The tape rotated with 4 AA batteries. Sometimes during playback and recording, the tape gets stuck and stops rotating. Shaking it will make it start rotating again. I tried recording with a microphone connected to the input terminal, but no sound was played back. It seems there is some kind of malfunction or defect. When I adjust the volume knob, there is crackling and a small "shhh" sound, so I think the speaker part is working. The covering at the base of the microphone is torn. The microphone itself worked fine. Please consider this as semi-junk. No claims or returns will be accepted under any circumstances. Tape recorder