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<DIV>Bill</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Very interesting history. I have used a few different models of the
EIPD machines. 7000, 7500, 5000 series and a 7800. They were decent
but had issues. When IVC came along, a number of us wished that one could
combine the Ampex electronics with the IVC transport because it held interchange
a whole lot better. Actually we were complaining about the swing arms in
the EIPD machines. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The TBC designed for the 7900 was interesting. I still wonder why
that path was chosen for the design. Was it because it was so early in the
digital age that the cost was too high to produce a TBC? Was it too
early for the engineering skills? Was there a time issue to get the
product for market? Or was the culture at Ampex such that it had lost its
way.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I remember being told about the letter for the discontinuance of
InstaVision. It said something like "Due to the unprecedented success of
Instavision, we are discontinuing the product." A fellow by the name of
Doug Mumley was working for EIPD here in Detroit and saved the letter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chris Hill</DIV>
<DIV>WA8IGN</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 5/14/2011 1:00:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
wcarpen107@yahoo.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><BR><BR>
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<TD vAlign=top>Hi Folks,<BR><BR>In answer to the some of questions that
this Great quiz created, I must give some vital history. <BR><BR>I moved
to California, in 1971, and arrived in August. The group from Elk Grove,
where placed in two old <SPAN><SPAN>Fairchild</SPAN></SPAN> buildings,
at the corner of Middlefield & Wisman roads in Mountain View, Ca (
12 southeast of Redwood City, down historic HY101) and engineering was
also combined with some of the engineers from the Los Gato's lab which
was still designing the Instavideo 1/2" Consumer product.<BR><BR>I was
there for three months, and early in November, we got the word that we
were ( Ampex Corp) in Big financial trouble, at the Fiscal 1/2 Year, we
were losing 40Million$ on a projected 240M$ in sales. I was the only
product manager for all products from Elk Grove and Carlos Kennedy was
product manager for Instavideo.<BR> <BR>The only good part of the
job in Mountain View, was the Wagon Wheel Bar & Restaurant,
diagonally across the street where it was said the <SPAN>IC</SPAN>
concept was born, many years earlier.<BR><BR>We bailed out of those
buildings by early January, and I moved to Redwood City.<BR><BR>They
closed down major operations, wrote off everything they could, laid off
everyone who wasn't needed. <BR><BR>Those days created the basic
statement, "That only the Optimists brought their lunch at
<SPAN>Ampex</SPAN>", since many questioned whether they would still have
a job by noon!<BR><BR>So this was the environment that was driving the
Broadcast Div of Ampex when in late 1971, the TBC790 & the (Quad
that never was, the VR-1400) were conceived. No extra effort or redesign
was expended, and even the DTBC effort was on shaky ground. <BR><BR>I
moved from the Helical (Elk Grove Products) products group to the Quad
group, because a product manager in the Quad group could not get along
with the Manager of Product management. <BR><BR>I had only looked at a
few quad schematics, messed with an Amtec/Colortec while trying to make
them work with the VR-7900. I had never operated a Quad. <BR><BR>So I
had the VR-1200's, the VR-3000, and all quad accessories and the "Nova"
engineering project that became the AVR-2<BR><BR>So, we were in a
desperate survival mode, cutting every corner, not spending an extra
dime on anything.<BR><BR>So, that's why some of the things that were
done in that period may not have made good sense, or even seemed like
being done the "Ampex<BR>Way". <BR><BR>OBTW, the loss that was reported
at the end of the Fiscal Year in May of 1972, was really 90 Million$ on
sales of 240M$ which was bad news for a publicly held company.<BR><BR>I
survived, introduced the AVR-2 @ NAB 1974 in Huston, Tx and at 1976 at
the Board of Directors meeting, the Chairman of the Board, leaned on the
AVR-2, and said that this machine had brought the company back in two
years, farther than he thought we would be in 5 years.<BR><BR>So, that's
a little slice of Quad History from almost 40 years ago.<BR><BR>Bye for
now, Bill & Gewyn & Ginger
(<SPAN>whoof</SPAN>...whoof)<BR><BR>--- On <B>Fri, 5/13/11, Don Norwood
<I><dwnorwood@embarqmail.com></I></B> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Don Norwood <dwnorwood@embarqmail.com><BR>Subject: Re:
[QuadList] What is it????<BR>To: "Quad List"
<quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com><BR>Date: Friday, May 13, 2011,
8:08 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=yiv24380276>
<STYLE></STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=3>And once again, Chris is the winner!!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Bill Carpenter told us about a mini buffer
(TBC) that was designed for the VR-1400, a VR-1200 fitted
with the new TBC to replace
Amtec/Colortec/Velcomp/ProcAmp, but the machine never became
a product due to the development of the AVR-2. However, the TBC
design went on to become the TBC-790, intended for use with the
VPR-7900.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Ampex used some of the modules from the AVR-1 as
well as some newly designed modules, but the card cage design of the
TBC-790 was different in several respects from the AVR-1. For
one thing, there were coax connectors in the AVR-1 back plane, but not
in the TBC-790, so the coaxial connections that would normally have
mated with connectors on the rear of the modules were instead routed
to connectors on the front panel. I suspect that was done to
save cost, however, another difference has always
puzzled me. For whatever reason, the card frame in the
TBC-790 is "upside down and backwards" as compared to the AVR-1, so
the re-purposed cards (which were not re-labeled) have connector pin
numbers that are opposite of what you would expect.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Otherwise, the mechanical design of the modules is
unchanged except for the extruded aluminum handle that runs the length
of the module instead of the "loop" handle on the AVR-1. It's
the same design as used on the AVR-2, VPR-7900 and VPR-7800.
Here's a pic of the module installed in a TBC-790 with jumpers between
modules taking the place of the back-plane connectors in the
AVR-1.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1305370935@aol.com" border=0 hspace=0 alt="" align=baseline DATASIZE="49882" ID="MA1.1305370935" ></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Interestingly, in the TBC-790 manual, for the
modules that were "borrowed" from the AVR-1, there was no re-working
of the drawings to match the new configurations for the TBC. The
pages from the AVR-1 manual were simply copied, ignoring the changes
in the mechanical design and the pin numbering!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Don Norwood<BR>Digitrak Communications, Inc.<BR><A title=http://www.digitrakcom.com/ href="http://www.digitrakcom.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>www.digitrakcom.com</A></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 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: rgb(228,228,228)"><B>From:</B>
<A title=http://mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:Chill315@aol.com">Chill315@aol.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=http://mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com">quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, May 13, 2011
10:37 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [QuadList] What is
it????</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=yiv24380276role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>Then there is only one answer. It is for the TBC that was
designed for the VR-7900 type A machine. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chris Hill</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 5/13/2011 10:25:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight
Time, <A title=http://mc/compose?to=dwnorwood@embarqmail.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=dwnorwood@embarqmail.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:dwnorwood@embarqmail.com">dwnorwood@embarqmail.com</A>
writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Hi Chris:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>No, I didn't say it was for a quad, just that it
was "firmly rooted in quad history". You got part of that
answer right! And Park got the 1" TBC part right. And
Bill Carpenter told the whole story not too long ago including how
this fits with the "quad that never was". I figured one of
you guys would put the pieces together!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Don Norwood<BR>Digitrak Communications,
Inc.<BR><A title=http://www.digitrakcom.com/ href="http://www.digitrakcom.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>www.digitrakcom.com</A> </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 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: rgb(228,228,228)"><B>From:</B>
<A title=http://mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:Chill315@aol.com">Chill315@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=http://mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com">quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, May 13, 2011
10:13 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [QuadList]
What is it????</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>Yes I did notice that the module was missing the pull
handle. The card does have the 28 pin connector that the
AVR-1 used. The 63.5 micro second delay line is used in
the drop out compensator of the AVR-1.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The front connectors are what throw me for a loop. So
I am at a loss. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It is for a quad you say so that does not leave much
left.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chris Hill</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 5/13/2011 10:09:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight
Time, dwnorwood@embarqmail.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Hi Chris:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Almost a winning answer, maybe the best so
far.....but you'll notice that this module design (mechanical,
not electrical) is slightly different from the
AVR-1.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Don Norwood<BR>Digitrak Communications,
Inc.<BR><A title=http://www.digitrakcom.com/ href="http://www.digitrakcom.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>www.digitrakcom.com</A> </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 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: rgb(228,228,228)"><B>From:</B>
<A title=http://mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=Chill315@aol.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:Chill315@aol.com">Chill315@aol.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=http://mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com href="mip://076e43e8/mc/compose?to=quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com">quadlist@quadvideotapegroup.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, May 13,
2011 9:54 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [QuadList]
What is it????</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>This is the one line delay module that was used in the
AVR-1 / ACR-25. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chris Hill</DIV>
<DIV>WA8IGN</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>-----Inline
Attachment Follows-----<BR><BR>
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