NAEB Engineering Newsletter (Mar 1957)

These new features are: adequate cueing facil¬ ities, convenient switching devices, ready syn chronization with other studio apparatus, tape inter changeability among recorders, ease in making du¬ plicate copies of taped programs and easy editing. While all of the above features are of interest tc ETV engineers, this is the first mention that Ampex has made of “duplication” of videotape recordings Officials of the Ampex Corporation have been verj conservative in their statements regarding theii videotape recorder. They now forsee three steps in the evolution of monochrome videotape: 1) Strictlj for delayed broadcast, 2) Prerecording of TV shows, 3) Syndication and multiple release of taped pro grams for TV. TV TECHNICAL TIPS NO. 30 In the February Newsletter we led off this column with a story about the revised NAEB Technical Di¬ rectory. If you anticipated receiving a copy of the Directory before this, it isn’t lost in the mails. As I write this, stencils are being cut, and we have a promise that it will be in the mail the first week in March. The Test Equipment Inventory has been completed; the stencils cut, and it, too, should be mimeographed and in the mail that week. The Technical Directory will go to the complete Engineering mailing list; the Test Equipment In¬ ventory will be sent only to chief engineers. * * * * We’ve had a note from John Brugger, chief en¬ gineer for the closed circuit TV experiment conducted by the Board of Education of Washington County at Hagerstown, Md., in conjunction with the Radio- Electronics TV Manufacturers Association and the Fund for the Advancement of Education. He states that during the summer months from June to September they will be expanding their tech¬ nical facilities. He will need extra technical help for these months and will be happy to employ at least three and possibly six persons to help with this work. If any of our readers are available for the sum¬ mer and are interested, you can write direct to John in care of the Board of Education at Hagerstown, Md. * * * * Here’s a tip from Robert F. Lewis, chief engineer of WFBE (FM) Flint, Michigan, which may foster better engineering-production relationships. Due to the difficulty in cueing microgroove rec¬ ords and their susceptibility to damage, WFBE (FM) does not use them directly for program pro¬ duction work, such as in themes, bridges, etc. In¬ stead the music for each production is tape recorded in proper sequence in advance. The tape is then used during the production. This method cuts down the error potential to practically zero, plus reducing wear and tear on discs. For playback a fast-starting tape unit, such as the Magnecorder PT6 series, works very well. * * * * Fifty thousand engineers are expected to attend the 1957 Convention of the Institute of Radio En¬ gineers and the Radio Engineering Show in New York City at the Coliseum and Waldorf Astoria, March 18-21. The program includes 275 papers re¬ porting new developments with 840 exhibits of new apparatus covering all four floors of the Coliseum. We hope to meet some NAEB engineers there and will be checking the bulletin board near the reg¬ istration desk to find out how we can get together. * * * * Another date to remember is the NARTB En¬ gineering Conference and broadcast equipment dis¬ play at the Conrad Hilton in Chicago April 8-11. The past two years through the cooperation of NARTB we have provided educational station en¬ gineers who wished to attend with NAEB identifica¬ tion cards. This card entitled them to register for the Engineering Conference sessions only, and also per¬ mitted' entrance to the equipment exhibits by pay¬ ment of a daily or reduced registration fee for the en¬ tire meeting. We hope this privilege will be extended for the April meeting. A further notice will be forthcoming when definite approval of this procedure has been obtained. * * * * We have occasional inquiries about the avail¬ ability of used equipment member stations may have and are not using. This is especially true of used fre¬ quency modulation transmitters. The most recent inquiry asked where a used 10 watt FM transmitter might be obtained. We realize many tax supported stations find it very difficult to dispose of unwanted equipment. But if any of our readers have serviceable equipment which might enable an institution to get on the air, we’d be glad to help buyer and seller get together. * * * * Page 4