[QuadList] History - what is the REAL story

[Don Norwood]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "C. Park Seward"

> Perhaps some of you can point to the true stories.
>
> Story one:
>
> Ampex, having developed a way to record color on quad, needed the
> transistor technlogy tjhat RCA had abd RCA nedded the Ampex patents
> for color. So they did a parent swap with RCA getting color and Ampex
> getting transistor technology.
>
> Some think the transistor technology was actually gotten from Sony.
>
> Time frame should be around 1958 or so.

Hi Park:

I certainly have no first hand knowledge, but --somewhere--, I think I have 
a copy of some correspondence from one of the Ampex guys that was there. 
Perhaps Tim could ask Charlie Anderson what he knows about it.  Anyway, I 
didn't think that it had anything to do with the transistor, but rather that 
Ampex needed RCA color technology and RCA needed Ampex's videotape 
technology.  The only thing I can find at the moment that supports this is 
the following:

>From the industry briefs part of the January 1958 Radio & TV News:
"RCA and Ampex Corporation have signed an agreement for the exchange of 
patent licenses covering
video tape recording and reproducing systems for both black-and-white and 
color."

Don