[QuadList] Old jobs (was 7.5 ips experiences was AMPEX Mark Ten 5 mil head)

[DCFWTX at aol.com]

Hello Guy,

No, that is not me (I was in my second year of college at that time). That 
was Leon, with a full time pipe in his mouth, even when cleaning the heads 
(note bottle on the right side of the TR 70). 

Yes, the room was everything technical (GE audio console, Vital switcher, 
GE PE 350 CCU's, TK 10 CCU, etc.). The whole station was in a Quonset hut 
next to the 500' tower. No direct network line. All incoming network programs 
(the station was NBC/ABC/CBS) was via rotary dial-up to an off-the-air tuner 
located east of Dallas, microwave hopped back to Tyler. They also had a 
microwave hop to the sister station in Lufkin (also all three networks picking 
up their feeds in similar fashion but from the Houston affiliates, on an 
off-the-air Conrac tuner). In a pinch, the station could use a third Conrac 
tuner to receive the network affiliates in Shreveport. What a kludge, but it was 
the only way the station could receive network programming. That went on 
into the 80's when finally the station went full time ABC via AT&T dedicated 
line. 

Needless to say, image quality was directly related to atmospheric 
conditions at times.

David


In a message dated 11/30/2009 11:35:52 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
quadruplex at verizon.net writes:

> Hi David...
> Great picture....Is that you there?  That must have hot sitting in there 
> amidst all that Camden blue!
> I may have to see if I have any vintage pics from that era. 
> We had "everything" in the same huge room....tape, switching, film and 
> the venerable TTU-30.  Luckily, with solid state rectifiers, so the only 
> "boom" it made was the high voltage contactor kicking in or out or the 
> occasional lightning bolt coming down the tower and bouncing around the 
> transmitter.
> I didn't really work overnight, as the station was only on until 10:30 
> or 11 pm back then.  I came in at 2 or 3 depending on when I could get 
> out of school, and did camera shading and tape for local productions 
> until that crew went home, and then I was on my own.  I got my First 
> Phone at 16, and started the solo gig immediately.
> When we first got the 1200/2000s and the Marconi color cameras in '69, 
> we briefly did record "instructional" programs in high band at 7.5 as we 
> had done in low band monochrome on the TR-4s before.  I don't remember 
> the specific reason that we quit doing that, but it might have been 
> simply that some other stations that shared some of our programs, did 
> not have 5 mil heads and didn't want to bother with it for just a few 
> programs.
> As for the fate of Ann Arbor, I really don't remember anything about 
> it's fate.  Once we got the AT&T line from the network, it was pretty 
> much "goodbye" to bicycled tapes.
> Guy
> 
> 
> DCFWTX at aol.com wrote:
> 
> >
> >I believe the color tapes I have received were not from NET, but from 
> >local affiliates (non-NET stations). Nonetheless, they are rare.
> >
> >Ah yes, the overnight shift. Done that (the rewards for eagerness and 
> >a Third Phone/First Phone license). Although I never had to do all at 
> >once (MC/transmitter/tape/watachman), I did do all of the above except 
> >that the transmitter was 20 miles away except for one. That station 
> >had a TT50AH adjacent to the "everything room" with TRT 1, TR4, TR 70, 
> >and TCR 100 (shot is below). What a "kabam!" when the mercury vapor 
> >tubes arc'd.
> >
> >
> >The other transmitter job I got roped into one summer was here at Mt. 
> >Wilson (again thanks to a First Phone license) baby sitting what had 
> >to have been the oldest transmitter up there, an ailing TT50AH. The 
> >station was too cheap to remote it, and was having problems meeting 
> >payroll weekly. Hence, no cash to buy anything new.
> >
> >When doing a combo job in Dallas during lightening strikes (and 
> >momentary power interruptions), some VR1200's would keep on going or 
> >go into rewind. Quite a mess this would make while running MC and the 
> >tape room solo.
> >
> >Didn't the NET facility in Ann Arbor burn to the ground?
> >
> >David
> 

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