[QuadList] OT: Lost tapes - moon landing

[Dennis Ray Wingo]

When we were doing research on this subject we also found out that the folks in Australia made a copy of the slow scan conversion, before transmittal to the satellite on a VR-1100.

This tape was sent to Johns Hopkins University where it has since disappeared.

We were quite involved in this a couple of years ago, up to and including a trip to Suitland MD and the federal records center.  Nothing.

However, we did find over 200 historic NTSC video tapes from NASA and we are looking for ways (i.e. money) to transfer these tapes to digital.

Dennis Wingo
LOIRP Team Co-lead

Also, just this past week I met Marshall Williams, who worked at Ampex for ten years in the instrumentation division.  He was on the design team for the FR-950 and the AR-550.  I have pictures to show but the list won't let me send them.

I will post on Panarimo and link them later today.


On May 2, 2012, at 8:56 AM, C. Park Seward wrote:

> We have discussed the possibility of trying to find the original slow scan moon landing tapes. Here is a series of photos showing the difference in quality of the slow scan vs. the scan converted. At that time, the only was to get the image into a broadcast format was to shoot the slow-scan monitor (with slow decay phosphors) with a camera.
> 
> I also read that NASA would record a lot of tape for each mission and if the mission was a success, they would re-use the tapes. But I think it was the data tapes, not the special video tape. It's thought the original tape was probably recorded on a modified 660 in Australia.
> 
> "For Apollo 11, NASA installed a VR-660 as part of a slow-scan video system for recording at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Australia. The slow-scan television video transmitted from Apollo 11 had a resolution of 250 TV lines at 10 frames per second, where it was then converted using equipment at the tracking station to standard 525-line 30 frames-per-second NTSC video, and then recorded to the VR-660."
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampex_2_inch_helical_VTR
> 
> Of course the other earth stations were not in view of the moon, thus only Australia could receive the signal from the moon.
> 
> Best,
> Park
> 
> C. Park Seward
> Cell: 818-535-2747
> Home: 541-476-6657
> 2" Quad and 1" "C" transfers
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> 
> 
> 
> Please trim posts to relevant info when replying.
> 
> Change subject to reflect thread direction. Thanks.
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