BALMORAL TAPE PLAYER, 1960's

Balmoral Electronics Ltd appear to be a small electronics establishment making equipment out of readily available parts. It seems the housing was a standard box designed specifically for the BSR TD2 tape deck, the amplifier consisting of a small chassis with an EL84 and ECC83 valves and associated parts, with a mains and speaker transformer fixed to the underside of the tape deck. BSR (Birmingham Sound Reproducers) introduced the TD1 deck (sometimes called The Monarch) in 1959 with a price of £12-12-00, the TD2 was released in 1961 and ended in 1964. The 5.75-inch reels moved at 3.75 Inches per second controlled by a single short 'Joy stick' knob. In this particular example the Erase head and control have been removed, normally recording is possible by moving the volume knob on the left to the left, whilst pushing the right control knob forwards. This machine is playback only and the volume knob is fixed and replaced with an off the shelf standards example. This object was found by a Museum director in a skip in Hemel Hempstead during 2007, and may have been used by a school, being playback only.

A1615

SONY U-MATIC VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER MODEL VO-1810, 1970's

The worlds first Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) was the Sony VP1100 launched in 1971, using Sony's new U-Matic Cassette ('U' indicates the way it wraps round the head drum), this was prior to Betamax or VHS types which would come later, this first machine, the VP1100, was playback only it could not record. It was however designed for the domestic market, having wooden sides to the cabinet and playing pre-recorded tapes, just like today’s DVD's, this model was eventually replaced by the machine in our picture, the Vo-1810 which had recording capability but no internal TV tuner which was available later. Again designed for the domestic market, but at around £600 pounds sterling few could afford it, the machines would also be used by professional companies using a separately purchased video camera. The unit is over 600mm wide and weighs over 35Kg.

Kindly donated by the Design Museum London

A1592

SONY TRINICON CAMERA, 1980's

A hand held camera Type HVC3000P for connection to a VCR, These cameras were connected with portable Betamax VCRs and used in the semi professional field such as high schools colleges and businesses and possibly low budget broadcasts.

A1378

SONY REEL TO REEL VIDEO RECORDER, 1969

DV-2400 Reel to Reel Video Recorder. Known as the Portapak Video Rover, black and white Video recorder. With a maximum recording time of 20 minutes, the Sony 'Video Rover' DV-2400 was one of the very first portable video tape recorder available to the general public. Sony Notes Below.
SONY CV-2400 Portapak
The Portable Battery Operated non EIAJ Skip Field

1967
Sony introduces the world's first portable VTR, the DV-2400.

The VIDEO ROVER, was the first video portapack. it offered the format of the time which was B/W, skip field, Pre-EIAJ, 1/2 inch tape, reel to reel. This first unit was a record ONLY portapak VTR outfit. Recording time was 20 minutes on 4-1/2 inch reel of 1/2 inch videotape. streamlined for size and weight you were provided a small hand crank that stored in the units lid for rewinding the tape!

Playback of tapes from this unit (after they were hand rewound) was accomplished on the CV-2000 series decks.

A1379

REVOX TAPE RECORDER G36, 1963

In 1963 Several new distributors join Studer to market the Swiss tape recorders in many different countries. Production start of the famous Revox G36. It was sold to the UK market under the name of "Revox 736".
Reel to Reel Recorders using valves, and designed for semi-professional use in 1963 it cost 124 Guineas The REVOX 736 (G36) is a mono/stereo machine with stacked erase heads, separate recording heads separate replay heads, six audio pre-amplifiers. and a push/pull power amplifier. Tape speeds of 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 .i. p. s. are obtained by pole-changing the synchronous Papst capstan motor. Twin-track and four-track models are available, both fully stereo phonic, recording to the latest C.C.I.R. (DIN 45113) characteristic

A1323

PHLLIPS EL315/15 TAPE RECORDER, 1960's

Popular tape recorder of the 1960's using 5inch reels of magnetic tape supplied with a crystal microphone.

A0380

KYOTO S600 8 TRACK STEREO PLAYER, 1980's

The original format for magnetic tape sound reproduction was reel-to-reel audio tape recording, first made widely available in the late 1940s. However, threading tape into the recorders was more difficult than simply putting a disc record onto a phonograph player. Manufacturers introduced a succession of cartridges which held the tape inside a metal or plastic housing to eliminate handling. The first was RCA Victor, which in 1958 introduced a cartridge system called Sound Tape or Magazine Cartridge Loading, but until the introduction of the Compact Cassette in 1963 and Stereo 8 in 1965, none were very successful.

A1277

GRAMDECK CONVERSION FROM RECORD DECK TO TAPE RECORDER, 1950's

This was placed on the turntable of a standard record player with a 78rpm, a small peg was mounted on the gramophone deck which located into the gramdec base to hold it steady. The cable attached was connected to the pre-amplifier supplied, and this was in turn connected to an audio power amplifier. A microphone was supplied which could be used via the pre-amplifier for recording. Cost 39 gns, RRP when first introduced.

A1118

ELIZABETHAN TAPE RECORDER DELUX WITH COLLARO DECK, 1961

Early "Elizabethan" Tape Recorder using a well known Collaro Tape deck.

A1129

STANDARD TINY PAL RECORDER, 1960's

Early pre Cassette recorder for domestic use, although it states Double Track it is not stereo, it simply refers to the possibility of turning the tape over.

A0166

SONY WALKMAN, 1980's

Portable cassette player that was small enough to fit into a pocket, famous from 1979.

A0928

AGAPHONE WIRE RECORDER, 1950's

Wire recorders were invented in Denmark by Valdimar Poulson for an answering machine in 1898 called a Telegraphone, but were not developed for any other practical purpose at the time. Ten years later a company in America made a successful dictation machine. They were quickly made obsolete by magnetic tape machines.

Although this machine carries the trade name Agaphone, this unit was certainly made by another company

A0100

WEBSTER CHICAGO WIRE RECORDER MODEL 180-1 of 1949

Formed in 1914 the Webster Electrical Corp specialised in consumer Audio products up until the 1960's. The Chicago Model 180-1 Electronic Memory wire recorder of 1949 used 0.0036-inch Stainless steel wire travelling at 24 inches per second past a head moving vertically to spread the wire evenly on to the take up spool. The Quality on some models was exceptionally good. In 1952 Webster started production on tape machines, and also started using the trade name Webcor. Webster ceased trading in the 1960's due to competition from foreign imports.

Donated by Jonathan Bell

A1537

BOOSEY & HAWKS WIREK TYPE 'A' WIRE RECORDER , 1945

Boosey and Hawkes stopped making machines and only produced sheet music after this model.
Valdemar Poulsen, a Danish inventor developed the "Telegraphone" between 1898 -1900 this was a magnetic method using steel wire
Wire recorders were developed in the period from 1900 to the late 1940s, but they were produced only in very small quantities.
They were used by BBC journalists during WWII.
The peak of the wire recorder's short commercial life came in 1948 and 1949.

A0973

WIRE RECORDER No2 IN CONTAINER, 1940's

Wire for use on wire recorders which were used before tape recording was invented in Germany during WW2. See Item A0973 and A1537.

A1529

SIMON SOUND SP/2 REEL TO REEL TAPE RECORDER, 1957

Simon Sound Service Ltd London W1. This was used with the ribbon microphone Item A0934.

Donated by Mr P Holmes

A0933

FERROGRAPH SERIES 6 REEL TO REEL TAPE RECORDER, 1960's

The Ferrograph was semi professional machine seen many times in films and used by the BBC.

This version of the Series 6 is a half track stereo machine with 8.25 inch reels and using standard 1/4 inch tape. A quarter track version was available. It had three motors, two used for fast forward, rewind and back tension and one, a split phase capacitor induction motor, for the flywheel and capstan. This type of motor is almost immune to small variations in voltage or load and is controlled by the mains frequency after reaching its synchronous speed. Three speeds were provided 7.5, 3.75, and 1.125 inches/second. It was extremely heavy using valve amplification and built on a sturdy frame.

The companies Wright and Weare first produced machines in the late forties and eventually introduced the famous Wearite deck seen here

A0781