“Vinyl records provide nice, warm analog sound. CDs have nearly lossless storage for high-quality music. Even cassette tapes have a certain nostalgic appeal and cool factor. But 8-track cartridges are almost useless, because they don’t offer any real benefits over the alternatives.
8-track players, on the other hand, can be very special.
The best of the bunch is the Panasonic RQ-830S 8-track player, often called the “dynamite” or “TNT” due to the enclosure and next-track switch looking like an old school plunger detonator for explosives.
I purchased a Panasonic RQ-830S, made in the ‘70s, that wasn’t functional. It was missing the battery cover and power supply, and wouldn’t turn on.
Then I turned it into the most awesome RFID music player this side of the new millennium.
Supplies
- Raspberry Pi Pico
- DFRobot DFPlayer Mini MP3 Player
- HiLetgo 0.95” SSD1331 65K OLED
- HiLetgo PN532 RFID Reader
Software:
- Autodesk Fusion 360
- Arduino IDE
- Adobe Illustrator or any image editor (for labels)
Tools:
- 3D printer
- Soldering iron”