Pioneer CT-9R
(1981 - 1982)

Futuristic looking auto-reverse recorder from the "Communication Series".

The drive system is based on two BSL Hall motors for the two reels, one BSL Hall PLL-Quartz for the leading capstan and two speed sensing device are placed at the reels' sides. This cassette drive would be used in the slightly later CT-90R and, with some mods (among which sensing devices displaced to the leading reel only) but the same basic engineering into the big CT-A9. The rec and play heads are made of laminated Sendust ribbons ; computerized functions come in with the Auto-Ble system which you can read all about here on TVK, from the CT-A1 page.

Music-search necessitates 4s blanks to separate each track while auto-reverse functions on 8s blank detection or through the erase head which has an added opto-electrical sensor for the tape lead-in area. Bar this convenient function, the rest of the CT-9R (CT-980 in Japan) is basically the filtering down of what was pioneered into the the CT-A1 in 1980. Plus Dolby C... 1981 oblige.

Specification lie in between those of the A1 (1979) and A9 (1983) - Darwinistic evolution oblige !