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<DIV>Hi Ted:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Very interesting. Although the date indicates it has been there for
some time, I had not seen that on Rich's site, and I've not seen that machine
elsewhere. It certainly is the same headwheel. I wonder how Rich
determined that the machine was made by GE? The manufacturer's
number shown on the name plate is the same as what is on my headwheels.
There is no name on the headwheels either, but they use some parts that are
identical to other RCA headwheels, and of course, we've seen them on the RCA
"portable", so I *think* they are RCA, but more info would be helpful.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Reading the description, there is at least one error I believe. The
vacuum is not generated by the headwheel. There should be a
small vacuum pump in the transport. The size and weight of the machine is
not surprising. It's in line with what Ampex did with the VR-3000.
It would be interesting to see what date codes are on the components. My
guess is that this is a newer design than the VR-3000 which came out in
'67.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Don Norwood<BR>Digitrak Communications, Inc.<BR><A
href="http://www.digitrakcom.com">www.digitrakcom.com</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ted@quadvideotapegroup.com
href="mailto:ted@quadvideotapegroup.com">Ted Langdell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com
href="mailto:quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com">Quad List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=richcam1@yahoo.com
href="mailto:richcam1@yahoo.com">Richard Diehl</A> ; <A
title=dwnorwood@embarqmail.com href="mailto:dwnorwood@embarqmail.com">Don
Norwood</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 07, 2011 8:13
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Octaplex--Even GE built them,
using what look like RCA Octo heads</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Looking on Richard Diehl's website for the Merlin ME68 link, I ran across
a GE made 2" Octoplex recorder made on a Navy contract.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17.htm">http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>It seems to have used an RCA head...</DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17_072.jpg">http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17_072.jpg</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>As showcased in this <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"
class=Apple-style-span>April 18, 2010, QuadList post from Don Norwood,
subject </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN
style="WHITE-SPACE: pre" class=Apple-tab-span> </SPAN><B>Re: [QuadList] RCA 2
channel (8 head)</B></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"
class=Apple-style-span><B><BR></B></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Hi Steve:</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">Both RCA and Ampex built
transverse scan recorders with 8 heads. There were designs that had all
8 heads on a single drum as well as designs that had two drums sandwiched
together. There were many different applications for these and machines
were manufactured starting in the early '60's. In
addition to the 8 head versions, there were also a variety of slow speed
designs which had some unique headwheels, some even utilizing belt driven
drums! I've collected some head assemblies as well as some documentation
on some of these systems, and included a few pics below.</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><STRONG>Here's a "late
model" RCA, 8 heads on single drum</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>
<P>
<CENTER><IMG
src="CID:{2DE4168A-1EC7-4B18-A4EA-700B1D7DBA96}/RCA Octaplex.jpg"></CENTER>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">That's the second time
this head has visited the QuadList. It was first seen January 13, 2009
when Don posted a reply to <B>Re: [QuadList] New Octaplex recorder
design</B> accompanied by a track layout for the recording format for the
AN AHL-4 machine:</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
<DIV
style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"> In
the post with this track layout, Don
reported:</DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
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style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=Apple-style-span><B>
<DIV
style="DISPLAY: inline !important; FONT-SIZE: medium; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">"Following
up with a little more info, attached is a pic of the head assembly, a pic of a
"modern" RCA octaplex head, and the track format specs for the
machine.<BR><BR>You can see that the RCA head very closely resembles a quad
video head, except that it has 8 transducers on the drum. Additional studying
of the manual indicates that the female guide on the early Ampex did not have
any vacuum. Instead, the tape path appears to have placed the guide
slightly outside of the normal plane of the tape path, thus causing the tape
to travel against the
guide.<BR><BR>Don"</DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV></B></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV apple-content-edited="true">
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style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; FONT-SIZE: 14px; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space">
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<DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span>Secretary</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span>Skype: <SPAN style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"
class=Apple-tab-span> </SPAN>TedLangdell</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span>e-mail:<SPAN style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"
class=Apple-tab-span> </SPAN><A
href="mailto:ted@quadvideotapegroup.com">ted@quadvideotapegroup.com</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>Looking on Richard Diehl's website for the Merlin ME68 link, I
ran <BR>across a GE made 2" Octoplex recorder made on a Navy
contract.<BR><BR>http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17.htm<BR><BR>It seems to
have used an RCA
head...<BR>http://www.labguysworld.com/USH-17_072.jpg<BR><BR>As showcased in
this April 18, 2010, QuadList post from Don Norwood, <BR>subject Re:
[QuadList] RCA 2 channel (8 head)<BR><BR>Hi Steve:<BR><BR>Both RCA and Ampex
built transverse scan recorders with 8 heads. <BR>There were
designs that had all 8 heads on a single drum as well as <BR>designs
that had two drums sandwiched together. There were many
<BR>different applications for these and machines were manufactured
<BR>starting in the early '60's. In addition to the 8 head
versions, <BR>there were also a variety of slow speed designs which had
some unique <BR>headwheels, some even utilizing belt driven drums!
I've collected <BR>some head assemblies as well as some documentation on
some of these <BR>systems, and included a few pics below.<BR><BR>Here's
a "late model" RCA, 8 heads on single drum<BR><BR><BR>That's the second time
this head has visited the QuadList. It was <BR>first seen January
13, 2009 when Don posted a reply to Re: [QuadList] <BR>New Octaplex
recorder design accompanied by a track layout for the <BR>recording
format for the AN AHL-4 machine:<BR><BR><BR><BR> In the post with this
track layout, Don reported:<BR><BR>"Following up with a little more info,
attached is a pic of the head <BR>assembly, a pic of a "modern" RCA
octaplex head, and the track format <BR>specs for the
machine.<BR><BR>You can see that the RCA head very closely resembles a quad
video <BR>head, except that it has 8 transducers on the drum.
Additional <BR>studying of the manual indicates that the female guide on
the early <BR>Ampex did not have any vacuum. Instead, the tape
path appears to have <BR>placed the guide slightly outside of the normal
plane of the tape <BR>path, thus causing the tape to travel against the
guide.<BR><BR>Don"<BR><BR><BR>Secretary<BR>Skype: TedLangdell<BR>e-mail:
ted@quadvideotapegroup.com<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>