Channel Master 6546 and Micro-Pack (1964)

Channel Master 6546 and Micro-Pack

🥇First Micro-Pack Recorder Released in the United States

The Channel Master 6546, released around 1964, is a fascinating relic from the experimental era of portable audio, hitting shelves just before the Philips compact cassette took over the world. While Channel Master was famous for television antennas, they entered the electronic gadget market by rebadging high-quality Japanese hardware, with the 6546 actually being a version of the Sanyo Micro-Pack 35. This "pocket" cartridge recorder featured a rugged, all-metal body and an elegant leather carrying case, utilizing a unique, proprietary cartridge system with two stacked tape reels designed to make field recording foolproof for journalists. However, the format faced a major technical hurdle: because the machine's motor drove the reel itself rather than the tape directly, the music or speech would noticeably speed up or slow down as the tape tension changed. By the mid-1960s, this quirky proprietary design was quickly eclipsed by more reliable, standardized cassettes, leaving the 6546 behind as a beautiful, "Space Age" symbol of the creative wild-west of mobile recording.

Sourced from: Elephants Trunk Flea Market