Well theres a button on the stock 84 SE(Parts Car) that i just that says CrO2 i just want to know what it dose ?

quote Originally posted by ig88vsbobafett: Well theres a button on the stock 84 SE(Parts Car) that i just that says CrO2 i just want to know what it dose ?

That button is for Chromium Dioxide cassette tapes, supposedly they are better than normal tapes(debatable to my ears). Thankfully I had a grand total of ten cassette tapes before I made the conversion to CDs altogether. Ahhh, the 80s....

Back when I sold stereos in the 80s I remember that there were about three different types of tapes: regular, Hi bias and metal. CrO2 stood for Chromium Di-Oxide which was the formulation for the Hi Bias tapes.

Mostly it was a waste of a button. There is very little difference and most tapes sound better without the button pushed anyways.

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1988 Coupe
Fiero - It's like an Actual Miniature Car

So the above posts should have answered your question, but if you want to get really detailed (or if anyone is curious) here ya go:

The actual magnetic 'tape' itself (the ribbon) inside cassete tapes can be composed of many different chemicals. As said Cr02 is a chemical abbreviation for Chromium Di-Oxide (Cr = Chromium molecule, O = Oxygen molecule X2).

The tape is actually magnetic, and the way it stores data is by polarizing the molecules (with positive and negative charges). And by grouping molecules with various charges, you create a sine wave of sorts, and you can 'decode' that sine as an analogue audio stream -- but that's an entirely different lesson.

Anyway, different metals (such as CrO2) have different electrical properties - meaning they react with electricity in different ways. For instace, one specific metal used in a magnetic tape may result in a more high-frequency biased (or "tinny") sound, and another can end up sounding muted, fuzzy, etc..

SO... here's where the button comes in: Some manufacturers (most actually) include preset equalizer settings (selectable by button) to "enhance" the sound of a certain type of tape. If you are keen on it, the next time you see another tape player, look for other such buttons. Some of the other common ones you might find are "Metal," "Dolby A" and "Dolby B" (I think that's what they are called, something like this). You may see "Dolby NR" too. It's another type of preset EQ ("noise reduction") designed to rid of some of that "fuzz" normally associated with audio cassetes.

So there's you're little psuedo-chemistry/audio lesson for today. Among all the other great things I learned from being in the music industry. Enjoy, hopefully it saves your life someday, or something.

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- dosed

quote Originally posted by West Coast Fiero: hehe - you just got over-DOSED, :)

Normal BIAS Type I cassette tapes - 120 microsecond EQ, Type II (Cr02) and Type IV (Metal) are 70 microsecond EQ. Type II and Type IV have a higher particle density, better dynamic range and better high frequency response, higher signal to noise ratio, meaning - BETTER clarity of reproduction. IMO, you have to REALLY listen to music to appreciate the difference.

What it boils down to is that if you want the playback to sound like it is suppose to use the feature if that happens to be the type of being used. This is not the case for music one buys.

Wow I bet that was a $100+ useless option

Any one know how manny options that you could get on a 84 SE i think my parts car has every one (4 Full lines on the options sheet on the Iner wheel well)

[This message has been edited by ig88vsbobafett (edited 05-01-2002).]

Actually, it's an indicator - telling you to rip the radio out of the car and put in a nice CD/MP3 player.
I hated cassettes when they were the leader.
I remember that when you bought an album that was duped onto CR02 the tape housing was transparent, as opposed to the dingy off-white of most other pre-recorded tapes.
I remember that my oh-so-fabu copy of Starship's No Protection album was transparent.
HeeHee I'm so 80's!

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my cat's sitting in my scrambled eggs.