Voice Activated Cassette Recorder By Radioshack Ctr-122

It was good for the money I paid for it. Can't buy them in stores anymore.

I have purchased this product for years and have been happy with it.

Buyer beware! This recorder does not come with an ac power cord. And a call to Radio Shack was futile... they don't carry any.Anyone have feedback on a source for one that is compatible?

Excellent records and plays back well. Very satified with product.

Shipping was fine it was a used recorder it ate my tapes and button on back was broken. Nobody’s fault

I used my recorder one time and it stopped working. The batteries are fine and it just doesn't work.

The recorder is good as new no complaints at all. The Price was most reasonable and I expect many years of service.

Recorder works perfectly. I'm very pleased with it.

flip out microphone does not work so had to buy hand held microphone to enable me to use it now

I have read the non positive reviews about this product and since I have been using Radioshack for years I thought right to write a review myself.I need to point out that when I bought this specific model advertised here, a strange thing happened.... Like I said I have been (and am) using the CTR122 model with the index marker and since I know the product has been discontinued, I could not believe my luck when I saw it advertised here.However only the first time I read the product details I remember clearly that I read this model CTR122 had the index marker, but after receiving my order I realized it was not so, I checked again... ok it must have been a mistake from my part but at the time of purchasing I am certain I read this model had the cue and review facility, this is misleading as it is not so.beware at what you are buying, I am still using my old Radioshack CTR122 and is different from this machine. before moving on, I would like to explain what is an index marker and what is the cue and review facility for those who do not know: the first is priceless, as far as I know this is the only machine who had this function NO OTHER cassette recorder had it... basically it is an extra button located at the front panel of the machine, while recording you can press it and hold it as long as you like and will create an acoustic signal that would make a certain sound in the machines that have the cue and review facility, very useful if you need to separate a recorded section from the other. with the c and r you can find it immediately - many cassette players and recorders included Sony have this feature, though honestly I do not see the point unless they have the index marker as well but here it is. for those who do not know what a cue and review facility is I will explain it here: it is only useful if you have the acoustic signal or signals recorded in the cassette with the index marker, basically you press play and then while the cassette is still playing you press forward (cue) or rewind (review), the cassette will go forward or backward at high speed and it will blip where the signal is recorded, you know this is the marked signal. you release the rewind or forward key immediately to hear the desired section.I tested this specific machine and except for the above is exactly the same as the one I have.first and most importantly I record a lot especially with the built in microphone, I did not experience what one of the reviewers said about noise, on the contrary this is one of the best machines for recording with built in microphone. Since I still work with audiocassettes in many years I have bought many different models and comparing the recording qualities I have to say this is one of the best, with other models I find the recording quality is really terrible in fact unusable without a 3.5 mm microphone, for example last year I got one but all of a sudden it stopped working and there was no sound during playback (and no it was not the volume!) and another machine I bought later did not last six months!I also have a portable Sony, more robust which still records perfectly well even with a built in microphone, even after accidentally falling on the floor one day, although it stopped playing and there is no volume.when the same thing - more or less - happened with this product fortunately the quality of the recording was still crystal clear and still works with playback but - and this is one of the defects - the compartment cover is not very strong. Since it fell on the floor it turned a bit lose and one has to be careful everytime one opens or closes the tape compartment. this problem is also shared with this specific model although I think the top of the tape compartment is a little bit stronger, not much at all. I do not fancy dropping this specific model on the floor to conduct further tests!the reviewer who commented about the microphone is right, this model like most models uses a 3.5 mm microphone, the strange thing is I tried with an old Argos mic and it works perfectly well but it is not so with other mics even though they have the 3.5 mm connection, this is something I cannot explain but beware not all the 3.5 mm mics do work with this model.it can work with 2 batteries or with an adaptor not supplied, you can buy one suitable if you wish, mine was bought a long time ago, it's one of those universal adaptors with many options, you need an AC or DC adaptor set to 3v option if I remember correctly.the second frustrating thing of this machine is … because of the positions of the three buttons pause, tone and speed located on the back of the machine it is very easy – or at least it was for me until I learnt to handle this model – not to accidentally press one of the three or worse moving the speed to low or high resulting in a low or high speed recording with the conclusion I had to do it again, as far as I know there is no remedy against a lower or higher speed original recording. One has to be careful and handle it by the sides.Overall this is a good machine, not as good as the Radioshack model I have, not exactly the same as far as the model specification is concerned, but still better than many others in terms of recording quality. Since this model does not have a book marker or a cue and review facility perhaps you might find a Sony more useful? Prices change a lot, at the time I bought this machine I also saw some Sony models at a lower price, but let me say again this machine is not too bad in fact as I said better than many others.