Our office will be closed on Monday September 7, we'll continue regular office hours on Tuesday at 0900 MST.
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:
Our office will be closed on Monday September 7, we'll continue regular office hours on Tuesday at 0900 MST.
The Western Canadian Robot Games are close at hand (umm... this weekend!), and in response to popular request, we're cranking up the SolarSpeeder contest again! Ever built a Solarbotics SolarSpeeder? Bring it down to the games, enter at our booth (free!), and we'll run a SolarSpeeder target race. Aim your racer at a 10cm (4") […]
The Western Calgary Robot Games is fast approaching. It's held here in our own hometown of Calgary Alberta, and I can tell you that after visiting most of the major competitions on the west coast of North America, it's one of the most prize-generous! The registration page is now open, so get registered and come […]
This is was just a Test. This is a test of the Dave broadcasting system. If this was a real Dave, you'd be notified what to do in the eventuality that you met a real Dave. This has been a test of the Dave broadcasting system. *Beeeeeep* Ok, it seems like we've got […]
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.