[QuadList] ACR-25

[Allan D McConnell]

I recall this machine very well also.  Except that our application in the Washington DC News Bureau for CBS News was to insert news segments into network broadcasts, instead of for commercial breaks.   Like others, we also used it with a zero roll which was really appreciated in the Control Room.  

At the time we installed the ACR25, we were having issues with management over "not getting scheduled meal breaks".    One evening, the News INSERT I had loaded for the news feed physically broke and jammed the machine.   When questioned, I had to reply that the machine had refused to miss another meal and had eaten the tape.   All that aside, I was always fascinated by the ACR25 and loved to watch and hear it as it moved and loaded those tape cassettes.  That was music to my ears. 

Allan 

 

>>> <DCFWTX at aol.com> 8/14/2008 7:58 PM >>>


Yes, they were truly remarkable machines. I worked a pair at KCOP in 1977. 
Maintained them too. I acquired two ACR-25A's complete, and one 25B 15 years or 
so later. The 25B we stripped (it was a parts machine). The 25A's are in 
storage, awaiting that day. They've been there since about 1993. I have pictures of 
their removal. About a year later, I acquired two other 25A's in the Midwest. 
We stripped those for parts. Pictures also.

The carousel was an amazing bit of engineering, as was the vacuum column that 
facilitated the very fast threading/unthreading of the transport. And, the 
ACR was engineered to be able to play 10 second spots back to back-something the 
TCR could not do. The cassettes could hold as much as 6 minutes of tape. 
Hence, they were used in the early days of MTV, who had stereoized versions. The 
TCR could only handle 3 minute loads. 

WFAA in Dallas/Fort Worth uploaded all of their ENG material to a dedicated 
ACR-25 for their newscasts. Since the director switched his own show, and the 
ACR was basically a zero pre-roll device, it made for a very tight newscast!





David Crosthwait
DC Video 
Archive Videotape Re-mastering
177 West Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA. 91502
818-563-1073
818-563-1177 (fax)
818-285-9942 (cell)
DCFWTX at AOL.COM     
DAVID at DCVIDEO.COM 
www.DCVIDEO.COM 



**************
Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? 
Read reviews on AOL Autos.
      
(http://autos.aol.com/cars-Volkswagen-Jetta-2009/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00030000000007 )