Found out Sony actually made a special Walkman just for car use back in 1984

I was digging through a forum post about weird tape deck history and stumbled on the Sony Walkman SRF-42W which had a built in FM transmitter and suction cup mount, has anyone ever actually seen one of these or used it for road trips?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_bell1mo ago

Huh, never even heard of that thing... seems like a lot of fuss for something you can just do with a cassette adapter.

ninag101mo ago

Seems like a lot of fuss for something you can just do with a cassette adapter" - honestly, I tried a cassette adapter once and my car's tape deck ate it within ten minutes. Ngl, I'd probably lose the suction cup mount in the glovebox for three years and then find it when I'm selling the car. Tbh, the idea of a Walkman meant for a car is just peak 80s overengineering I kinda respect, even if I'd end up using it as a paperweight within a week. Like, imagine cranking up your mixtape only to have the FM signal cut out halfway through "Sledgehammer" because you drove under a bridge.