Walkman [Sony WM-FX103]

Maker and role
Sony Corporation, Manufacturer
Production date
Circa 1994
See full details

Object detail

Accession number

2021.41.9

Maker

Sony Corporation

Production period

1990s

Description

Sony WM-FX103 Walkman.

Black Sony Walkman. On the front of the device, at the top, the frequencies “FM 88 92 96 100 104 107 MHz / AM 5.4 6 7 8 10 12 14 16 x100kHz” have been printed in black against a silver background. Beneath this, “SONY / ANTI-ROLLING / MECHANISM / FM/AM / WALKMAN / AVLS / WM-FX103” is printed in white. There is a power switch with “ON / OFF” printed in white printed next to it. Above the power switch, “MEGA BASS” is printed in yellow. The Walkman opens from the bottom right corner and hinges out to a 45-degree angle so that a cassette tape can be inserted. A white sticker has been adhered inside the top piece. It has “SERIAL NO. 1152048” printed in black.

At the back of the device, there is a panel that slides out and up, “OPEN” is embossed onto the top of it. Inside is a cavity for two AA batteries. “SONY® / WM-FX103 / RADIO CASSETTE PLAYER / BATTERY SUPPLY : 1.5V X 2 / IEC, JIS R6 SIZE AA OR EQUIV. / SONY CORP. / MADE IN MALAYSIA” engraved at the bottom.

Along the top edge of the Walkman, there is a headphone jack and series of dials and switches with their functions labelled as “OFF 1 2 / AVLS / VOLUME / NORM /CrO2/METAL / FM ST MONO” in printed white text. In the centre, there is a dial with “TUNING” embossed above it. On the right-hand side, there are four protruding buttons indicated by symbols embossed onto them. “FM AM TADE / (RADIO OFF) / STOP / PLAY” has been embossed onto the Walkman and there is a small switch to change between AM and FM frequencies. Along the bottom edge of the device, there is a small port and “OPEN / DC IN 3V” is embossed.

Brief History

The Sony WM-FX103 Walkman was released in 1994. It is a portable tape cassette player with an AM/FM radio receiver. It offers a bass boost function via the ‘MEGA BASS’ switch. It is powered by 2 x 1.5V AA batteries or by connecting a power adaptor to the DC 3V jack. It would have originally come with a set of stereo earphones and a belt clip.

Walkmans such as this were common in New Zealand from the 1980s into the mid/late 1990s, when cassette tapes were the most common format for the purchase and playback of sound recordings, particularly music.

Magnetic tape as a media storage format became prevalent from the late 1940s and was developed from technology acquired from Germany after the Second World War. Initially in the reel-to-reel format, magnetic tape became more accessible with the development of tape cassettes that were more compact and housed the tape entirely within a cassette or cartridge. The compact tape cassette as is used in this device was released by Philips in 1963 and became the standard medium for audio tape recording.

Marks

FM 88 92 96 100 104 107 MHz / AM 5.4 6 7 8 10 12 14 16 x100kHz Printed
SONY / ANTI-ROLLING / MECHANISM / FM/AM / WALKMAN / AVLS / WM-FX103 Printed
ON / OFF Printed
MEGA BASS Printed
SERIAL NO. 1152048 Printed
OPEN Embossed
SONY® / WM-FX103 / RADIO CASSETTE PLAYER / BATTERY SUPPLY : 1.5V X 2 / IEC, JIS R6 SIZE AA OR EQUIV. / SONY CORP. / MADE IN MALAYSIA Engraved
OFF 1 2 / AVLS / VOLUME / NORM /CrO2/METAL / FM ST MONO Printed
TUNING Embossed
FM AM TADE / (RADIO OFF) / STOP / PLAY Embossed
OPEN / DC IN 3V Embossed

Media/Materials

Processed Material/Synthetic/Plastic
Processed Material/Metal

Other name

Discman

Credit Line

Sony Corporation. Circa 1994. Walkman [Sony WM-FX103], 2021.41.9. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).

On display?

On display