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<DIV><FONT size=2><EM>----- Original Message ----- </EM></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2><EM>From: "Dennis Degan" <</EM></FONT><A
href="mailto:DennyD1@verizon.net"><FONT
size=2><EM>DennyD1@verizon.net</EM></FONT></A><FONT
size=2><EM>></EM></FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT size=2><EM>On Feb 2, 2010, at 5:44 PM, Don Norwood
wrote:<BR><BR> > I never had more than a casual look at the TCR-100, and
didn't <BR>realize that it used the same head as the other machines. Threading
<BR>must have been quite a trick. How did they do that? <BR><BR>I
offer:<BR><BR>Unlike the Ampex machine's cartridges, RCA's carts could open in a
way <BR>that exposed the tape at 3 sides. Aluminum doors that wrapped
around <BR>the cartridge would open, rotating on their spring-loaded hinges 90
<BR>degrees. This allowed a pair of pins to reach into the cart and pull
<BR>the tape out. The pins were each mounted on a machined polished track
<BR>driven by a bicycle chain. Each travelled a distance of about 2 feet
<BR>diagonally in order to span the vertically-mounted width of the
<BR>transport. Though nowhere near as fast as the Ampex machine, the
<BR>movement of those pins was fast enough to be dangerous if your hand was
<BR>in the wrong place at the wrong time.<BR>The entire assembly would then move
horizontally to thread the tape <BR>across the erase, audio, quad video heads,
capstan and guides, aided by <BR>guide blocks, which was followed by a slight
retraction of the guide <BR>pins to avoid tape motion interference. The
action was reversed to <BR>return the tape loop back into the
cartridge.<BR><BR>Dennis Degan, Video Editor-Consultant-Knowledge Bank<BR>
NBC Today Show, New York<BR></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Hi Dennis:</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>The part I was unclear on was specifically the
tape threading into the head assembly. Ampex's retractable guide
made it easy, but I had not thought about RCA using a standard head. Were
the guide blocks you mentioned attached to the head or to the TCR frame?
The Youtube video isn't quite good enough to see the detail. I guess
I need to go to Boston and see Paul's machine in action!</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Don</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>Don Norwood<BR><A
href="http://www.digitrakcom.com">www.digitrakcom.com</A></FONT></DIV>
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