Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving up here in the Great White North, so we'll not be open October 14. Business as usual on the 15th!
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:
Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving up here in the Great White North, so we'll not be open October 14. Business as usual on the 15th!
It looks like Canada Post employees are going back to work. This means that everyone who is waiting for their order should see it sooner than later, and our free-shipping is back in effect. We'll start sending out all the back orders right away (they should all hopefully go out within the next couple days), […]
Kyle Simmons has been very busy lately, particularly being on TV! If you're getting the Canadian Discovery Channel, check him out tonight on 'Daily Planet' (22 minutes into the program). Hmmm.... nice kits you're featuring there! For those of you who missed it, EXN.CA has the clip online! Read More...
HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THIS WEEK'S EDITION OF STUFF THAT'S NEW. But before we get started, how about some light-hearted entertainment, yes? Chances are you've heard of the Toronto International Film Festival. It has something to do with those fancy moving pictures that seem to be all the rage these days. You might recognize […]
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Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.