On Tuesday July 1st 2014 we are closed for Canada Day. We will return to our regular phone calls answering and shipping next day on Wednesday. Happy 147th birthday, Canada.
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:
On Tuesday July 1st 2014 we are closed for Canada Day. We will return to our regular phone calls answering and shipping next day on Wednesday. Happy 147th birthday, Canada.
Effective immediately, all the proceeds from the sale of Zendulum kits will be going to the Red Cross efforts in Japan. We'll change up the Zendulum laser artwork to note it as such shortly, and post the new pic. (Done!) Fractured Hinomaru inspired by James White's "Help Japan" poster.
We've been having lots of fun with Openbeam, building all kinds of handy contraptions out of it. Today's issue of Hey Look It's New Stuff covers a big chunk of our stock. OpenBeam Extrusion - 1000mm Length $175.00 If you find it annoying to cut the 1m open beam extrusions down to size - you […]
Ok, ok - we've been getting requests (no; more like demands) that we offer a bit of a deal for getting the GM15's in pairs. Alright then. How does $30USD or $40Cdn a pair strike you? Ok, now let's see some nano-sumo robots! "Wot's this? A microcontroller at Solarbotics??" Yup. The Atmel ATMega8L is part […]
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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.