Dad's 1956 Sears Silvertone Tape Recorder - Model 7070

Amazing this thing still works! This Sears Silvertone Model 7070 reel-to-reel tape recorder still has the original belts, and was 64 years old at the time of uploading this video. This was a "no-frills" model: no outputs (other than a speaker), one speed (3 3/4 ips), no tape counter, and uses a manual reel-braking mechanism. Dad purchased this when he was barely a teenager in 1956. It received a lot of use over the years. Dad made custom mix tapes by clipping a wire onto the radio speaker. Later, after purchasing his next (stereo) tape recorder in the 1960s, he gave this one to his mom who used it to provide background music at her office. The recordings you hear in this video were mostly me playing around with it in the 1980s, after Dad gave it to me. Maybe I will go through these 1950s tapes and see if there is anything interesting on them... 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - Old Home Movies 01:40 - Cracking Power Cord 01:57 - Inside the case 02:27 - Tubes and Belts 03:17 - Electronics panel 03:35 - First playback 04:45 - No brakes 05:38 - Ending Sound Sample