Sony TC D5 M Cassette tape deck.

Sony TC-D5 M Tape - $750

            Original Power Supply 

                  + HQ Metal Tapes

This Model was1980's BBC in the field standard issue for all reporters, very high quailty, solid (all metal not plastic) 

                  Tested and I will include 2 recently recorded tapes from very high end analog source, 

Purchase note: Item typically ships within 1-2 days after payment has been processed.

P.S. This item is for sale on other sites so I reserve the right to cancel this sale at anytime if it sells elsewhere.

We are dedicating this Tools article to the venerable Sony TC-D5M, the analog audiocassette recorder.

In the early days of public radio, we went into the field with portable open reel recorders, like the Sony 800-B, and it was good. We felt like Alan Lomax or Tony Schwartz, shouldering our heavy, delicate gear to document America, back before every sound had been recorded and everyone had been interviewed.

Then, the audio cassette format came along and we carried the mono Sony TC-142, and eventually the stereo TC-D5M, which is the best of the bunch. All metal, reliable, simple, and fixable, it runs on two D-cells, not Satan’s Rechargeables. Noah Adams of NPR just wrote us to say he’s heading out again into the field with his old D5. This American Life staffers still use them. After the tsunami, reporters said their D5s kept on recording when tiny, spinning little minidiscs-and-dats gave up.

Besides our local users, a lot of people in developing countries come to Transom for advice. It is likely they will be able to get the D5 for some time to come. We want to help these machines keep cranking along, living useful and productive lives, like 1950s Chevys in Cuba.

Soon, Flash recorders may eclipse the older portable gear. We’ll be the first to test them. But in the last few weeks before that happens, we’re posting the basic instructions that Atlantic Public Media includesalong with the TCD-5M rigs we loan out, plus PDFs of the Owner’s Manual and even the Service Manual. For posterity.