LORAN HB-90 ~ 1982 - US
Loran HB 90 - Type II - High Bias - 70μs
Heat Resistant. Virtually Indestructible Shell. Smooth Operating Mechanism. Reversible Erase/Record Tabs (R). Scarce.
Note 1: B-Grade. #101. It's a perfect cassette in every way, but the wrapper has a 3cm cut on its lower left corner on the front side. I've repaired it with some clean clear tape (no fingerprints).
Note 2: 90 Minutes cassette meant for the Canadian market.
This has to be an ULTRA RARE tape and it is somewhat priced as such. This tape is meant strictly for those for whom collecting rare cassettes is their priority. Why is it rare? Well, sometime in 1982 it became law that all products in to be sold in Canada had to have descriptions in both English and French. Loran opted to add a sticker label on the back of their tapes meant for Canada, rather than re-creating their plastic wrappers as it was clearly an easier and less costly solution. Loran's 1985 version of this tape comes enveloped with a clear wrapper, "clearly" allowing the J-card do all the work, although I have not seen a bi-lingual 1985 version of the Loran cassette meant for the Canadian market. ONE (1) available. This tape has some small blemishes. Two small rips, some light scuffing and a few pieces of clear adhesive tape to keep it all together to avoid any further damage. It will be inserted into a new and clean plastic bag to protect it from any future mishandling. See pics.
LORAN: Made in The USA.
About LORAN:
"Loran was the brand name of a blank compact audio cassette marketed throughout the 1970s and 1980s and manufactured by Loran Cassettes & Audio Products, Inc, a division of Loranger Manufacturing Corporation. Warren, PA. USA
Unlike most other brands of cassettes at the time, which were made of more conventional formulations of plastic, Loran cassettes were exceptional in that the cassette's housing was made of Lexan thermoplastic, which has much more resistance to extreme heat. Lexan was chosen by Loran to provide a blank cassette that was more suited for use in the fluctuating temperatures of automotive environments, especially a car's interior during hot summer days, which could easily warp a conventional cassette's housing.
Also, the tabs covering the write-protect notches of Loran cassettes were built-in plastic mechanisms that would open or close the notch by turning the mechanism with a small flat-blade screwdriver or a fingernail, as opposed to the write-protect tabs of other cassettes which were broken out instead, as the hardness of the Lexan would've made this very difficult for the average user to accomplish.
Loran produced blank audio recording cassette tapes, some with blue Lexan shells utilized high quality AGFA Cobalt Chrome Type II tape formulation. Loran also produced very good quality computer cassette data tapes for early generation home computers.
Loran cassettes were also used by automobile manufacturers such as Ford audio demonstration cassettes included with new automobiles equipped at the factory with cassette deck radios, due to the cassette's heat-resistant design. Loran cassette tapes were also produced by the consumer electronics company Bose Corporation for an entire series of pre-recorded music demonstration cassette tapes. Loran also made blank pre-formatted "DDP" (Digital Data Pack) cassettes for data storage for the Coleco Adam home computer when it was introduced in 1983." (*)
(*) Reference: https://golden.com/wiki/Loran_(cassette)-Z5R5DG
LORAN HB 90 ~ 1985