Cassette Drive [Commodore Datasette]

Maker and role
Commodore Electronics Limited, Manufacturer
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Object detail

Accession number
2014.161.4
Maker
Commodore Electronics Limited
Production period
1970s
Description
Commodore Datasette magnetic tape data storage device. Black plastic with inset tape player in the centre and five buttons at the front (unmarked, rec, rew, ffwd, play, stop/eject). Grey cord. With one cassette tape in plastic case, tape labelled "N.Z. QUIZ : ASTEROIDS : RIOT" in pencil and labelled "MAZE GAME" on case.
Brief History
When the Commodore PET was first launched in 1977 it featured an integrated cassette drive adjacent to the keyboard. The reduction in keyboard size necessary to accommodate this, however, made the keyboard quite unusable and Commodore removed the cassette drive to allow a larger keyboard.
Commodore Datasettes then became the most common mass-storage devices for users of the more popular Commodore computers, such as the PET, VIC-20 and C64, especially in Europe, where the cost of disc drives was high. Using cassettes as the storage medium, the Datasette provided inexpensive storage for Commodore’s 8-bit personal home computers.
This Commodore cassette drive was used with a PET computer purchased in Auckland in 1978 and used in Tauranga, predominantly for business purposes.
Marks
commodore Logo
commodore / DATASSETTE / SERIAL NO. 027877 / MADE IN TAIWAN Label
Media/Materials
Processed Material/Synthetic/Plastic
Credit Line
Commodore Electronics Limited. Cassette Drive [Commodore Datasette], 2014.161.4. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).

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