A tension arm is a device used in magnetic tape recorders/reproducers to control the tension of the magnetic tape during machine operation. The recorders equipped with a tension arm can utilize more than one of them to control tape tension in a different direction of winding or during different modes of tape operation. Tension arms can also be found on digital data recorders and other types of recorders/reproducers using continuous tape media such as magnetic digital tape, perforated paper tape, and analog magnetic tape.
