[Tech1] Any Information on Vinten pedestals etc gratefully received!

Sat Aug 17 17:19:54 CDT 2019

     Here's a photo for those unfamiliar with the BTR2 taken at 
Woodnorton in Spring 1963, apologies if you've seen it previously.

I heard that Percy Guy would test the abilities of trainee engineers by 
swapping the top cap clips of the first two valves in the replay amp 
converting the machine into a loud uncontrollable audio oscillator.

He would also stand in front of the monitor speaker and ask why the poor 
lad's recording has suddenly become muffled!

John H.

On 17/08/2019 20:35, Mike Giles via Tech1 wrote:
> Hi Alec,
>
> The main Bristol radio edit suite had BTR2s with outrigger transports 
> which allowed a choice of two feed spools and two take up spools in 
> any combination. This was very convenient for slotting in re-takes as 
> it wasn’t necessary to keep re-loading the feed spool. There was also 
> a null position on each selector switch, which meant that the spool on 
> either side could be made stationary, very useful when playing 
> unwanted material onto the floor, for example, without having to keep 
> a hand on the other spool to stop it spinning.
>
> One of the favourite tasks was emptying used plastic spools from the 
> morning news programme ~ the BTR2 fast wind speed was impressive and 
> by winding the unwanted tape onto the take-up centre, without a reel 
> on it, a very compact wind could be achieved ~ very solid and quite 
> satisfying to throw in the bin, but occasionally the tape would flip 
> upwards, with an impressive spiral of the brown stuff flying skywards.
>
> My recollection is that the BTR2 was by far the best editing machine 
> when equipped with outriggers and by far the best for achieving a neat 
> high speed wind, by putting a half twist on each side of the head 
> stack, giving two benefits ~ the oxide side wasn’t  being dragged over 
> the heads, and the twists meant that the air between successive layers 
> of tape was expelled evenly. All too often a high speed wind on 
> whatever machine without the twists would result in an uneven result, 
> with leaves of tape sticking up which were prone to being damaged in 
> transit ~ particularly serious when stereo came along as edge damage 
> would cause the image to wander.
>
> The final bonus with the BTR2s was the generous amplifier cabinet, 
> which provided ample storage for sandwiches if you wanted them warmed!
>
> Vari-speed was mentioned by somebody. Not specific to the BTR2, it was 
> not uncommon for the replay operator on a live radio insert to feed a 
> short piece of editing tape onto the capstan, during transmission, to 
> shorten the duration of a programme by a few seconds when the producer 
> was nervous that the timing from a last minute edit session was not 
> entirely accurate! We could speed things up, but not slow them down.
>
> Mike G
>
>
>
>
>
>> On 17 Aug 2019, at 17:40, patheigham via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk 
>> <mailto:tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk>> wrote:
>>
>> Something that might be of interest regarding the grams turntables.
>> In the/very/early days, Lime Grove galleries were fitted with 78rpm 
>> turntables (TD7), with radial tracking pickups, and old-fashioned 
>> steel needles. It being impossible to back track the discs, one had 
>> to groove count before the mod of the effect happened, either by 
>> counting turns from the run in, or by gently clicking the needle from 
>> groove to groove, on pre-hear. If you got it wrong, it was either 
>> late, or halfway through! Later, the DRD5, equipped with a stereo 
>> stylus that had vertical compliance, allowed the disc to be rotated 
>> backwards from the start of the effect and so cued in with a bit of 
>> anticipation. This seems to be the mainstay of the exponents of 
>> today’s scratching DJ artistry, but let’s face it, chaps, it’s not new!
>> The turntables with which TVC sound control were equipped (RP2), were 
>> a dual unit, usually two of these, providing 4 turntables. These were 
>> modified Garrard 301s and the modification was that the bottom 
>> bearing for the turntable spindle was fitted with an electric cam 
>> which could raise the turntable up until it connected with an 
>> aluminium plate upon which the disc rested. Thus, with the turntable 
>> already spinning, pretty fast starts could be achieved as the support 
>> disc came up to speed quickly. At 78rpm, and initially all the BBC 
>> Sound effects discs were at that speed, (7” 33 1/3 microgroove came 
>> in the later 60’s), the disc could be backtracked to a quarter of a 
>> revolution from the start of the mod, stereo stylus again, and with a 
>> bit of anticipation, the effect could be spot cued.
>> They were also vari-speed, the correct setting being achieved with 
>> strobe holes on the extreme edge of the aluminium disc, a 50Hz neon 
>> lamp underneath. When the ‘holes’ appeared stationary, that was the 
>> correct speed. One point of interest: the BBC rotary faders had a 180 
>> degree travel, thus, from nothing to full was extremely fast, with a 
>> dexterous flick of the wrist.
>> Here are some photos for the TD7, the DRD5 and the RP2:
>> http://www.orbem.co.uk/grams/grams_1.htm
>> The home page there has the names of the authors – it might be 
>> pertinent to contact and establish that you could use the images for 
>> your talk.
>> I found this on You Tube, about restringing a Mole Richardson boom!
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k9VMrPbCvA
>> However, a story from TV Theatre days, around 1962-3 – Mike Cotton, a 
>> fairly large chap was working the side set boom, a mini Fisher, which 
>> was pivoted on the dress circle rail. To get the proper operating 
>> height, Mike stood on a green canvas chair, which gave under his 
>> weight. Grabbing for a handhold, the inside boom arm, the extending 
>> bit, turned a complete 360 degrees, with horrendous twanging noises – 
>> the racking cables had come adrift! With half an hour before live 
>> transmission, there was no time to get mechanical maintenance down 
>> from TVC, so Mike and I took the thing to pieces on the back floor of 
>> the circle and managed to refix the interior racking cables – think I 
>> got pretty competent, very quickly!
>> Best
>> Pat
>> Sent fromMail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986>for 
>> Windows 10
>> *From:*Alec Bray via Tech1 <mailto:tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk>
>> *Sent:*17 August 2019 09:06
>> *To:*Tech Ops <mailto:tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk>
>> *Subject:*[Tech1] Any Information on Vinten pedestals etc gratefully 
>> received!
>> Hi everyone,
>> On the sound side, I came across BTR2 tape machines and TD7 grams decks,
>> but are there any mechanical niceties for these that would be on
>> interest, e.g., rotation synchronisation on the grams desks,
>> Stringing on the Mole Boom, for instance how many pulleys ...
>> Best Regards
>> Alec
>> Alec Bray
>> alec.bray.2 at gmail.com <mailto:alec.bray.2 at gmail.com>
>> mob: 07789 561 346
>> home: 0118 981 7502
>>
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