Posts Tagged ‘electronics’

While the american AMPEX company pushed ahead with imroving on early Studio versions of the tape recorder, the english EMI company followed by dutch PHILIPS were working on portable versions. The first British portables were produced in 1950. The first Philips tape recorder was made in 1951….

This historical reference video documents the workings of the Lloyd’s 8V84A Series 90 vintage cassette recorder dating from approx. 1968. It is an example of portable vintage electronics when the concept of the cassette recorder was first introduced. As vintage audio, it deserves to be cataloged for historical reference due to its quality and rarity. The musical selection the Lloyd’s cassette recorder plays is called “Dream Angels”, the theme from the Dream Angel Oracle Divination Computer Program available at ClydeSight Productions. www.clydesight.com Visit ClydeSight for more software products, Bryce tutorials, games, stories and cat lovers gear! www.clydesight.com And while you are there, check out our Web pages on the restoration of the Wollensak 5750 reel-to-reel tape recorder! http The video is intended for educational purposes and historical reference. The vintage tape recorder is NOT FOR SALE.

A charming vintage rim drive tape recorder from the 1960′s gets new life! This machine is also featured in theVintage Tape Recorder Hall of Fame at: www.vintagetaperecorderhof.com Mayfair is a highly collectible brand of vintage reel to reel tape recorder. The 1600 and the 1602 are noted for minimalist simplicity of design and sleek appearance. With it’s 1960′s retro coloring (avocado and cream) and flash of elegance (silver metal reel platters), the machine caught the eye, if not the ear! Though the Mayfair 1600 is a rim drive tape recorder, it has a certain charm to it, not the least of which is that it only requires two batteries! As vintage electronics go, this machine is rather low tech, yet it has acceptable audio quality and ease of operation. The tape recorder shown here is very rare and arrived in pretty bad condition. The case window was missing, the battery compartment was corroded and the rubber idler wheels (unusual in a rim drive reel to reel tape recorder) had dried out and lost their grip. With the help of some cleaning chemicals, I was able to clean up the corrosion and restore some grip to the idler wheels, bringing the machine back to functionality. This machine uses a 1.5 volt amplifier and DC bias. It is optimized for a crystal microphone (typical of rim drive technology) which did not come with it when I bought it on E-Bay. I am looking for a nice, reasonably priced crystal microphone typical of machines from this time period. If anyone knows of one …

Several companies in several continents made the first portable tape recorder thanks to research and development produced by the American and british governments. AMPEX and EMI produced the first commercial industrial tape recorders. These were large machines to play and record on magnetic tape. These required separate amplifers the size of a double wardrobe. The technique was filtered through by the engineers on the projectsm and several individual engineers and companies produced tape recorders in small numbers. As these were not standardised it was not possible to use a recording from one machine on another. Efforts began at standardisation when the larger companies saw the popularity of tape recorders as voice recorders in 1953. These were soon developed as two lines — the home portable tape recorder and the business dictation machine. In 1954 the first pre-recorded tapes were commercially launched. This forced the effort to produce standard speed and better sound quality in order to increase sales of tapes, as well as tape recorders. Reel to reel Dictation machines too were improved for speed standards and the quality of sound but were not compatible.

Have you ever heard the term “capstan drive” when looking at a vintage tape recorder and wondered, “What does THAT mean?”? While Captain Kirk may have cruised the galaxy using warp drive, quality tape recorders cruise the musical galaxy using capstan drive! All modern tape recorders (ie cassette recorders), and the quality vintage tape recorders use capstan drive to manage the tape movement because it is precise, constant and smooth, thus well suited for musical reproduction. “Rim Drive”, used in budget tape recorders, does not have this constancy of motion, making musical reproduction on such machines impossible and unpleasant to hear! But what IS Capstan Drive? This video shows you a real capstan and flywheel from a Webcor Microcorder 300 and explains how it works in this portable vintage reel to reel tape recorder.

The first reel to reel tape recorders were introduced in 1950-51, between 1952-54 standardisation forced manufacturer’s to make machines that were compatible concerning the sizes of reels and play speeds. The customer forced the other changes concerning quality of sound and aesthetic looks, by buying tape recorders that were good looking and sounded clear and sharp. People in the music industry became more demanding after pre-recorded tape reels were introduced in 1954. Tone controls, more tracks, stereo sound and balance controls were added to domestic machines. While machines for the recording industry were improved with more channels to help record more instruments and more people, and so allow better mixing. By the 1960s 16 channel became the basic standard. With the introduction of the ‘Cassette’ Tape Recorder, the standard tape recorder was given a new name ‘reel to reel’ Tape Recorder. It could easily surpass the quality of the new kid on the block. In the 1970s amplifiers and speakers became separate entities from the tape recorder. The age of the Tape Dec was born. This allowed consumers to be the better judges of what system they wanted and what power (in watts) and abilities (eg 5 or 7 graphic equalizers) it should have. At PHILIPS, engineers and designers were working on a new project for sound recording — the Audio Disc, which uses a laser to read the information and which could record sound perfectly, without distortion. And play it back perfectly time …

The Norelco Continental 101 vintage tape recorder dating from approx. 1964 is documented in this video along with “naked” views of the internal workings of the machine. It was advertised as a “professional quality” portable tape recorder, and sold in the amazing price range of to 9! Considering that many full size stereo reel to reel tape recorders sold for about the same price (ie Emerson-Telectro, Webcor, Estey tape recorders, etc.) with many more features, it seems that Norelco had a very high opinion and expectations of the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder. As vintage audio, it deserves to be cataloged for historical reference due to its quality and rarity. This unit was found in the trash. It had battery leakage and some water damage. Some of the rubber drive parts had actually melted (a common complaint with vintage electronics – they didn’t always use quality rubber for the parts) and were replaced with plumber’s “O” rings. One special feature was the use of a rubber belt to control both rewind and back tension when in the record or playback mode. This belt has been stretched beyond operational limits and was replaced temporarily with a rubber band (not the best solution, but it did restore function to the machine). Although touted as a “professional quality” machine, the Continental 101 vintage tape recorder only ran at 1 -7/8 ips, a very slow operational speed notorious for poor high frequency response. Not surprisingly, the amplifier, even as vintage …

This micro-documentary shows the Roberts 720, an analog reel-to-reel tape recorder that has vacuum tube electronics. It is similar to the Akai M-7, but it lacks the Akai’s cross-field bias system. Compared to the Akai M-8 that I previously owned, the Roberts 720 is noticeably quieter, exhibits a greater sense of detail, especially in the midrange; and has lower overall THD, especially at 1-7/8 ips. The Roberts 720′s level meters are superior to the Akai and have ballistics similar to Ampex professional tape decks like the 602. Therefore, recording levels can be set more precisely. The head block is better shielded, and the wiring harness layout is cleaner and better routed. The Roberts 720′s EF86/6267 input pentode is fitted with a dampener, whereas the Akai has no provision to guard its input pentode against microphonics. This may contribute to the Roberts’ superior detail. The Roberts 720 speakers are side-firing and give some sense of spatial spread, also providing better bass extension without losing highs, which are linear to 12 Kcps. Oddly, the Roberts’ motor runs all the time the deck is plugged into the mains, even if the electronics are switched off. A separate head ouptut is provided for each channel, allowing the tape drive to be used with outboard playback electronics, which can be a great advantage for archival playback of low-speed tapes. Overall, the Roberts’ electronics are simpler than the Akai M-8′s. This may explain its greater sense of detail overall …

Got this for free from a thrift shop, I can finally play that box of tapes I’ve had laying around for the last ten years.

first,on a cassetterecorder and then on a reel to reel recorder……