[QuadList] Care and feeding of VTRs

[Don Norwood]

Hi Matt:

Yes, it probably is a loaded question!  I suspect that there's not a "right 
answer" because there are so many variables, but you specifically said 
"easiest quad to keep running", so I'll throw out my comments on that.  From 
my experience, the Ampex VR-1200/2000 and the RCA TR-70 machines have the 
advantage of very few electronic components that are no longer available. 
Some are scarce, but I've always found what I needed and have a small stock 
of the less common ones.  Generally, the obsolete items are early op-amps 
and logic gates.  In a worst-case situation, if you can't locate the exact 
part, you can substitute a more modern component.  That may require a bit of 
electrical or mechanical re-design, but it can be done, and there are very 
few of those components in the machines.

Contrast that to a newer design with a much greater use of integrated 
circuits.  Many of them have become obsolete and don't have modern 
replacements.  Again, there may be work-arounds for op-amps and simple logic 
gates, but how about a memory chip for the TBC for instance?  I suspect you 
can see where I'm going with this.  As others have pointed out before, 
having a donor machine can be invaluable, but even that has limitations.

But on the flip side of my answer, I could argue that a newer machine might 
be the "easiest quad to keep running" so long as you had adequate spare 
parts.  At least when it comes to the TBC, the advantage of digital 
circuitry is it's interchangeability.  If "easy to keep running" means board 
swapping rather than component repair, then digital has a big advantage. 
With an analog system, if a component fails or a board is swapped, it may 
affect or interact with other components or with other boards, necessitating 
an alignment of the system after the board is repaired or swapped.  With 
digital, a board swap doesn't generally require any re-adjustment.

Again, I don't think there's a single answer.  And besides, today the market 
is such that getting your choice of machine could be difficult.  If you find 
a quad of any sort, get it (and a spare if possible!) and then ask the list 
for help if you need it.  I suspect that all the answers can be found here 
(except for this particular question!).

Don Norwood
Digitrak Communications, Inc.
www.digitrakcom.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt Patoray"

>
> What a great discussion about mechanical parts on quad decks. I love 
> learning all this info! I don't have any quad deck myself just some 
> U-Matics, Betacam SP and MII gear. But it is great info to pass on before 
> it is lost.
>
> I know this is a loaded question but what would be the most restorable and 
> easiest quad to keep running, right now it looks like it's the VR-1200 or 
> VR-2000.
>
> Heck lets extend that question to a few other major formats, 3/4" 1" Beta 
> SP and MII(if ANY MII deck is easy to keep going)
>