The Use of Steel Tape Magnetic Recording Media in Broadcasting

The first practical, commercially viable, plastic-backed magnetic recording tape appeared 50 years ago. The overwhelming success of this medium, however, has tended to obscure a crucial step in the innovation of magnetic recording technology: the use of steel tape as a medium with early magnetic recording equipment within international broadcasting during the 1930s. This article presents a brief overview of the development of that equipment and a discussion of the manufacture of the steel tape medium.