Two of my loves came together once...in the 50's
djtr3s
6 Posts
In 1956, a few Daimler-Chrysler models came with an option for an in-car phonograph, the Highway Hi-Fi. How they didn't factor in the skipping issue is beyond me, but God bless 'em for trying..
And for the hard core collectors, this is kinda interesting:"The Highway Hi-Fi unit cost almost $200 and generally was available only as an accessory through an authorized automobile distributor. This tended to keep its distribution and use exclusive. In addition, the special records this unit played were not the type available in the neighborhood record store. Nor could these records, once bought, be used inside on the conventional home phonograph. When an owner disposed of his auto, he inevitably had to turn over his record collection with it, unless he took the Highway Hi-Fi set with him (in which case installation in his new car became a problem).To complicate matters further, Highway Hi-Fi was not an automatic changer but a manual record player. To be sure, the special records it played provided a full 45 minutes to 1 hour of listening per side. At the end of each play, however, it was necessary to pull the unit partially out of its case to gain access to the record, reinsert a new side and manually operate the tone-arm mechanism to switch the turntable on and to engage the stylus in the record groove (in the manner indicated in Fig. 909). (art) Fig. 910In addition to all this, Highway Hi-Fi utilized an ac induction motor, incorporating a vibrator power supply into its design to convert the auto dc power to a suitable ac operating power (Fig. 910). (The reader will recall that the electromechanical vibrator is a notorious noise producer, and perhaps has the highest failure rate of all the components used in auto radios.) The owners of Highway Hi-Fi were determined to be a small, exclusive minority, and like all small, exclusive minorities, they were destined to fade away."
And for the hard core collectors, this is kinda interesting:"The Highway Hi-Fi unit cost almost $200 and generally was available only as an accessory through an authorized automobile distributor. This tended to keep its distribution and use exclusive. In addition, the special records this unit played were not the type available in the neighborhood record store. Nor could these records, once bought, be used inside on the conventional home phonograph. When an owner disposed of his auto, he inevitably had to turn over his record collection with it, unless he took the Highway Hi-Fi set with him (in which case installation in his new car became a problem).To complicate matters further, Highway Hi-Fi was not an automatic changer but a manual record player. To be sure, the special records it played provided a full 45 minutes to 1 hour of listening per side. At the end of each play, however, it was necessary to pull the unit partially out of its case to gain access to the record, reinsert a new side and manually operate the tone-arm mechanism to switch the turntable on and to engage the stylus in the record groove (in the manner indicated in Fig. 909). (art) Fig. 910In addition to all this, Highway Hi-Fi utilized an ac induction motor, incorporating a vibrator power supply into its design to convert the auto dc power to a suitable ac operating power (Fig. 910). (The reader will recall that the electromechanical vibrator is a notorious noise producer, and perhaps has the highest failure rate of all the components used in auto radios.) The owners of Highway Hi-Fi were determined to be a small, exclusive minority, and like all small, exclusive minorities, they were destined to fade away."
Comments
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9687999-1.html
http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Accessories/HiWay/invent.htm
http://ookworld.com/hiwayhifi.html