[QuadList] Picture of the day (link to)---and who's in it?

[Bill Carpenter]

Hi Don, and everybody!

I remember that we shipped 256 AVR-2's in the first year. That was from April 
1974 till NAB 1975. I remember a wall that looked like Monitor's, with call 
letters & logo's where the tally were located. I made a hit with our 
Photographers, sent them all over, and made a lot of large 20" 3x4 monitor sized 
back lit transparences. So, this was the wall facing out of the Booth in Vegas 
(1975) with entrances on each side. Most of the pictures were taken with the 
C.E. standing in the Tape Room with each hand on a machine, and color pictures 
on the Tekronic monitors in the bridge. Bob Sidenglanz was in the one taken at 
Compact Video. The logo @ one station was the big neon sign on the roof taken at 
night. 


So, my memories related to a build rate of about 30 a month or 360 per year. I 
turned the AVR-2 over to somebody else in 1976, when the AVR-3 was dumped on me 
to clean up!

I had the largest retrofit in the history on Ampex. The machines could not 
playback tapes with segments, since the Autotracking, set proper tracking and 
turned off, eliminating the "dither". The  TBC with bad ground loops also needed 
work. And there were some record problems also. I had over 60 units, usually in 
3's all over Hollywood, that I had to rework in a hurry.

So, in summary, 4 years could very easily equal 1200+ AVR-2's, and somehow the 
1800 units seems like the total number taht I remember. I can't even remember 
who was the last Product Manager. 

We built the 1200's at about 15-20 a month in 1973. They were much harder to 
build and test. 


And with all that work, the AVR-2's made better pictures with less efforts by 
the operators.
The unions did not like eliminating block of time before playback, to set-up the 
Intersync.
The operators who stacked small reels on the flat deck and  played many 
commercials back to back with two machines loved the AVR-2's.

Maybe if we found who has the highest serial numbered AVR-2, then I will try to 
remember how I set up the serial number sequence?

That's all for now, Bill Carpenter

 





________________________________
From: Don Norwood <dwnorwood at embarqmail.com>
To: Quad List <quadlist at quadvideotapegroup.com>
Sent: Sat, December 4, 2010 9:02:59 AM
Subject: Re: [QuadList] Picture of the day (link to)---and who's in it?

  
Bill:
 
Any idea of the total number of AVR-2's produced and how that compares to  how 
many VR-1200 series machines were made?  I have been told that there  were more 
1200's made than any other model, but I've not found anything in print  for the 
1200's.  Ampex literature states that in 1978, "over 1,400 AVR-2's  were in use 
worldwide".  That's the latest reference I have for them, but I  would guess 
that sales had peaked at that point.  Any insight?
 
Don
----- Original Message ----- 
>From: Bill    Carpenter 
>Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 12:16    AM
>
>
>In answer to the speculation of why the AVR-2's have the greatest    survival 
>rate, it was the last, Hi Performance, yet simple Quad. And it also    had the 
>best video head life (no guide servo) since you could leave the guide    in one 
>position and let the TBC and the AutoChroma do their jobs. This greatly    
>improved the head life and tape life. Also it was more reliable due to less    
>connectors and single board subsystems.


      
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