Our offices are closed on Monday, October 9th, 2017, and back to regular duties on Tuesday October 10th.
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
Sumovore Atmel Brainboard code upgrade
The Atmel Brainboard is a very popular add-on to our Sumovore Sumo robot. But with newer releases of the WinAVR GCC programming suite, there is a difference in the way the source code is handled that will make it not compile and load properly. Bob Cook has been nice enough to tweak our source to […]
Wednesday Links: Robot Light Painting, M...
Masking tape and storytelling! Calcium pills and Scandinavian gods! Stop signs and distant relatives. None of the above mentioned things are going to be featured in this post, although they are extremely noteworthy. But all the things in the universe are interconnected, so there's still a chance that this stuff will make sense for someone. […]
Christmas Bundles!
My marketing team has been throwing (ouch!) erasers at me (ouch!)until I get this put online: Not sure if you should build or read this winter season? Combine the two! Get the "Junkbots" book and a HexPummer, Pendulum, or SolarSpeeder kit at a combined price that saves you money! (See below in "Featured Items")
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.