Well folks, ever since the phone uprising last month, the meatsacks staff have been mumbling something about their own mutiny. It would appear that the time off at Christmas was not enough for them and their families, so we're giving in and letting them join the rest of Canada in celebrating Family Day on Monday, […]
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
Odds and ends
Greetings, ye fine fellow travelers of yon internet. This week you'll find that we have three new and completely unrelated items to show off: 17010 3-AA Battery Holder - This three-cell holder has 9V-style snap connectors, and can create 4.5V with Alkaline batteries. 17390 Tact Switch - A push-button style switch that's compact, inexpensive and […]
Friday New Product: Galileo, Shift Level...
The new products are back! With more new products! Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit $19.95 Need to move motors but don't want to use up a lot of pins? Try out the I2C enabled Motorshield from Adafruit. Solarbotics I2C Shift Leveler $8.95 This little I2C adapter will have you shifting signals with ease […]
Maker Faire Arduino Workshop, LoL Shield...
Psst. Hey. You. I have a secret. A secret we want everyone to know about. But only the people going to the San Fransisco Maker Faire. The word 'free' is a pretty good word, right? Let's throw 'Arduino' in there too. We may be onto something here... How about 'workshop', just for good measure? Those […]
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.