Happy Belated 8-Track Day!

Happy Belated 8-Track Day (April 11th)! I couldn't remember when this beloved holiday began so I started doing a search on the internet. It seemed like no one could really put an actual date to it. I think my Dan came up with National Open A Sealed 8-Track Day back in . Whatever it's original origins, it's a fun little holiday. I saw a post recently for another online 8-track store (they sell LP's, CD's, etc. too) that talked about being the largest independent online seller of 8-track tapes. And a present they might have a larger collection than we do, but we've been doing this for a whole lot longer and probably have had as many tapes as they claim to have throughout the years. Our first large purchase of tapes was 5,000 + players and related 8-track items. Our next was 10,000 tapes. We sell large quantities for projects all over the world. Many of these tapes have been used in cool art projects. One of our local Red Robin restaurants has a large wall art of 8-tracks that were purchased from us from a company out of Canada who uses the tapes in various art related ventures. Our goal when we started our business back in 1998 was to bring the prices for common 8-tracks back down to reasonable prices. That's not to say that there aren't some 8-tracks out there that aren't worth a little more. There are some really rare or unusual carts out there that can & do command a higher price. The key thing to remember about those tapes (and sometimes even the common tape) is that the tape is worth what someone is will to pay. Our goal is still to keep the costs of 8-tracks down. We try to keep it fairly simple. We don't have a shopping cart right now or pictures of every tape we own. We do try to give fairly accurate descriptions of the tapes we put up for sale. We also try to provide the full 8-track experience by selling a wide range of 8-track supplies and accessories. We offer a repair service, but we also sell repair supplies for those who like to do their own repairs. If there's something you're looking for and we don't have it, we'll try to get it for you or tell you where you can find. I know we don't presently have 90-100,000 tapes in inventory, but we could if we wanted too; we know where to find them. I like to think that it's our reasonable prices and good service that keep our customers coming back. We have fun with this business! When the day comes that we don't, then it's time to sell to our competitors! ;) I guess it's time to get off of my 8-track box and take a deep breath! Hope everyone had a great 8-Track Day and a good Easter!!! Have to go and find some cool decorations to throw our oldest daughter a party next weekend. She will be graduating college and heading off for a fun trip. Man, I wish I were going, but she said she'd take me next time! ;) We also put up a new list last week, so check it out if you haven't had a chance to.

Is Spring on the way or what?

Spring will officially be here on March 20th, but you'd be hard pressed to tell it in many parts of the country! I was talking with one of our customers today in Minnesota and he said that they were having a blizzard outside and you could barely see across the street, but 20 or 30 miles away, the sun was shinning brightly! I'm grateful that we only had a few really cold snaps this winter. I think our weather forecasters and school administrators blew it a few times by closing the schools unnecessarily, but I guess they figure better safe than sorry. Would love to hear your winter stories. What's the most snow you had. How many days were your kiddos out of school at any one given time? Any records set this year? Do you ever find yourself looking something up on the web and then find yourself so far away from where you originally started? I was looking something up on 8-Track Heaven and ended up looking up the word 8-Track on Google. There is some interesting stuff out there. Some are articles or stuff about us and some about folks we know. One site that I found was called Lava Lamps & 8-Track Theater. Very interesting site. Here's another one - . This one, at the bottom of the tapes, mentions Cheap Trick putting out their newest album at the time (2009), on 8-track! We did that one!!! There are tons more websites out there. If you have one that you think is cool, let us know. Will be putting up a new poll so check it out. If you have something you'd like us to do a poll on, email us and let us know. Happy Spring! Kathy

TV Stars!

We were contacted a few months back about doing a tv interview with a local tv station. We had done several with this station before and always had a lot of fun. The reporter was Mike Castellucci or the "Why Guy". He interviewed us about our 8-tracks and our oldest daughter's '76 AMC Pacer (this was while she was in high school - she's about to graduate college this spring). The other interview was about our '64 Amphicar or car/boat. Mike is a great guy and always makes the interviews fun. We were finally able to get together a couple of weekends ago to shot everything. It took 3 hours! When the final spot appeared on tv last Thursday (16th), it was 3 minutes! WOW, 3 hours to 3 minutes. But Mike did a great editing job! Here is the link to the interview (as long as it's still up). We also imbedded it on our website Also just put up a new list today - www.katestrackshack.com

Happy New Year 2014!!!

Happy New Year 2014! 2013 was a pretty good year for us! We celebrated our 15th year in business in 2013! Looking back to when we started this business, I don't think we ever thought we would have come as far as we have. We've meet such great folks, whether it has been over the internet, in person, on the phone, etc. Our customer base is worldwide! One day I'll do a pin map to show where all of our customers are. Hope everyone had good holidays! We did. We were able to enjoy time with family and eat way to much!!!! I always think that with so much time off, I'll get a lot done. Never happens! Sometimes I think I need a vacation from a vacation to get everything caught up that I thought I would get done when I had the time off! We're looking forward to a great new year and seeing what the year has to bring. I know we'll be doing some new 8-tracks and that is always fun. We may do a tv interview this weekend if the weather isn't to bad (doesn't look like it right now). Have been trying to do this since before Thanksgiving. This reporter has done several interviews with us and he's a lot of fun, so we're excited to meet with him again. Just put up a new list today on our website. Wanted to have it done before we opened but out database when kaput! Having to basically start all over. :( Will be putting up a new poll as well. Have a great new year everyone!!! Kathy/Dan

Christmas is on the way!

Enjoyed the Thanksgiving holidays with family part 1 on Thursday and family part 2 on Sunday. Lots of good food (ate way to much!!!!) and enjoyed the time visiting with family. But Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is on the way! Got most of my shopping done, but still have a few things to buy. Trying to get it all done and wrapped so I can spend time with the kids and out of town family. Will probably bake cookies, make candy and watch all of those sappy Christmas movies - Miracle on 34th (my favorite Christmas movie), White Christmas and whatever else I can find to watch on Netflix or Hulu. We usually shut down a few days before Christmas, when the kids are out of school (high school & college) and reopen after the 1st. Nice break but always lots to do when we reopen!!!! One of our traditions is to watch all of the old Christmas favorites like Frosty The Snow Man, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Little Drummer Boy, etc. the week before Christmas. Another tradition is on Christmas Eve. We go get something to eat, drive around and looks at lights. When we get home, we have a birthday cake for Jesus and read the story of his birth from a huge old family bible. Then we watch "Christmas Story". Then it's off to bed for the kids (our oldest, (and middle daughter this year) will come spend the night so they're here for Christmas morning. When they wake up, the chant "We want up!" With the advent of cell phones, they now call us too with their chant" On Christmas morning, after the chanting, Dan will get up and get a shower. Then he has to go see if Santa has come and get the camera turned on to record the carnage that ensues. After that, we eat some breakfast and get ready for Christmas part 2. For as many years as we've been married (27 coming up + plus the Christmas before we got married), we have gone over to Dan's moms house for Christmas part 2. The last couple of years though, we have gone over to one of his brothers, who has MS, and do Christmas there. It makes it easier for him not to have to drive 45 minutes to their moms house. Christmas part 3, with my family could be anytime after Christmas. Sometimes it's the middle of January, when my nephew comes home for a visit from Japan (he teaches at one of their universities and is a perpetual student - has his doctorate, but not totally sure in what - linguistics, I think.) What are some of your traditions for the holidays? Happy Holidays to all!

New Updated List 11-13-13

Just put up a new list today so check it out here. Will try to post some interesting 8-tracks facts as we find them. If you have anything that you think is interesting and 8-track related, please let us know.

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Why is an 8 track is called an 8 track? 8 tracks use 1/4" magnetic tape and are a continuous loop. There are 8 tracks parralell to each other on the tape. There are four programs on the tape (varying number of songs per track) and two tracks per program - one for the right speaker and one for the left, thus making it a stereo tape cart. It doesn't mean that there are only 8 songs, which some people may think. A small metallic trip or splice allows the tape to switch between programs. Here's another interesting fact about 8 tracks. You may have seen what appeared to be an 8-track but it had a whole in the left back corner (or right, depending on how you're looking at it - see second pic.). These are 4-track tapes. They are similar to an 8-track except they have 2 programs instead of 4. The other difference is in a 4 track system, the pinch roller is part of the player and in an 8 track, the pinch roller is part of the tape. If you want to play a 4-track tape in an 8-track player, you need a converter. Most of these were metal and slipped into the hole on the back of the 4-track, which allowed it to be played in a regular 8-track player. A lot of people call them a "gidgit" (see 3rd pic.). They're not easily found. If you're lucky, you might find one in the back of a 4-track when you purchase the tapes. Otherwise, you may pay some big bucks for one. Most 4-tracks are the size of an 8-track, but there are two larger 4-track carts.

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Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!!

Adding a few new things to the blog

It's been awhile since any posts have been made! Pretty busy around here this year!!! Take a look and see if you can spot the new changes. If you're from another country, please feel free to use the "translate" feature at the top of the blog. We've also added a "poll". We'll try to change it weekly. If you have any good suggestions for a poll, please let us know. There are a few other things, so check it out! Thanks! Kathy/Dan