Slowakische Kassettensite mit allen Einlegern

[Marsilio]

Both German cassettes have a Kolormagnetics shell and identical printing to the SK CXII cassette https://ez647.sk/cc/rozne/b/sk.JPG

Regards EZ

Have you tested them? Is it still chromium dioxide or already FeCo?


The Casin: Your cassette in the photo is bad - these cassettes were afaik never available here in Switzerland. Is the tape bad even on well-preserved copies or was it at least usable?

LG
Manuel

[EZ647]

Sure FeCo, the tape is slightly translucent, no aroma for the chromdioxide binder.
Although the color of the tape is indeed very close to true chrome, but by this time it was just gone.
Those booklets are funny though, one is identical to the SK CXII model and the other is visibly printed on a standard laser printer by the color flare.

[Kirunavaara]

Thanks for the detailed pictures. If even the Axia Metal is moldy, these tapes must have been stored in a flooded room for a while :-(

Casin were quite crappy from the beginning, I think I also had an example with slight creases in the tape when it was new. These were sold at ProMarkt in Germany in the early-mid 90's, alongside with a just as crappy type II called Stanglin. Prices were low, like 1 DM for the type I and 2 DM for the type II, and almost nobody bought them... if we wanted cheap tapes, we rather stuck to TDK Super CDing or BASF CSQ which Aldi and Lidl sold in 2- and 3-packs at unbeatable prices.

Now the strange BASF still surprises me. I have a cassette with the same design "Ferro I Power" on the shell, also made in Indonesia, but already in 1994. Mine has a dedicated inlayinlay, and came wrapped in clear cellophane only:

         

         

It belongs to a mini-series of three design tapes - maybe there are even more - all from Indonesia and made in 1994:

         

So you got a special wrapping there with completely different design, but a standard FE I j-card... I'll never really understand what they were doing at BASF :-)

Regards
Martin

[Marsilio]

Sure FeCo, the tape is slightly translucent, no aroma for the chromdioxide binder.
Although the color of the tape is indeed very close to true chrome, but by this time it was just gone.
Those booklets are funny though, one is identical to the SK CXII model and the other is visibly printed on a standard laser printer by the color flare.

Thanks for the pictures. Yes, these simple booklets are typical for the cassettes manufactured by SK: Audiphon, Tucan, Mega Sound etc.

LG
Manuel

[EZ647]

It's interesting, my Ferro Power in the packaging shown as in your photo, has the text on the shell with a red background, on this version of mine it is with blue print.
I have taken a picture of the serial number now.
https://ez647.sk/cc/basf_ferropower.html

And also please an opinion on the translucent tape in Elite Chrome and Philips CD Extra?

Regards EZ

[Kirunavaara]

ICM had different tape suppliers. Some are easy to identify, others more tricky, because there are no known correspondances in cassettes from the original manufacturers. That greyish looking FeCo type II is one of them.

Besides ICM, even some Permaton type II have a tape with similar characteristics: Looks like Agfa pure chrome at first sight, sensitivity like a pure chrome when new, doesn't like high recording levels, but it does neither age nor smell like chrome, and it's translucent.

Memorex HB II tape looks similar, but takes higher levels and is sensitive for railroading, so I don't believe the tape in ICM and Permaton cassettes comes from Memorex.

Now what could be a candidate is Agfa's magnetite tape, which they experimented a lot with since around 1980, tried to sell it to the duplication market with not so much success, and was mostly known to end up in their consumer superferric type I offerings during the 80's. But there was also a derivation for type II which they called Chromatik, and eventually found its way into the Agfa SR. Even that tape may have been available years before to duplicators and, well, everyone who would buy it on pancakes...

With the Philips CD Extra things are easier: Greencorp made both FeCo and pure chrome type II tapes.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Thank you,
I suppose I can't use a single description for Philips CD Extra and CD Master, I suppose, Chromium Dioxide, or FeCo for all batches? Is it possible that there could be different types of tape in one Philips model with GreenCorp tape?

Elite, it just surprised me so much when they write so much about chromdioxide on the packaging.
Memorex and Realistic FeCo looked very dark to black to me, but I can't remember if that was the case with all versions.

Regards EZ

[EZ647]

I finally got my May update of cassettes and media. There are three more packages waiting for me to process and I don't know when I'll get to it, time is extremely short.
Again, my apologies to everyone who emails me pictures of the tapes to add to the site. I won't be able to handle this for the next few months, maybe years due to extreme lack of time.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Regards EZ

[EZ647]

Hello.
Extra update, package from the end of May 2025 "Optical Media".
Although most of you will not be interested in this, it is very important to me that I have managed to work on the website after such a long time. Optical media make up a significant part of my website, as do tape media. But time is my greatest enemy.
There are still many updates to come, with audio cassettes, VHS tapes, and optical media, which will follow gradually.
Best regards, EZ
https://ez647.sk/update.html

[EZ647]

Another special update, where optical media are still present, but now also VHS tapes.
I promise that the next update will finally include audio cassettes.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[ser]

Hello EZ
Thank you very much. Every update is a pleasure.
best greetings

[EZ647]

Great, thank you very much!

[EZ647]

Hello.
Today, I managed to finish updating the audio cassettes, package for the period 06/2025.
So I'm two months behind
https://ez647.sk/update.html
Regards EZ

[EZ647]

Hi
Another minor update, smaller quantity, a mix of audio and video cassettes and optical media.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[EZ647]

Hi
The next update is still for the previous month of July.
Audio and video cassettes and less common formats.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[EZ647]

Hello
A minor cassette update, still from the materials packages for July 2025.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Those ICM tapes must have suffered from high humidity storage. Both line-ups are from the same time, around 1980-82. ICM used to offer parallel lines of the complete tape range: A standard line and a Professional line, later even a third Turbo line was added, but soon the standard line disappeared.

The Agfa with red Magnetonband badge is their very first cassette design, probably dating from 1965, but you might be correct about 1966 for your example, because it already has a "modern" shell with screws only on one side. The first examples had screws and nuts, like many old Philips.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Hi, thank you.
ICM, I guess I'll have to tell my dealer not to send me moldy tapes; I'd rather have none than ones in this condition.
Agfa first cassette, I always go with vintagecassettes.com unless I have a better source, so I'll fix the years on ICM ferrochrome and leave the Agfa as is, if you say it's okay.

But I have a question about the Nagaoka demagnetizer with a permanent magnet. Is it safe to use and store with other cassettes in one place? I've never had a cassette like this before.

Best regards, EZ

[EZ647]

Hello, a major update of CDs and DVDs, and one VHS tape to boot.
Very interesting brands such as Axia and Denon.
It still belongs to the month of July
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[EZ647]

Hello, I need help with a problem with Basf Metal IV.
I acquired two pieces of Basf Metal IV 60 cassette from 1980. I will return one unopened piece to the owner and keep the opened one. However, the opened piece does not look as it should; the design skipped two years, and the cassette and stickers are from 1982.
The metal holes are present. But the hubs are of the old type. The screws are star-shaped, which I have never seen on Basf.
There is no serial number.
I don't think this is a scam by the seller, but probably some kind of manufacturing anomaly for a specific market, that in 1982 they were still selling Basf metal cassettes in 1980 packaging.
But which Basf branch would produce metal cassettes without serial numbers?

I also have a 1981 version, which uses the old type of body without metal openings, so this 1980 version does not match the years we know at all.

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Hi, this cassette is completely correct as it is! The new shell was first introduced for metal IV in 1980, it's even shown in the contemporary BASF catalogue.

Yes, the 1981-82 series of metal IV (clear box, monochrome inlay, silver sealing foil) was mostly delivered with the old shell, 1979 labels and without type IV notches again! Why? Don't ask, it's BASF... :-) But I also have one 1981-82 example which looks almost as your 1980-81 cassette - with some differences: regular screws, new hubs and the extra "groove" between the two halves, just as (almost) any other BASF cassette with that shell design. The early metal shell from 1980-81 had two grooves at the outer edges instead, a feature which no other BASF cassette continued with.

Attention, a faintly qualified guessing: I'd regard this as a kind of trial version, and maybe they needed some time to alter the molds into the final design version, but production had to continue, so they used some old shells again for a while.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Thanks for your reply!
It's quite funny and unbelievable that BASF did this. The picture on the booklet shows the older type, so they could have played around with the graphics and put the newer cassette window on the booklet.
I wonder what they were thinking with those screws.
I am also interested in whether this version of the package could contain different cassettes in other batches, such as 1981, with a different shell design or a different sticker design.

Best regards, EZ

[EZ647]

A minor update, a package from early August.
I still have three updates to do.
Cassettes and media from photos that are not linked have been on the website for a long time.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Hi, some days ago I wrote some additional info on the early BASF metal, but it seems I forgot to really post it after the preview stage. Anyway, trying to reconstruct:

Here are some pages from the 1980 BASF cassettes catalogue. The metal IV is the same version as your example:

         

I don't know if there are alternative versions in this series. I haven't seen any yet, but that doesn't mean too much, these early metals (before 1981) are really rare.

Also interesting that the LH with new labels and old shell was official - my first examples of this LH with big window shell are from 1981:

   

What's missing in this catalogue is the red ferro super LH, which was made until mid-1982.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Thank you! I have never seen this catalog with the unpacked cassettes.
Now it makes sense.

With your permission, would it be possible to use the images from the catalogs, as well as others, on my website and, if applicable, on the Slovak forum, with your name and other details?

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Hi! With pleasure, feel free to use the pictures. If I find the time, I can also make real scans (and not just quick and dirty mobile phone photos) of the complete catalogue.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Thank you!
I would like to use as much material as possible for various audio cassettes, video cassettes, and media related to my website.
I have a flood of pictures of cassettes from people, but no one has ever sent me catalogs

Regards EZ

[EZ647]

Hi
Here is another cassette update, still for the month of August.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Hi, congratulations to getting so many different models of the final series from Magna. And all of them apparently in one of their better shells, which was originally designed as a look-a-like to the ICM Turbo shell, when Magna started to make Daimon GXP II and they wanted it to be close enough to the original. Only the pink version of Superferro is missing. It's funny that they made alternative colour schemes for Superferro and Superchrom, back in the day we said "for boys" and "for girls", but the basic Chromdioxid seems to exist "for girls" only.

I have uploaded some BASF catalogues to the download section:

https://download.tonbandforum.de/index.p...-EMTEC&

There are also two cassette catalogues from Agfa:
https://download.tonbandforum.de/index.p...pekte/AGFA

Feel free to use those files where my alias is mentioned in the last column to the right ("Besitzer") for your site and/or show on the Slowak forum.

Best regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Thank you.
Magna is quite chaotic for me, with many chaotic models that don't make sense. The color distribution is interesting.
But it bothers me a little that some of them have no aroma, no chromium dioxide binder. The compositions are so uncertain.
Were all Magna cassttes in this series really made in Germany using Zonal tape or something else?

Thanks for the catalogs, but I always get a 403 access error.

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Hi, you need to create a separate account for the Download section. Click on "Login" in the upper right corner, then "Register" somewhere to the left on the next page. If it doesn't work out, just PM me you e-mail address, and I'll try to send the files directly to you.

Magna tapes have always been a mixed bag, not all of them did necessarily come from Zonal. I'm not even sure if Zonal made pure chrome at all. My (golden) Magna Superchrom from this series have the chrome smell and behave like very good chrome tape, much like the PDM chrome tape you could find in many Philips, PDM, ICM and related cassettes during the late 80's and early 90's. My (pink) Magna Chromdioxid have a matte, dark grey tape without the smell. It can't take high levels either. Magna already used this tape in previous series; maybe this is a FeCo made by Zonal. Sometimes it shows bad aging behaviour, like squealing and stickiness, just as the type I tape in part of the Magna Superferro XD.

I don't know too much about Magna's tape sources either; the only official statements are German hi-fi magazines repeatedly mentioning a joint-venture with a British company, which must be Zonal, judging by the examples which have both logos mixed on the same cassette/inlay. On the other hand, Magna advertised DuPont Crolyn tape on the inside of their SC Superchrom cassettes in the early 80's.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

I don't quite understand, but even when I click on the "Downloadbereich" in the top right corner, I get a 403 error and am unable to register or log in.

[Kirunavaara]

Hmm, then there is a technical problem, we will check this. Just send me an email adress which can receive large files.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Hi
Finished last update for the month of August.
Audio, video cassettes and optical media.
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Regards EZ

[EZ647]

Hi,
This month's cassette update for 09/2025 is one cassette
Finances are tightening, so it will continue to be modest.
Thank you for providing the Basf catalogs!
https://ez647.sk/update.html

Best regards, EZ

[Kirunavaara]

Thanks, cool update with this very special cassette :-) Interesting that the sealing is printed on the back side only. That must also be the first cassette where BASF printed the foil at all (except for some multipack offerings). With the 1981 series, all the top models (FSLH I, CRS II, FECR III and MEIV) received full printed sealinggs, and with the 1982 series, the complete range.

Regards
Martin

[EZ647]

Yes, I was very surprised. That's why, I had two cassettes, one wrapped and one unwrapped. So that I could return the wrapped one to the owner after publication.
The current price is €140 per piece. Only €90 for the unwrapped one

Best regards, EZ