[QuadList] Responding to: Excellent Exchange - Non-Contact Extraction of the Program from Quad Tape - Ampex non-moving head

[Don Norwood]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <allanmc-avtech at comcast.net>

Quad.List,

- About the Ampex High Speed Duplicator. At Byron's Motion Pictures in 
Washington, DC, we had one. In my experience running it I admit to being 
fascinated by the manner in which the magnetic signal was transferred from 
the Master tape to the Slave tapes as it passed through the Transfer 
chambers. Would love to know more about the manner in which that occurred 
especially since that section "Theory of Operation" in the Ampex manual was 
blank!

Allan:

There are several different methods of contact duplication which were 
"perfected" for mass duplication of VHS tapes.  One system was made by Otari 
and another by Sony.  Both used mirror master tapes, but the systems were 
not the same.  I believe that Sony used an exciter field and Otari may have 
been a thermal processs, but my memory is somewhat vague!  I have hi-res 
pics of both systems if you'd like to see what they looked like.  The Sony 
was a flatbed, the Otari was vertical.

The Sony system was called the Sprinter.  The Otari was their TMD System 
T-700.

Found a link to the product brochure for the Sony system:
http://www.storageheaven.com/downloads/sony%20sprinter%20vhs%20duplicator.pdf

Don