[Coco] Importing CCRs

[Gene Heskett]

On Thursday 29 March 2007, Joel Ewy wrote:
>coco at yourdvd.net wrote:
>> I think he was referencing the punched paper tape, in response to the
>> question about the metal wire being used as a storage medium. ...
>
>A little farther back in the thread Gene said this:
>
>Gene Heskett wrote:
>> ...
>> Actually the first version of that used a paper tape with the
>> rust/rouge coating on (supposedly) one side.  But it had a tendency to
>> flake off, or stick to the other side it was wound against, so the
>> plastic was a definite improvement.  Also, they hadn't discovered AC
>> bias for the recording method yet, so the performance wasn't any
>> better than a 1920's gramophone for noise & the DC bias made the
>> distortion something you measured in 10's of percent.  In about ten
>> years time (1946-1957) they went from a 20db s+sn to nearly 65db with
>> the early Berlant-Concertone machines that could run in stereo at a
>> transport speed of 30 ips.  Those had to be seen running before you
>> realized you were listening to a recording instead of the real
>> thing....
>
>So I think he's actually talking about a magnetic paper tape that was
>later replaced by tape with a plastic substrate, if I read it right.
>
Yes, the original kraft paper was replaced by a plastic film, and the 
coatings also improved with better binders & other metals alloyed into 
the rouge, finally getting so smooth that head wear was much less of a 
problem.  Now, its only really abrasive in high humidity conditions.  
Keep it at less than 20% RH, and the wear is almost a non-factor.

In the '70's when I worked for NETV, at one location out in Nebraska there 
was 3 of those 2" wide quadruplex machines in their own air conditioned, 
dehumidified room, being used for the one hour time delay by the NETV 
commission network since NE has 2 time zones.  A roll of tape went on 
those machines and didn't come back off for months, just recorded, 
rewound and played, rewound and re-recorded, wash, rinse, repeat, 
19/7/365. They knew the head life they were getting was good but it was 
really driven home when they had a rotary transformer in one of them 
fail, and it was only a cheap 100 hour rated head.  Checking the books, 
that head then had 7800 hours on it.  The head re-builder fixed the 
transformer for nothing, said the tips were fine & sent it back.  It ran 
to something over the 11 thousand hour mark, but that was typical.  No 
food, smoking or anything else was allowed in that room.  11,000 hours 
from a 100 hour pro-rated head is pretty good IMO.  At most stations, the 
budgeted cost for operating expense on those was $20/hour, 15 of it due 
to head wear.  The other 5 was how much more a tech that understood them 
cost to keep on the payroll...

>JCE
>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>> Subject: Re: [Coco] Importing CCRs
>>> From: Arthur Flexser <flexser at fiu.edu>
>>> Date: Wed, March 28, 2007 9:39 pm
>>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>>>
>>> On Wed, 28 Mar 2007, Gene Heskett wrote:
>>>> On Wednesday 28 March 2007, Chester A Patterson wrote:
>>>>> Wasn't there a wire as storage media in there somewhere way back
>>>>> when?
>>>>
>>>> Yes, in the 40's.  It died a deserving death with the introduction
>>>> of tape.  Then when tape went plastic, we used the paper version for
>>>> a funeral pyre.
>>>
>>> Are you saying that, prior to the advent of plastic, paper tape was
>>> somehow used for audio recording?  (Maybe you're referring to piano
>>> rolls, or some similar scheme for activating notes on a player, as
>>> opposed to actual audio?)
>>>
>>> Art
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Coco mailing list
>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco



-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
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		-- Capt. Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager, "The Cloud"