The invention concerns a handheld power generator for generating electrical power for a consumer device, the generator comprising a main casing housing an input gear for driving an alternator via at least one intermediate gear so as to provide a step-up drive ratio in the range of 10:50; the input gear, the or each intermediate gear, and the rotor of the alternator all having their rotational axes perpendicular to the base of the main casing so that the gears and rotor rotate parallel to the plane of the base; a rectifier circuit for rectifying the alternator output; means for mounting a storage device for storing the output of the alternator, a control circuit for modifying the rectifier output to a voltage/current appropriate for the consumer device, and wherein the input gear is connected to a drive member rotatable by manual action to rotate the input gear in turn, the axis of the drive member being parallel to the respective axes of the input gear, the or each intermediate gear and the rotor with all the axes lying in a single straight line.

A process transmitter includes a manually operated power generator to provide electrical power to sense a process variable, produce an output based on the sensed process variable, and provide a display of the output.

A recording/playback recording medium comprising an elongated, flexible recording/playback medium having a predetermined width and a predetermined length, together defining a recording/playback area capable of providing a plurality of elongated recording/playback tracks; and information located on at least two tracks, a first track being recorded from the beginning of the first track in a first direction until the track is filled, a second track being recorded in a second opposite direction, the tracks being partitioned to define sectors having identifiable locations, the first, second, and subsequent tracks if necessary being recorded in a serpentine manner, the information recorded on the tracks being recorded by a helical scan.

A cartridge for operatively housing a recording/playback medium comprising a first spool and a second spool located at offset positions inside a cartridge shell body; a recording/playback medium of a fixed width and length wound around the first and second spools; and a plurality of slant tape guides positioned between the first and second spools for guiding the recording/playback medium and for creating a helical scan tape wrap angle in connection with a plurality of main tape guides, the plurality of main tape guides being positioned between the first and second spools. The cartridge shell body comprises a plurality of pull out arm assemblies serving as enclosure doors for a bottom surface of the cartridge shell body, the pull out arm assemblies further serving as semicircular side walls of the cartridge shell body; a top plate; and opposing end plates formed perpendicular to the pull out arm assemblies and the top plate.

An apparatus for helical scan recording/playback of preselected tacks on a flexible tape medium comprising a linear slide structure capable of movement transversely relative to a longitudinal direction of the tape medium, the linear slide structure including a scanner/drum capable of sliding movement relative to a longitudinal direction of the tape medium between opposed edges of the tape medium defining a recording area, the scanner/drum having a head stack for helical scan recording/playback of the preselected tracks, and a stepper motor on a trolley end of the linear slide structure for causing the scanner/drum to slide transversely relative to the longitudinal direction of the tape medium.