The old Sony ICF-2010 would have fit this description as it has a cassette recorder output. Not sure if it included an output for motor control to turn the tape recording on and off at designated times which would narrow down your search window (an tape preservation as you were limited to about 2 hours of tape) to more optimal listening times. Recording in general allows for repeated listening of certain parts of interest as well as a "brag tape" and evidence of capturing something rare or of interest. Now with digital techniques, you can capture the audio off line to a mechanical or solid state drive of more than adequate capacity.