Wheee! Well, that business trip to the Robot Society of America 2003 Robot Games and Expo went well! We went out to see what the rest of the hobby robotics community was up to (and to support one of our latest distributors, Hobby Engineering), and we ended up winning mini-sumo with StrongBad the president's (me) […]
Vintage AMPEX VR1200B 2" Quadruplex VTR ...
Solar botics
January 8, 2016
I occupy a studio space in a building that is a former movie shooting facility turned into an artist hovel. The building itself is wonderfully old but the hallways are also full of ancient audio and video equipment from the movie days. One of the things that got the attention of our RnD and tech geek was the AMPEX VR1200B Quadruplex videotape recorder from 1966. The machine stands about 5' tall, about the same in width, and weighs 'under 1000 pounds' as the spec sheet puts it. This was one of the first machines to use magnetic tape technology for recording video in the form of 2" quad tape for video, as opposed to film that was used previously.
A couple interesting points about this machine:
- 60PSI Air was needed for air bearings and a Venturi system for holding the 2" tape in alignment;
- These machines were the workhorses in TV Stations throughout the 60's and 70's. Running these machines required a full time technician!
Here's the beast in action:
A photoset of AMPEX VR1200B
An Overview of Ampex History:
MORE POSTS
U.S. Elections and Sumobots
For all of you politically inclined, here's the latest news on the U.S. election process. The results will be known tomorrow, but for now - the fight is on! These sumorobots are totally autonomous. "No Radio control and no preset behavior. Or lobbyists." - as the author of the video puts it.
Make Magazine! Servo Magazine!
Woot! (Ok, I know it's spelt W007) The Sumovore is featured in volume 4 of Make Magazine in their suggested shopping list! For those of you who don't know about this killer quarterly publication from the fine folks at O'Reilly & Associates, you have to check it out. Makezine is ideal for all you DIY […]
Testimonials...
You know, I had a page of our customer testimonials put together, and I just had the opportunity to sit and read it a bit. That's a pretty impressive page, even if I do say so myself! If you have any reservation about ordering from Solarbotics, I encourage you to take a quick look at […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.