Cassette to cassette duplicating means are provided for reproducing cassette tape copies from a master cassette tape. A master cassette reproducer reproduces a program from a master tape. A modular interconnecting tray is adapted to mount one master reproducer and plurality of slave reproducers. The tray has a plurality of interconnected sockets to receive plugs in the reproducers. Additional trays may be plugged into the first tray to provide additional copies simultaneously.

In a combined phonograph record player and recorder having a first device operative to play a phonograph record and a second device, such as, a tape recorder, operative to record on a magnetic tape the content of a phonograph record being played by the first device; elements are provided for detecting a halt in the operation of either one of the devices, for example, the completion of the playing of the phonograph record or the lifting of the stylus therefrom prior to the completion of the playing thereof, or the interruption of the driving of the tape in the tape recorder, such as, by reason of the willful stopping of the tape driving or the automatic stopping of the tape driving due to the exhaustion of the supply of tape in the recorder, and the detection of a halt in the operation of either one of the devices causes a halt in the operation of the other of the devices.

A type cassette copier on which; pairs of aligned "floating" head and pinch roller arms are pivotally mounted within a housing adjacent pairs of aligned cassette receiving recesses and are simultaneously pivotable by a resilient connection to control lever arm; the control lever arm is operable through rewind, copy control and off positions; the head arms are operably connected to a drive mechanism for selectively driving rotatable spindles disposed in each cassette receiving compartment; the drive mechanism is adapted to be pivoted by the head arms for engagement of one magnetic clutch or another disposed on adjacent paired spindles, with one engaging position for rewind, and another for copying; a lever escapement cam, engaged by the free end of the control lever arm holds the lever arm in rewind or copy positions during each operation; a pair of electric motors drive the spindles and adjacent capstans through suitable belt drive means disposed in series with each motor; the motors are electrically connected in series with a source of current through means including a suitable servo system requiring only one velocity sensing means; a reciprocating head arm actuator is electrically operable between rewind and copy modes of each operation; tapered plastic fasteners are engaged in tapered colleted holes to removably mount various elements in place; and the head arms, motors and reading and recording heads are cyclable in sequence to rewind, record, rewind and stop.

The apparatus is adapted to simultaneously treating a pair of magnetic tape cassettes. The apparatus comprises two pairs of hubs, which cooperate with the reels of the magnetic tapes, and which can rotate in both directions at a substantially constant angular speed under the control of a single electric motor. A pair of magnetic heads are employed for writing and/or reading binary information on the two tapes. The data read by the heads are regarded as information only if they exceed a predetermined threshold value defined by a voltage generator. A control circuit, comprising a variable gain amplifier, maintains the ratio between the peak of the data detected and the value of the threshold substantially constant, taking into account the variations of the linear speed of the tapes.

An apparatus for copying magnetic tape, comprising a slave deck having an operation panel and a plurality of copying units for receiving tapes to be copied, a master deck having a master tape and capable of providing a reproduced output from the master tape to the tape to be copied by the slave deck and producing start and finish signals corresponding respectively to the start and finish of the master tape's contents to be copied, and a control unit responsive to operation of the operation panel for setting the copying units of the slave deck to a copying mode, rewinding mode, or stopping mode, for setting the master deck to a reproducing mode, rewinding mode, or stopping mode, and for causing rewinding of the tape to be copied and the master tape to their initial state responsive to finish signals corresponding to the finish of the master tape's contents when the slave deck is set to the copying mode and the master deck is set to the reproducing mode.