An InfoAge member is looking for help to identify this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es783xJSARU
photo 1 "RCS Mobile" plastic cartridge "retention cassette" label says "US Coast Guard segments JKL" voice says "fifty of these tapes ... from Kennedy [?]" "never seen before... can't find..." Photo 2 has end of cart, looks like 1/4" mag tape. voice says "little mirror" and Photo 4 B&W shows youngster with headphones, watching image, cartridge apparently plugged into a player about a cubic foot in size. YOutube video by Halligan142 promotes general metal machining tooling. *"RCS mobile" audio cartridges* on Google search by me Herb Johnson second Web link given is https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-BC-Engineering/Radio-World-Mod... brochure from "Radio World" NAB product preview, "the worlds largest electronic media show" april 2004 Las Vegas. Link content is "Tools from RCS Mobile integrate with other RCS products including Selector music scheduling and Master Control " studio automation." Page 15 of document "New Services from RCS" RCS of White Plains NY www.rcsworks.com RCS Web site suggests RCS produces Radio Automation software and playout. Under "company" and "about us", text says "RCS invented music scheduling on computers, opening its doors in 1979 with the very first version of the legendary Selector." Herb Johnson concludes: these cartridges are some kind of proprietary audio playback product that plays back audio messages probably minutes in length on a closed-loop audio track. Possibly video information is encoded also, an image of a player suggests this. All kinds of audio cartridge technology was produced for radio stations in the mid-20th century, for quick DJ access and automated platy of messages and music. Some were used for educational purposes, or kiosk type commercial displays. Later in the era, people often used VHS video tapes and automated players. Simply: these carts are like old 8-track audio tapes for automated audio play. Some looped to avoid manual rewind. Here's another example of that technology. https://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/rca_cart_history.html If the tape is 1/4 inch wide "standard" Mylar plasic with a magnetic coated surface, I suggest dismantling one of the carts to extract a tape and play it on some mono or stereo 1/4-inch reel-to-reel tape recorder. To see the actual tracks: You may be able to find some kind of "magnetic viewer" technology like this: https://store.arnoldmagnetics.com/product/284/magnetic-viewer-b-1022 that uses tiny iron filings in a fluid. Put upon magtapes, it visually shows the magnetic recording tracks under magnification. People who worked with 7 or 9 track 1/2-inch computer magtapes will know that tech. Regards, you're welcome Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA https://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net