[QuadList] Used VR-1200A price in 1979 and several other Quad tidbits from Broadcasting Magazine

[Ted Langdell]

Reading the classifieds in the July 30, 1979, issue of Broadcasting Magazine as preserved on David Gleason's AmericanRadioHistory.com website, we note:
http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-07-30.pdf Page 84

Ampex 1200A VTRs; loaded with options $28,000 ea.
RCA TR -4 Hi -Band VTRS. New heads, good condition, 2 Available S16,000 ea.

Equipment Value versus pay for a Professor:
 
Assistant or Associate Professor: Teach basic and advanced undergraduate TV production. Must have thorough knowledge of radio production and pro- motion and be able to assist in advising. Ph.D. preferred, Master's mandatory. Teaching and professional experience necessary. Salary: $16,000- S18,000 for 10 months. (State-owned University)

Thirteen years earlier, we find the price of a new VR-1200 in the April 11, 1966 issue of Broadcasting, as it summarized the introduction of new VTRs at NAB:

Ampex introduced its new VR -1200 
high -band color machine designed pri- 
marily to do for medium to small sta- 
tions what the company's earlier VR- 
2000 giant is doing for networks and 
the big operators that can afford them. 
The smaller VR-1200 is priced from 
$46,500 to $70,000 depending on 
accessories. Ampex said it will begin
deliveries this month on early orders.

It also noted the introduction of the RCA TR-70 at $82,500, and the debut of Visual/Allen into the new machine market:

A major new entry in the big machine
high-band color class is the Visual-
Allen Continental recorder, model V/A 
100G ($100,000). It is a completely 
new machine developed by Visual 
Electronics in association with Allen 
Electronics Corp. whose manufacturing 
plant is now a division of Visual. The 
unit is designed to make color masters
as well as multiple generation copies 
and incorporates many technical fea-
tures that Allen has proven over the 
years in "Allenizing" other machines. 
Visual also introduced a $50,000 econ-
omy version of the Continental.

Read more about thes 1966 VTR introductions along with details about others on these high quality pages:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/66-OCR/1966-04-11-BC-OCR-Page-0065.pdf
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/66-OCR/1966-04-11-BC-OCR-Page-0066.pdf

and a Visual Allen ad here:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/66-OCR/1966-04-11-BC-OCR-Page-0067.pdf
and more 
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/66-OCR/1966-04-11-BC-OCR-Page-0068.pdf


Comparing the 1979 prices at the top of this post to 1981, used machines were commanding less:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/81-OCR/1981-09-14-BC-OCR-Page-0117.pdf

RCA TR-70 VTR, Cavec & D.O.C.. $17,000; 
Ampex 12008 VTR, D.O.C., Velcomp, Editor, $16,000

It's interesting that the value of Quads is so variable today, with prices for what's essentially a remanufactured machine that can be verified as meeting factory specs approaching the cost of new (not accounting for inflation between then and now), while some Quads can be had for a song, or simply showing up with a truck.

In 1972, RCA announced it would begin refurbishing AMPEX Mark X Quad heads, for $990, with a 200 hour warranty using RCA's then-new Alfecon II headwheel material. RCA notes 50 stations using RCA Quad VTRs obtained 1000 hours of operation on the new heads, and one in Anchorage, Alaska reported 3000 hours.

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-BC-IDX/72-OCR/1972-02-14-BC-OCR-Page-0032.pdf 

Can't find that kind of price, today... as there are way fewer heads being sent in for rebuilding at the last place handling Quad heads on Earth.  It's about six times more (without calculating for inflation between 1972 and 2014.)

And there's your Sunday morning Quad and Coffee compilation.

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary
Skype: 	TedLangdell
e-mail:	ted at quadvideotapegroup.com

Seventh Annual Quad Videotape Group Dinner at AMIA:  7pm, Tuesday, October 7. 2014, Savannah, Georgia
Eighth Annual Quad Videotape Group Lunch at NAB:  12:30pm on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, Las Vegas Convention Center



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