View source for Microcassette

{{distinguish|text=the similar but incompatible [[Mini-Cassette|Mini-Cassette format]]}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2022}}
{{short description|Audio cassette format}}
{{Infobox media
| name = Microcassette
| logo=Microcassette Logo.svg
| image = [[File:CassetteAndMicrocassette.jpg|250px]]
| caption = A Microcassette is significantly smaller than a [[Compact Cassette]]
| type = [[Magnetic cassette tape]]
| encoding = [[Analog signal]]
| capacity = MC60 (30 min per side at 2.4 cm/[[Second|s]])<br>MC10<br>MC15<br>MC30
| read = [[Tape head]]
| write = [[Magnetism|Magnetic]] [[recording head]]
| standard = 
| owner = [[Olympus Corporation|Olympus]]
| use = [[Dictation (exercise)|Dictation]], audio storage
| extended from = 
| extended to = 
| released = {{Start date and age|1969}}
}}
The '''Microcassette''' (often written generically as '''microcassette''') is an [[analog audio]] [[cassette (format)|cassette]] [[audio storage|storage]] format, introduced by [[Olympus Corporation|Olympus]] in 1969. 

It has the same width of [[magnetic tape]] as the [[Compact Cassette]] but in a cassette roughly one quarter the size. By using thinner tape and half or a quarter the tape speed, microcassettes can offer comparable recording time to the compact cassette but in a smaller package.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shrinking the Cassette Tape |url=https://articlebiz.com/article/1051355885-shrinking-the-cassette-tape?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=articlebiz.com |language=en}}</ref>{{fact|date=July 2022}}

==History==
[[File:MicrocassetteEquipment.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Three devices using microcassettes:<br>Top left, stereo [[headphones]] with a cassette player built into one side.<br>Top right, a portable cassette player and audio recorder with radio for use with headphones.<br>Below, a miniature [[dictation machine]] mainly for business dictations, use by journalists, etc. The latter is far more widely used than the other two types, which were rather rare.]] 
[[File:Sony M-100MC Voice-Activated Microcassette Recorder.jpg|thumb|A [[Sony]] M-100MC Voice-Activated Mic n' Micro Microcassette Recorder and a microcassette]]
[[File:Micro cassette storage tape drive of handheld computer Epson HX-20.jpg|thumb|Microcassettes were sometimes also used for storing digital data. The [[Epson HX-20]] included an integrated Microcassette-based tape drive.]]
[[File:Sanyo RD-XM1.jpg|thumb|left|A Sanyo RD-XM1, a cassette deck for Microcassette released by Sanyo. It allowed to record and play both normal tapes and metal tapes.]]
Microcassettes have mostly been used for recording [[human voice|voice]]. In particular, they are commonly used in [[dictation machine]]s and [[answering machine]]s. Microcassettes have also been used in [[computer data storage]] and to record [[music]]. For the latter purpose, devices for recording in [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]] were produced in 1982 and, for [[High fidelity|higher fidelity]], microcassettes using Type IV ("metal", i.e. coated with pure metal particles rather than oxide) tape were sold. This was an attempt by Olympus to cash in on the burgeoning [[Walkman]] market; one model, the Olympus SR-11, had a built-in radio and offered a stereo tie-clip microphone as an accessory, which made the unit somewhat popular with concert-goers who wanted to record the concerts they attended without drawing attention to themselves with larger, bulkier full-sized cassette recorders.{{fact|date=July 2022}} 

[[File:Technics RS-M212.jpg|thumb|left|The RS-M212, a cassette deck from Technics that allowed to play both [[Compact Cassette]] and Microcassette, as well as record from Compact Cassette to Microcassette.]]
Both of these "high-fidelity" microcassette recorders and the special Type IV blanks they required were relatively expensive and of limited availability, so the system was not widely adopted and Olympus phased them out after two years on the market.  (Battery life also was a problem, because the high [[bias current]]s required by Type IV tape, combined with the state of battery technology at the time, meant that brand-new alkaline batteries might give out in two hours when the unit was in recording mode.) "Standard" microcassettes are still used in the [[Underground music|underground-music]] circuits for recording<ref>[https://halmcgee.bandcamp.com/album/hal-mcgees-microcassette-variety-hour-2012] ''HalTapes'', an example of net-release recorded on a microcassette recorder</ref> and distributing<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/explore?fmt=Microcassette] ''Discogs section on Microcassette''</ref> [[experimental music]] and [[field recording]]s/[[sound collage]], mostly because of their [[Lo-fi music|lo-fi]] qualities. As of August 2021, Ohm Electric still produces microcassette tapes.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://ohm-electric.com/category/170500/ |title = マイクロカセット {{!}} 株式会社オーム電機　『会員専用 仕入サイト』}}</ref>

==Specifications==
The original standard microcassette, the MC60, gives 30 minutes recording per side at its standard speed of 2.4&nbsp;cm/s, and double that duration at 1.2&nbsp;cm/s; an MC90, giving 45 minutes per side @ 2.4&nbsp;cm/s, is also available from a few manufacturers. Unlike the Compact Cassette, a choice of recording speeds was provided on the original recorders and many others; the tape also spools in the opposite direction, from right to left. For transcription purposes, continuously variable speed was provided on many players. Microcassettes equalisation time constant: Type I (Ferric) at 200μs and Type IV (Metal) at 120μs.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

==Competitors==
[[File:Micro mini cassette.jpg|thumb|Comparison of Microcassette (left) and Mini-Cassette (right) formats]]
The microcassette was beaten to market by the [[Mini-Cassette]], introduced by [[Philips]] in 1967. The mini-cassette is almost identical in appearance and dimensions to the microcassette, however it has thicker cogs for its reels and a slightly wider cassette. The mini-cassette, despite making it to market first, was less successful than the microcassette.{{fact|date=July 2022}} 

[[File:Mini-Cassette, Picocassette, Microcassette.png|thumb|Size comparison of Mini-Cassette (left), Picocassette (center), and Microcassette (right)]]
A couple of products were created to compete with the microcassette. [[Dictaphone]] and [[JVC]] introduced the [[picocassette]] in 1985, which is half the size of the microcassette. In 1992, [[Sony]] released the [[NT (cassette)|NT]] memo recording system, which employs a small cassette for [[Digital data|digital]] recording.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

== See also==
* [[inches per second]] and [[audio tape length and thickness]] for comparisons with other media.
* [[Mini-Cassette]]
* [[Steno-Cassette]]
* [[Picocassette]]
* [[NT (cassette)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links and references==
{{Commons category|Microcassette}}
*[http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/corc/history/chron/1960.cfm?ote=1 Olympus History (includes reference to first microcassette recorder)]
*[https://goughlui.com/2015/08/09/tech-flashback-the-microcasette-part-1-the-tapes/ Tech Flashback: The Microcasette – Part 1: The Tapes - Gough's Tech Zone]
*[https://goughlui.com/2015/08/09/tech-flashback-the-microcasette-part-2-the-recorders/ Tech Flashback: The Microcasette – Part 2: The Recorders - Gough's Tech Zone]

{{Audio format}}

[[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1969]]
[[Category:Audio storage]]
[[Category:Tape recording]]
[[Category:1969 in music]]
[[Category:1969 in technology]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1969]]
[[Category:Japanese inventions]]
[[Category:1969 introductions]]