Hi John,

John Keiser wrote:
Thanks for the details.
Doesn't instill consumer confidence in buying new expensive electronics!

I'm not claiming that this is what you *actually* experienced.
But, it is the sort of thing that is commonplace -- increasingly
so, nowadays.

E.g., I have a pair of Nakamichi Dragons (high end cassette decks,
now very "dated"). They are "autoreverse" decks -- when the
tape reaches the end of side A, side B is played (i.e., AS IF
the tape had been "flipped" -- though this is done without
any mechanical motion).

The tape counter, on reaching the end of side A, should start
counting *backwards* as it begins playing side B (i.e., the
counter should end up wherever it originally started once
side B is complete -- assuming you started at the beginning of
side A).

This is, in fact, how it works. There are two "play" buttons
on the deck -- "play forward" (side A) and "play backwards"
(side B). While play forward is active, you will see the
counter increasing. If you press "play backwards", the
counter will *decrease*.

*BUT*... if you stop the tape just as it reaches the end of side
A, open the tape door, remove the tape, flip it over (so, now
side B is "in front"), close the door and press "play forward",
the tape will COUNT BACKWARDS (i.e., as if the tape was still
installed in the deck playing "side B" BACKWARDS). So, the
tape MOVES "forwards" (the machine has no way of knowing that
this is "side 2" of the tape... it may be a completely DIFFERENT
tape!) while the counter counts BACKWARDS!

If you had stopped the tape a second BEFORE it reached the end
of side A, ejected it, flipped it, reinstalled it and pressed
"play forward", the counter would NOT count backwards.

I.e., this is a bug. (technically, a "race") Would you
expect that sort of thing in a $2K device? On something
so *trivial*?? :

Makes you wonder next time you get on an aircraft ("fly by wire"),
have a surgical procedure ("Doctor, the patient's blood pressure
is 9843 over 2"), etc. :-/

Maybe the Luddites were onto something, afterall! :