[QuadList] AST

[Jimwheeler at aol.com]

As Wayne Wilson states, the AST is a closed-loop servo.   It was a great 
moment in my life when I closed that loop the first  time.
 
The idea of the AST came from Richard  Hathaway.  He thought of it while 
driving back from vacation in  Canada.  I had detemined that there were three 
major mechanical problems  that made interchange of the old one inch VTRs 
difficult or impossible.   Don MacLeod liked the AST idea so I was put on full 
time to determine the  characteristics of bi-morphs.
 
I spent nearly a year trying different types of piezo-electric  materials 
on my workbench.  I was isolated from the rest of the video  engineers 
because the chief engineer wanted everyone to work on Quad--the Ampex  bread and 
butter.  There were three of us--Don Macleod, Richard Hathaway  (Mechanical 
genius), and me.  Don reported to the chief engineer every  week.   I have no 
idea how Don covered for me.
 
Hathaway took a 7900 scanner and modified it so that high  voltage could be 
applied to the upper scanner.  Don obtained a VR-7950 and  we modified it.  
Ray Ravizza was added at this time and he did most of the  electronics.  We 
used a Color Corrector from Elk Grove so we could  demonstrate in color.  I 
still have the tape we used for  demos.
 
It was me and Hathaway who worked out the various versions of  AST until we 
got one that satisfied all requirements.
 
I believe that we used the first digital TBC--the  TBC--1.  
 
Jim Wheeler
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