I suppose the Internet tubes need cleaning once in a while... Our ISP is scheduling some downtime for upgrades on January 27, 09:00-12:00 UTC (that's 2am to 5am Mountain time here where Solarbotics is). Sorry for the hiccup!
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:
I suppose the Internet tubes need cleaning once in a while... Our ISP is scheduling some downtime for upgrades on January 27, 09:00-12:00 UTC (that's 2am to 5am Mountain time here where Solarbotics is). Sorry for the hiccup!
Here in Canada, we think those plucky British monarchs are pretty swell. So swell that to this day we still celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday every year on the Monday before May 25th. The fact that Queen Victoria died waaaay back in 1901 doesn't seem to phase us at all. We're pretty hardcore that way. So […]
We're happy to announce that the 2001 Los Alamos BEAM Robotics Workshop is going ahead this May 3 to 6th! After much delay and threats of budget-cuts, funding has finally been secured. Thanks to Joe Vigal and Paul Argo of the Los Alamos National Laboratories for keeping this great event alive for this final year! […]
Oh this time of year back again. I mean the time when I wear 4 layers instead of 8, which in Canadaland is called "summer". The icicles become somewhat warmer and Canadians wear shorter shorts than usual. Acrylic Skeleton Clock "Acrylic" and "skeleton" in one sentence? That should be interesting... (Via Dangerous Prototypes) Speed Reading […]
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Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.