In article ,
Richard Crowley wrote:
It is stereo
If it is really 1/2 track (as YOU claimed) and if you are hearing
the "other side" backwards (as YOU claimed) then it is impossible
for the tape to be "stereo". If there are ONLY TWO TRACKS,
then there is only ONE track *in each direction*. One track = mono.
It has been this way since before you were born.
Richard,
Half-track stereo tapes certainly did (and do) exist. There's nothing
"sacred" about having to use one track in each direction - a tape deck
can quite easily record both tracks simultaneously, using half the
width of the tape for the left channel and the other half for the right.
A brief Google search turns up
http://www.pastmasters.us/2track/index.html
which has a wealth of information about these sorts of tapes.
They were apparently produced for only a few years - the Columbia
catalog page states that Columbia produced and sold such tapes
commercially between 1958 and 1961. Manufacturers seem to have
switched over to the 4-channel format around 1961, as this allowed for
more music on the tapes for a given media cost.
--
Dave Platt AE6EO
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