Came across this walkman on eBay about two weeks ago when I was looking for my first cassette player and it caught my eye. I didn't think too much of what I was buying, it looked neat and the seller said it was refurbished, so that was good enough for me. It has an AM/FM radio that works fine with a big extendable antenna, and of a cassette player. Also has a built in microphone I think? but I haven't and probably wont use the record function at all. Its ended up having some issues with the take-up spindle not spinning properly and making a clicking noise when playing (which I peeked around inside for and attribute it to one gear having issues, but that's past my expertise to fix so I just closed it back up), so I haven't used it at all. Given the lack of repair options for walkmans, especially uncommon ones, I probably won't end up getting it fully working anytime soon. At least I can listen to the radio with it. Attached are some photos. Once I received it I got a little more curious about the specifics of it, but I haven't been able to find anything online, only a couple of dead links and a listing on a Japanese auction site with no helpful information. Only things that pop up are the ST-S33 and KT-S3, which this isn't. Has anyone heard of this model before? It's not on walkmanland. Any information is appreciated, I love knowing more about the stuff I have. Any resources to getting the cassette player properly working too would be appreciated, I hate seeing broken devices. I haven't been able to find anyone around Chicago that seems knowledgeable enough to take a look, but I'm also not opposed to sending it to someone for repairs. Thanks all! <3
It seems to be a fairly rare model, maybe JDM only? Toshiba started out with AM/FM cassette cartridges and this must have been one of the first with a built in radio. I'm not seeing it in any of my catalog pages but I'm missing catalogs from 82-83 which this looks like it's from. When I get a little more time I'll try to find more information. Is the writing on the back in Japanese?
Thanks a ton for the response! The text on the back and bottom is all in Japanese. I'm attaching some pictures of it, although I'm unsure what any of it says. Some of the text is on a sticker which was proving very hard to accurately photograph, so I tried my best.
Given the Japanese sticker seems to be a JDM-only model. I've never seen it before. Do you happen to have pictures with the inside too ? Is it similar to KT-S1/S2/S3 or completely different ?
The back just says this, I just wanted to see if this was a Japanese Only Release. We call them JDM for Japanese Domestic Market, they made a ton of really cool, interesting products that stayed in Japan and weren't distributed world-wide. This is google translate but you can also download an app and scan with your phone to read in real time. I'm guessing this is around 1982-83, there was a simlar mono microcassette player with a radio release at that time. Models like this with a speaker on the back seemed to be aimed at the business guy who used it for both dictation and as a Walkman. The "hybrid" models are neat but tend to be rarer than a dedicated dictation or stereo model.
Found it in the 1983 catalog, I was thinking of the RT-S70, which is not microcassette, it looks like it doesn't have recording and is not as rare. Back in the 80's, the recording models for any brand were rare, I saw maybe one back then. I was super-excited to find a recording AIWA for sale in the early 2000's but now they show up regularly on ebay.
Thanks a ton! I knew information on it had to exist somewhere. I don't nave a picture of the interior on hand, but comparing to images online it's entirely different from the KT-S1/2/3 interiors. Wish I was skilled at fixing things because it really is a very pretty player and it sucks that the player isn't working
