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!
Not just another *uino clone, as this uses a 32-bit Atmel AT91SAM7X ARM microcontroller. Sure, it uses the same form factor (well, except for the breadboard-friendly mini version), but the Netduino uses the .NET micro framework. What's that mean? Well, you're using a hugely more capable microcontroller (8-bit vs 32 bit), with much more memory […]
Well, we had a fun time at this year's Western Canadian Robot Games! Especially since Solarbotics' own Grant McKee won advanced minisumo with "Ender's Wraith", and although he also placed 2nd with "S.S. Solo" (but wasn't legally able to win 2 spots), the third place bump up went to...me! Dave Hrynkiw, with 2Strong2Bad! Besides the […]
The lonely product in the long-time-ago previous product post has filed a complaint to the INPDL (International New Product Defendant League) against having to represent the Friday Product Post by itself for an entire month. We therefore had to comply by bringing in some new stock to switch out. So here's an Arduino WiFi Shield […]
Well, we're all back from Maker Faire, feelin' pretty groggy but fairly alive (or, perhaps more accurately, undead - something about being in a zombie-like state sounds about right). So to break the recent drought of news posts, we've dug out a treat from the deeper regions of the Solarbotics server archives. This is some […]
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.