Sony TCM-260 Electronic Design

The Sony TCM-260 has a lovely compact and neat electronic construction. Its electronic design incorporates integrated circuits (IC), and therefore the final transistor count is quite high, however all of this complexity endows the unit with a certain level of intelligence not found elsewhere in cassette recorders of the same period. The sound quality and reproduction capability is one of the best in these units, if you can find a good working example.

The LA3210 IC by the Sanyo Corporation performs preamplifier and automatic gain control functions. The power output circuit that drives the loudspeaker consists of a LA4140 IC, which provides 410 mW output into an 8 Ω loudspeaker load. This cassette recorder provides advance warning of tape end, and it achieves this using IC µPD4011C, which provides the detection function as well as driving the warning LED.

The servo amp board, which provides a regulated voltage to the dc motor DNE2600B, consists of three transistors, and a diode OA90.

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