OK, this is a bit of a concept, but would it be theoretically possible to design and build a player of N1500 or N1700 tapes using 3D printed plastic/metal parts, custom PCBs, and off-the-shelf components?
I'm not thinking of an attempt to replicate an existing model, I mean design a simple bare bones player that any hobbyist could put together themselves, in order to rescue content from old N1500/N1700 cassettes. A bit like the 'Build Your Own Tube Amplifier Kits' that we have now for audio.
Eg, the player wouldn't need a tuner, recorder, timer. Possibly not even a cassette loading mechanism if it really was bare bones. A lift-off lid would allow you to place/retrieve the cassette by hand. The lacing up/delacing could possibly be done with a hand turned lever rather than electronically, in order to keep things simple, etc, etc....
Would the service manuals for the original machines provide enough info to design necessary PCBs and circuitry?
I'm pretty sure the sticking point in this idea is gonna be the heads, but I saw a video of someone 3D printing obsolete 1907 car engine parts the other day! Can replica heads be that impossible by comparison?
So I'd like to throw the idea out there. There will come a day when there's no working machines left at all. The media will outlive the machines.
