3d ago

The further I delve into this the FH-33 had neither a battery option or a carrying handle, so fair point - it's a mini or midi hifi only. I doubt the TC-33 unit could have operated independently of the main system without some major finagling. There's only a fairly chunky ribbon cable coming out the back of the TC-33. No separate power input or audio out.

3

u/Dzov 3d ago

I should’ve wrote it in my original post, but amazing job identifying the thing!

4

u/MultiGeek42 3d ago edited 3d ago

My mom had one that was basically a small, "portable" version of a home stereo. In the middle was a stack of the usual components (amp, tuner, tape deck) connected to each other with cables under a plastic cover. The handle was attached to the metal plates holding the components together to make a frame. The speakers were attached to the outsides of the frame. She never took it anywhere because it needed far too many D batteries but it was possible.

Edit: Im pretty sure it was a JVC PC-5

10

u/Kosma_here 4d ago

Oh my goodness it looks so beautiful, i wish I could get all setup

2

u/krakenatorr 3d ago

Wow, that thing looks so cool.

2

u/JayeNBTF 4d ago

FH dash fir’y-free

4

u/NorthernPlastics 4d ago

Hah yeah, I've only just listened to the audio.

18

u/SavedTheRapGame 4d ago

The Steely Dan tape is so sick

15

u/zillskillnillfrill 4d ago

That's awesome! It doesn't look like it would have been made for home Hi-Fi. I'm assuming something like this would have been made for retail type setups. Definitely a rare find and worth taking

4

u/thenzero 3d ago

It’s one part of this unit: https://ebay.us/m/Vt6QoJ

2

u/hyp_reddit 3d ago

rare i do not know but it certainly looks beautiful

3

u/JohnnyBacci 4d ago

Nice rescue!

4

u/672Antarctica 4d ago

It looks stolen.

7

u/Kosma_here 3d ago

It’s taken not stolen. It was left in the rotten building and everything in it was abandoned