Fw: [QuadList] AMPEX TBC-900 for the VR-3000B

[Don Norwood]

SECOND ATTEMPT TO POST.........

-----Original Message----- 
From: Don Norwood
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2016 8:09 PM
To: Quad List ; Ted Langdell
Subject: Re: [QuadList] AMPEX TBC-900 for the VR-3000B

Hi Dennis:

Yes, that is how it works.  Many thanks to Ken Zin who was able to provide a
manual for the TBC-900.  Previously, I had only descriptive literature from
Ampex, but I've restored several VR-3000's over the past few years, and so
was very familiar with that side.  To Chris's comments about the
interconnection, I'm afraid that's not correct.  There is a multi-conductor
cable that runs between the units that carries all of the signals.  This
provision was not available on the early VR-3000's, but was available from
the factory and as an upgrade later in the model cycle.  It became standard
on the VR-3000B.

As to the "why?", if you're familiar with the 3000, then you know that the
design emphasis was not on playback, it was on recording.  As such, both the
signal system and the servo are not of the caliber that is desirable for
serious playback.  It's just fine for confidence checking, but not nearly
the quality that's available thru conventional playback circuits.  So, the
answer was to put most of the signal system from the AVR-2 into a box and
essentially use the 3000 only as a transport.  Remember that the usual
application of the 3000 was to record in the field and play the tape back on
a studio deck.  The advent of the digital TBC for the AVR-2 made the
additional functionality possible.

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