Aiwa TP-38 Service Manual

The TP-38 was a stereo cassette recorder manufactured in 1989 by the Aiwa Corporation of Japan. It had an AC bias recording system with a simple magnet for erasure. It had a built-in 36 mm diameter 8 Ω loudspeaker and the audio power output was 350 mW. It operated on two AA size batteries that provided up to 10-hours recording time with alkaline LR6 cells. The dimensions were 80.8 mm × 116.1 mm × 37.3 mm, and mass 240 g without batteries.

Review

This was a wonderful cassette recorder design in the α-2 tape mechanism, which later turned out to be one of the most sophisticated of its time. In this design, the mechanism consists of one motor and two solenoids. When I look at the circuit diagram, I always marvel at the discreet logic circuits and ICs consisting of OR gates and, AND gates, because you do not see these often in modern designs. Even after including a logic controller IC TC9311-015, they had to use a plethora of discrete components, and the result is exquisitely light tape controls that a use can enjoy. In this design, the system control function is provided by the LC7600 microcontroller IC that drives the LCD and also provides time and counter functions. The audio head preamplifier is BA3304F, whilst the headphone power amplifier is BA5208AF. An unusual feature is the reel microphone that comes out of the case due to a long wire connected to it.

Price/eBay

The TP-38 is very occasionally seen for sale and I have never seen one in mint condition. This might be because these units were so useful to reporters and therefore many are scratched and dented. A unit in mint condition together with its packaging and accessories could cost around the one hundred pounds mark. These units are complex and time-consuming to repair and therefore a broken and scratched unit would not be worth much to the average collector.

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