Monday - December 31, 2001
.
In the year 2002, look for LabGuy's World to be adding yet more equipment to an ever expanding expression of obsesive compulsive disorder! My insanity is your (still free) entertainment and history's gain! God bless the internet.
Many new vacuum tubes are already in the mail and heading my way as we speak (I type?). Also, some more rare video machines are lined up or in the mail. Fresh pictures of the IVC-9000 as the cleaning and restoration continues.
Best wishes for a prosperous new year to all who visit my world! Happy New Year!
Tuesday - December 18, 2001
.
Brand new! Well... sort of, just added another IVC VTR to the museum. It is a [rare IVC-700] low cost color vtr from International Video Corporation. Look for a new (old!) Iconoscope tube in the [Vacuum Tube Collection] page as well. Happy holidays!
Saturday - December 8, 2001
.
Added another video switcher to the [appropriate page in the museum]. This one is a small B/W unit made by Hitachi in the late 60s or early 70s.
Friday - December 7, 2001
.
Added a very big three tube Shibaden camera to the [Color Camera Museum] pages this morning. For LabGuy, almost every day is Christmas!
Thursday - December 6, 2001
.
Added a very rare Polaroid camcorder to the [Weird Stuff Museum] page.
Monday - December 3, 2001
.
Added some updates to the [B/W camera museum page]. Look for the Dage 320 turret camera!
Coming Soon! A Quasar VR-1000, VX format, VCR! Very rare, very odd, worked pretty good! Stay tuned!
Sunday - December 2, 2001
.
Added some updates to the vacuum tube museum page. Look for a couple of Plumbicon tubes and a 931B photomultiplier tube. Also, added another weird thing to the [Weird Things Page]! A Tektronix type 4501 scan converter unit. Any info on this item would be greatly appreciated.
Sunday - November 25, 2001
.
What a world we live in! First we launch a space capsule. Then we lose the darn thing. Then someone else finds it 35 years later! But, wait! It doesn't end there. Next they clean up the rusty old space capsule and ship it to San Jose, California for public display. And then LabGuy gets to see it! Here is a [photograph proving it]. Yep, it's an interesting world!
The space capsule in question is Mercury 7, also known as: [Liberty Bell 7]. This was the capsule that flew Gus Grissom. Right after he landed, the hatch blew off and it sank into the sea to depth greater than even the Titanic sits at! A recovery mission, financed by the [Discovery Channel], located and raised this historic item only two years ago. The capsule is currently on display at the [Tech Museum] in San Jose, California, through the 6th of December. If you live in the area, hurry up and see it, as time is running out!
Thursday - November 22, 2001
.
Happy Thanksgiving! At least to everyone in the United States of America.
Coming soon:
1. A vacuum tube, turret style, Dage Video Camera Head and Camera Control Unit! Model number to be determined. . .
2. A GBC AE-50 surveillance camera with built-in intercom speaker.
3. A couple more photomultiplier tubes for the vacuum tube page.
4. An RCA vidicon assembly from an old film chain unit? Model number unknown. It looks brand new too!
5. A very rare, pre-production prototype, 8mm camcorder and playback base unit from Polaroid. This unit was never produced commercially!
So many goodies, so few hours in the day! I hope you all enjoy my web site's madness and the holiday!
Wednesday - November 21, 2001
.
Finally! The grand adventure is over. Starting out last Saturday, my friend JoAnne and I left San Jose, California, headed for Los Angeles in the big white rental truck. Our first stop was at the summit of Mt. Gorman, just east of L.A., where we camped for the night's spectacular Leonids meteor showers. We saw over 2,000 shooting stars between midnight and 4 am. What a heavenly show! Bright and early the next morning we drove into Hollywood. Being the conservative type that I am, we scouted out all of the locations that we had to go to on Monday. Along the way, we stopped at the Westwood Memorial Park and paid our respects to Frank Zappa, Roy Orbison and many other stars who are at rest now. Then we got a hotel room and played tourist for the rest of the day.
The following day, Monday morning, we went to Recording Studio Outlet and met up with Mike Paradisio, the man that sold me the IVC-9000's. We followed him to the warehouse where they were stored. What a mess! Everything had to be out by the end of the month, so the inside was like a scrap yard ~ literally! Old sets, cables, furnishings, you name it! It was in huge heaps, destined for the land fill! Through all of this, all the way in the back were the three lonely IVC-9000s and one Ampex VR-2000 looking so forlorn. They had been sitting for so many years, that their wheels had sunk into the asphalt floor. We had a heck of a time breaking them loose and getting them to roll again. During all of this effort, I made the painful decision of taking only one of the (huge!) IVC-9000s. I had to regrettably pass on the other two. We were rapidly running out of time and there was no help available other than myself and Mr. Paradisio to do all the moving and lifting. Somehow, we managed to get the best of the three VTR's to the back door of the warehouse. With a great deal of sweat and grit, we man handled the machine onto the lift gate of the truck. After a lot of work, the monster was on board! These machines are heavy! I would guess that the IVC-9000 weighed between 400 and 500 pounds! Along with the big VTR, I also managed to obtain replacement waveform monitors and vector scopes to replace the ones that were removed from the deck.
After that, we took our time driving back to San Jose, arriving in the afternoon on Tuesday. The prettiest sight in the world was when Adrian and his trusty forklift helped unload LabGuy's newest toy from the truck! Looking like a lonely Interocetor or maybe like the Old Man in the Cave, the IVC-9000 is the first occupant of LabGuy's new and larger storage room.
Now, the long and arduous task of restoring this machine begins. As usual, Stay Tuned!
Tuesday - November 20, 2001
.
.
Saturday - November 17, 2001
.
All righty then! LabGuy is off to Hollywood this morning. The plan is simple. Rent a huge truck. Drive down to Bakersfield from San Jose by tonight for the big Leonids Meteor Shower. Drive into Hollywood tomorrow (Sunday) and do some sight seeing and other tourist activities. Topping the list is a visit to the cemetery, Westwood Memorial Park, where Frank Zappa rests. While there we will pay our respects to many other celebrities also in residence. On Monday, pick up the three IVC-9000 VTRs first thing in the morning. Visit the movie company, in the afternoon, that is renting my CV-2000 equipment for the film about Bob Crane's life. Then start back to San Jose. As you can see, by my "Reader's Digest" version of the plan, there is a lot to do and not enough time to do it. So, wish me luck and watch for the upcoming page describing this "ever so whacky' adventure!
Tuesday - November 13, 2001
.
When it rains, it pours! Many of my fellow collectors will be dusting off their voodoo dolls after they read this next sentence.
.
LabGuy's World has obtained NOT ONE, NOT TWO, but THREE IVC-9000 two inch helical VTR's !
.
I won't say what I paid for them, but I spent more than that on lunch last month! If I told you how much I truly paid, you'd be dusting off your fire arms! The deal, that I was offered, was so good that I would be a fool to pass it by. I have already arranged for a larger, double size, storage locker to keep my museum in. So, probably early next week, it's off to Hollywood to pick the 9000's up ~ in a manner of speaking. Another great adventure unfolds. So, stay tuned!
Remember the movie deal previously mentioned on these pages? Well, that's coming together nicely too. The necessary equipment will be traveling to Hollywood before this week is out! Eventually, when the film is released, you will be able to see the LabGuy collection "standing in", as it were, in an actual Hollywood movie. Last month, it was Washington DC calling my name. This month, it's Hollywood. Golly!
I have had a working theory for some time now that presumed that when my web site / museum / collection mania reached a certain point, critical mass would be achieved and the site would become commercially viable on its own. Well, this certainly seems to be the case. That, or I'm simply blessed. Either way, I'm not griping! Needless to say, with all this activity AND a day job, timing is extremely tight! So, if you have a great deal for me, hold off until the end of next week. OK?
.
SIDE BAR:
Things you will never hear LabGuy say: "Please, hand me that IVC-9000".
Monday - November 12, 2001
.
Added some more "stuff" to the museum pages this afternoon. Added photos of the DXC-1600 color camera's CCU and AC adapter units. Also added a new VCR to the 3/4" Umatic page. And, last but not least, I've added a strange RF receiver / modulator unit to the Weird and Rare stuff page. Enjoy!
Sunday - November 11, 2001
.
Added another B/W camera to the museum pages today. It is a beautiful [RCA PK-501 one inch vidicon surveillance camera]. A classic camera that looks a little like an automobile muffler! Check it out.
NEWS FLASH! LabGuy's World is working a deal with a movie company to provide prop video equipment for a movie about the life of Bob Crane. You may remember him as Colonel Hogan from Hogan's Heroes. He died under mysterious circumstances in the late 1970's. Maybe this film will help dispel some of the myths that have sprung up over the years. Be that as it may, apparently Bob Crane was an early user of Sony CV-2000 type video equipment. He was into making "adult home movies" with his video gear. It turns out that I have all of the equipment that the film makers will require for the making of their film. This should get very interesting before it is over! The tentative title of the film will be: "Auto Focus". (Funny, auto focus cameras were not developed until several years after Bob Crane's death). As usual, Please Stay Tuned!
Thursday - November 8, 2001
.
I have been busier then a triply betesticled tom cat! Just returned from my second trip to Washington DC in two weeks last night. I was there to participate in the demonstration of a cross country two-way video conference using technology produced by my employer and other companies in the communications field. Possible uses would be for long distance security video at, say, an airport or something like that. The event was a total success in the technical sense. The big trick is to come home with purchase orders for a few dozen systems. But, I must leave that to our experts in marketing. . .
New additions to the museum collection include another Sony CV-2200 VTR and another, this time complete and functional, Sony DXC-1600 Trinicon Color Camera. Updates to the appropriate pages coming soon.
Speaking of updates, two more video books were listed on LabGuy's Library page tonight as well.
Friday - October 26, 2001
.
We have a new page at LabGuy's World tonight! See: [LabGuy's Library] - A list of my personal research library books and (eventually) other research resources. Let me know what you think of this (finally) truly useful addition to my site!
Wednesday - October 24, 2001
.
LabGuy survived his trip to Washington DC! I'm back in San Jose, California, and damned glad of it. I love to fly but I hate to travel! I did get in some sight seeing and behaved like a tourist in general. The bad news is; I have to go back again in a week! <boo hoo!>
Coming soon: A very old Sony VP-1000 first generation Umatic video player! Also adding a spare CV-2200 to the museum collection as well.
Monday - October 15, 2001
.
Just got in new (old) color camera for the museum and added a new (old) vacuum tube to the museum as well. My personal sooth sayer sees a long journey in LabGuy's future, too!
The color camera is a a legendary Sony DXC-1200 Trinicon Studio Camera that weighs a ton! OK, 40 or 50 pounds. It was a bear to get it up onto the tripod all by myself! Even though, I had a helper ~ he watched and directed! Thanks, Rodney! This camera arrived today, in excellent condition, thanks to the absolutely fabulous packing by Tom V., the fellow I purchased this camera from. Thanks, Tom! ! ! [CLICK HERE] to check out the DXC-1200 Trinicon Studio Camera in all its glory.
In the "no state" department, there is a new (old) infrared sniper scope tube. This one is a CRC-3062A. A more modern (relatively speaking) tube than the 1P25 already in the vacuum tube museum. [CLICK HERE] to see the tubes.
Later this week, it looks LabGuy is going to Washington DC. My employer is demonstrating some technology and it is my duty to support the demo at that end. I can provide no other info about the official side of my trip, but I intend to take in a few of the sights in our nation's capitol, if possible. Perhaps I will post some photos and exciting anecdotes here when I return! Look out, National Air & Space Museum, here comes LabGuy! ! !
Tuesday - October 9, 2001
.
Added a rare Concord VTR-600 pre-EIAJ VTR to the museum pages tonight. [Check it out here]. (Scroll down to near the bottom of the page.)
Monday - October 8, 2001
.
Got some new info and a photo today of the RCA SelectaVision MagTape System. You can see that [right here].
Friday - October 5, 2001
.
Added a new (old) camera to the museum tonight. It is an Ampex CC-450 small studio viewfinder camera. [You can check it out right here!] Enjoy!
Friday - September 28, 2001
.
Added a Color Camera and a Video Switcher to the museum pages tonight and another CRT to the Vacuum Tube Museum Page.
Tuesday - September 25, 2001
.
I have started the long awaited Vacuum Tube Collection page tonight. This page is fresh and still under construction. I will add more objects and filled out descriptions of each tube in the following weeks. Check back often!
Friday - September 21, 2001
.
Update added to the JVC Prehistory Catalog Page tonight. Found a nice picture and a tad bit of information on the KV-2 video recorder from around 1965. Finally proved to myself (beyond any doubt) that JVC and NIVICO are one and the same company. JVC stands for Japanese Victor Corp. and NIVICO stands for Nippon Victor Corp. ~ same thing! I know that revelation seems simplistic, but in building this site, I have jumped to conclusions in the past that proved to be too embarrassing to repeat! Remember, my goal is to make this site as accurate as possible.
Just added another B/W video camera to the museum page. This one is an old Shibaden HV-14 one inch vidicon camera that is in remarkably good condition for its age! Feel free to check it, and all the other cameras, out.
Sunday - September 16, 2001
.
Received updated word today, that it was only six engineers. Which in no way diminishes the tragedy.
Thursday - September 13, 2001
.
I received word today, on good authority, that 12 broadcast engineers were working on the television transmitter complex atop the North tower of the World Trade Center when all of the shit started. Watching the news, reading the many emails on the topic, and the overall mood this has placed me in has inspired me to make the patriotic addition now visible my front page. 'Nuff said. : - (
Wednesday - September 12, 2001
.
Two new additions to the B/W camera museum tonight. A JFD model 602 and a Shibaden HV-50. I have more stuff to add, but my spirits are low. Would have added them all yesterday except for that thing in New York City . . . .
Thursday - September 6, 2001
.
New tonight! A Prime Image accESS-500 broadcast video still store has been added to LabGuy's World! This is a product that I may or may not have anything to do with ten years ago. [Read more about it here] . Also added some updated photos of the Panasonic NV-3085 EIAJ video portapack and its camera to that museum page. Enjoy! ! !
Wednesday - September 5, 2001
.
I've added an update to the B/W camera museum pages tonight. Look for an art deco looking GE 500 small studio vidicon camera. In fact, you can [see it here]. It's cool. . .
Saturday - September 1, 2001
.
IT'S OFFICIAL! LabGuy's World is now an official web site with its own domain name and everything! As of 1:30pm today, the real LabGuy's World web site is open for business! Be sure to update your bookmarks!!! The new URL is: <http://www.labguysworld.com/>!
My new web host is: bluedomino.com. If you are looking for a web hosting deal, these are the people to talk to! You get 500 MB of storage, unlimited bandwidth and a domain name for less than $250 a year! That's about the same price as simple dial up access! On top of that, they throw in $300 worth of web authoring software by Coffee Cup Software. Their FTP utility was so easy to use, I had the entire web site set up and running in less than 45 minutes!!!
You want to know what the best thing about this move is? No more pop up ads on my web pages!!! Those were the cost of my "FREE" web hosting from geocities. Well, no more! If an ad is going to be on one of my pages, it will be because I put it there! I now control the content of my pages!!! Hahahahahahaaaaaa!!!! (Silly, aren't I?)
Sunday - August 19, 2001
.
Today was rework day at LabGuy's World. After more than three years on my site, the Dave Sica collection page has been removed. I'd like to thank Dave for his contributions to this site back in its infancy. Since then, I have acquired all of the equipment that Dave's page covered. Sadly, Dave's page became redundant and I needed to clear the space. A couple of Dave's photo contributions still survive on the Sony Cameras Catalog page. Since they are nice photos, I saw no need to replace them. Also gone is the "Color from a B/W Quickcam?" page. After three years, that page generated not one inquiry. So, it's off to the bin as well.
A new addition is coming to the museum pages! And, boy howdy, has this one got LabGuy all worked up!!! After designing it for Prime Image over 10 years ago, I am now getting my very own accESS 500, broadcast quality, Electronic Still Store unit! I was the project champion for that product, way back in 1990/1. We introduced it at the 1991 NAB convention in Las Vegas, where it was immediately nominated for an Excellence in Engineering Award by Broadcast magazine! The accESS 500, Electronic Still Store, sold for a cool $10, 995 at its introduction. I just got mine for $55. 50 on eBay! Now, that's what I call "depreciation"! Stay tuned for the whole sordid story of its development, including personal interviews with the key players in this products development!
Saturday - August 18, 2001
.
LabGuy's World has not moved yet. But, soon it will!
Added a couple of new things to the museum pages today. The first is a Fisher Price PXL-2000 camcorder that records on standard audio cassettes and the second is a two piece Sony DXC-1850 medical grade Saticon / Trinicon color video camera.
Enjoy!
Wednesday - August 08, 2001
.
LabGuy's World has a problem. Due to my prolific collecting and scrounging of equipment and information, I have managed to use up virtually all of the 15 megabytes of free space that my web host, Geocities, has to offer. This has inspired me to begin searching for "real", pay as you go, web hosting. I have a new host in mind and if I can solve a couple of trivial issues, LabGuy's World WILL BE MOVING. Don't panic! It's OK. There will be a redirection link posted at this URL for some time to come. The good news is that I will be getting my own domain name! "www.LabGuysWorld.com" is almost upon us. This will be far easier to remember and just a bit more catchy too. Don't you think? The new host will offer unlimited storage space and a dozen other features, not supported now. Kudos and suggestions are always welcome! As usual, stay tuned!
Friday - August 03, 2001
.
Updates, updates and even more updates! LabGuy has a severe "case of the squints" and a throbbing headache from editing all these pages and photos! He even left a big greasy nose print right in the middle of his monitor screen since he is so near sighted! Make it worth his while and enjoy yourself while spelunking this web site! New in the museum tonight:
1. A brand spanking new Sony CV-2600! This sucker was made in 1968 and has never been used. Check it out here: (Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the CV-2600)!
2. The Technicolor 412D Color Camera. This is the mate to the Technicolor CVC format 1/4" VCR's. (Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the CVC format VCR's)
3. A somewhat LARGE and very old Panasonic two tube color studio camera! One of two cameras obtained along with most of the rest of a small color studio system!
4. An additional photo has been added to the Akai VT-700 entry on the Quarter Inch VTR Museum page. It's a new close-up look at the tape threading path diagram on the inside of the machine's top cover.
(Remember to hit your reload button if you have been here recently!)
Thursday - August 02, 2001
.
I've posted a better photo of the Akai VT-700 on the Quarter Inch VTR Museum page tonight. Check it out. It's pretty!
Wednesday - August 01, 2001
.
I've finally posted the photos of the Sony EV-320F Videocorder on the One Inch VTR Museum Page. Check it out. This particular machine is alleged to have been used to record an interview with television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth. It's cool!
Monday - July 30, 2001
.
Finally! After eons of searching and scrimping and saving ~ LabGuy's World is finally getting the legendary: Fisher Price PXL-2000 longitudinal compact cassette camcorder with a butt load of accessories! WOW!!! As usual, stay tuned!
If you have not fainted from that previous announcement, well hang on to your hat! Bruno Merlier has come through with a photo and more info on that 12 track audio mixer / recorder that uses the same cassettes as my Akai VT-300 system. Read more about that here!
Friday - July 27, 2001
.
LabGuy's World obtained another IVC VTR today! This one is a full color IVC-800A with slow motion! See it on the One Inch VTR Museum page.
Thursday - July 26, 2001
.
Tonight, I've just completed adding updates to the Panasonic NV-8000 and the Akai VTS-300 articles in the museum pages. I hope you enjoy these. Feel free to send me any comments, suggestions or flames.
Monday - July 23, 2001
.
Added a second photo of my VPR-5 on the One Inch VTR page and a very rare Akai VTS-300 portapack on the 1/4" VTR's page tonight.
Saturday - July 21, 2001
.
Many updates added to the museum pages today. Let's see. . . There is the Sony TAV-3610 on the Sony EIAJ VTR page, the IVC-816XA on the One Inch VTR page and two new additions to the Color Video Cameras page. Go there! Enjoy! Send me your comments, corrections, additions, anecdotes, cash, love or flames as you see fit.
Tuesday - July 17, 2001
.
Added one color camera, one B/W video camera and a new one inch VTR to the museum pages tonight. The color camera is a Sony DXC-1600 Trinicon camera head. The B/W camera is a Sony AVC-3250 vidicon small studio camera. The one inch VTR is the IVC 816XA. Enjoy!
Sunday - July 15, 2001
.
This week is: IVC week at LabGuy's World! Two new additions will be added to the 1" VTR museum page in the next couple of weeks. They are an IVC-816 and an IVC-800. The 816 is quite likely to be functional, I have less confidence in the 800. None the less, two mighty fine examples of IVC handicraft coming to LabGuy's World.
Another exciting addition; A brand spanking new in the box Sony CV-2600! ~ Apologies to everyone I outbid on eBay for this gem. This machine is complete and in mint condition including all of its original accessories and the original box! Watch for it ~ Coming Soon!
My newest friend and contributor, Marcel Snijders, has provided some interesting information and photos of the failed Toshiba & BASF / EUMIG LVR systems of the late 1970's. LVR stands for Longitudinal Video Recorder. That is a VTR that uses fixed heads and extremely high tape speed to get the job done. The mechanism is mechanically simpler than rotary head machines, but the task is literally no easier! That is why they never caught on! I will be posting this information to the catalog pages very soon. As usual, stay tuned!
Monday - July 7, 2001
.
I hope everyone had a good fourth of July holiday. LabGuy bought himself a new digital camera so he can photograph all his goodies for your enjoyment. Check out the first two cameras in the B/W camera Museum page. These were shot with the new Olympus C-3030 digital camera. The subject might be junk, but at least the photo quality is sweet!
COMING SOON! The long awaited vacuum tube collection section! Since I just acquired, at great expense, a very rare Iconoscope tube, I decided that the time has come for this much needed addition to LabGuy's World. I am one of the few engineers, in my age group, that has had practical vacuum tube experience! Now I can share some of my nostalgia with you nice folks. I will try to get that page posted as soon as possible. Stay tuned!!!!
The Panasonic NV-8000 VTR arrived. It is in very good shape. I will post a report on it as soon as I get the time to check it out. It's very busy these days at work and at play!
Saturday - June 23, 2001
.
Coming soon; a whole bunch of B/W video cameras to add to the museum page. I am way behind on getting them added to the web site. Over the last month or so, I have decided that I didn't have enough examples of technology from Shibaden and Concord. So, I decided to fill in the gaps. Through diligent searching and insane spending, I now have at least a half a dozen examples of these extinct products. I've also obtained a very lovely JFD model 606 small studio B/W camera as well. (My first VTR was a JFD model 700. Anyone got one of those to donate to LabGUy's World?)
It has been over a month since I paid for the Panasonic NV-8000. No sign of it yet. I hope it is not in the dead letter office! If it ever arrives, it is a beauty!
Thursday - June 21, 2001
.
The Ampex VPR-5 photo has been posted in the museum. The battery gave out in the digital camera, so I only got one good shot today, but you can see it HERE. Enjoy!
Wednesday - June 20, 2001
.
The Ampex VPR-5 has arrived! And it even plays! I'll need to get some tape to try recording. Wouldn't want to erase my reference tape. Now, would I? What a beauty, too! Without the battery pack, which I didn't receive anyway, and with no tape on it, she weighs in at only 13 pounds. WOW! That's very light. Photos and more raving will be posted tomorrow night on the one inch VTR museum page. As always, stay tuned!
Saturday - June 16, 2001
.
Mr. Fred Berney has provided some very nice photos of his GE VTR that is fully compatible with the Sony CV-2000 series of machines. See this on the GE CCTV Catalog page.
I'm still waiting for the last Sony one inch machine, the EV-320F, to arrive. Of course, full photos and other info at that time. Stay tuned.
Monday - June 11, 2001
.
All righty then! The Sony UV-340 and the EV-310 one inch Videocorders finally arrived today. Typical minor shipping damage ~ nothing new there! The EV-310 was expertly packed with that expanding foam stuff. It worked great, except that the inner bag leaked and caked dried foam all over one side of the VTR. It will come off with some elbow grease, no problem. Just humorous. I powered up and tested the EV-310. It's no surprise to me, it needs work.
The UV-340 got kicked around a bit in shipping and the box was actually standing upside down when I received it. I guess literacy is not strictly a requirement for UPS delivery guys. The top cover got dinged up a bit, but can probably be straightened out. I will fire up this unit tomorrow morning and find it out if it works. It sure is a heavy beast.
Photos of both units will be added to the museum page shortly. As always, stay tuned!
Saturday - June 9, 2001
.
Are we having fun yet? None of the Sony one inch machines have arrived yet! What's wrong with the delivery people of the world? (I figure griping will break the cosmic log jam, so bare with me) I guess the only way to speed up the postal system is to mail the paychecks to the postal workers! Sheesh!
In all fairness, on Wednesday, the remote control unit and cables for the Sony UV-340 arrived. This thing is ultra tech for 1970! It has a DIGITAL! tape timer. Far out, man! What would they think of next? The displays are about an inch high and are NOT LED's. These use seven incandescent bulbs for lighting the segments in each digit! And it is compact too. 19 inches wide, 10 inches high and 10 inches deep (roughly). It is rack mountable. Photos, of all of this grand stuff, will be posted on the Museum page when the VTR arrives!
Thursday - June 7, 2001
.
It's official! LabGuy's World is getting the Sony EV-320F. Watch for it on the one inch format VTRs museum page. It's been a month of "filling in the gaps" where it comes to collecting one inch format VTR's. When I set my mind to something, I can usually get it done. But, this has just been one incredible piece of good luck after another! I hope the visitors to this site appreciate this obscure section of history that I am trying to document and preserve. I know that my writing and organizational skills are short of good, but that won't prevent the effort. Over time, this site will simply get better as its track record proves.
Wednesday - June 6, 2001
.
At long last, LabGuy's World will be getting the legendary Ampex / Nagra VPR-5 portable one inch type C production VTR! For those of you who know my web site and have seen the wish list page, you know that this has been the number one item of my searches. A VPR-5 turned up on eBay and I got a hell of a deal on it. Soon, we can all enjoy it displayed here at LabGuy's World!
Also, coming to LabGuy's World, a funky very rare JFD small studio viewfinder / video camera. My first VTR was a JFD model 700. Today, I scored this beauty and I don't even know what the model number is! But, be assured it will be added to the museum pages just as soon as it arrives.
I am proud to say that LabGuy's World is the single largest museum of obsolete small format video equipment on Earth! I hope this trend continues for the rest of my life!!!
Tuesday - June 5, 2001
.
I've added photos of the Concord VTR-1100K, Shibaden SV-510 and HV-40 VTRs and video camera to the museum pages tonight. Also added a sweet picture of the insides of a Technicolor 212D 1/4" VTR to the museum pages as well.
I am still awaiting the arrival of the Sony EV-310 and UV-340 one inch VTR's. I guess waiting for the delivery guy is like waiting for a pot to boil. . .
Thursday - May 30, 2001
.
What a week! It looks like LabGuy's World is getting yet another Sony EV series one inch VTR! A deal is being worked out right now for a Sony EV-320F. The EV-320F was a full fledged editing deck with flying erase heads. This machine is alleged to work. Only time will tell. Stay tuned! The Sony UV-340, full color one inch machine, is in transit and should be here by the middle of next week. Woo hoo! A remote possibility also exists that we may be seeing an Ampex / Nagra VPR-5 in my museum soon as well. Busy, busy, busy!
Friday - May 25, 2001
.
In the news: Erik Dix, of Notre Dame University, was successful in getting his Sony AV-8600 repaired. He was dubbing old tapes and broke one of the video heads. In desperation, he wrote to LabGuy's World for advice. LabGuy, being the world renowned expert on such things and famous, but humble, humanitarian that he is, gave Mr. Dix his spare AV-3600 head drum, gambling that the heads were compatible with an AV-8600. On the advice of Mr. Paul Beck, Mr. Dix then shipped his machine to a service center in Maine, which was capable of replacing EIAJ video heads. In thanks, Mr. Dix is going to provide LabGuy with a couple of freshly recorded reference tapes, one in color and the other in B/W, made on his newly restored AV-8600. LabGuy, overcome with joy and traveling in the Lake Tahoe region of California this weekend, was not available for comment.
Have a great three day weekend! ~LabGuy~
Wednesday - May 23, 2001
.
The Shibaden SV-510 VTR arrived today. Photos and info will be posted as soon as I can squeeze in the time.
It's official! LabGuy's World has acquired a rare Sony UV-340 one inch VTR manufactured in the early 1970's. Photos and info will be posted as soon as it arrives in a couple of weeks.
Tuesday - May 22, 2001
.
The Concord VTR-1100K arrived today! Photos and info will be posted soon. Many updates in the museum pages tonight! In EIAJ other VTR's, B/W video cameras and Color video cameras. Don't forget to hit your reload button!
Possible goodies to look forward to in the near future: A Shibaden SV-510 EIAJ VTR, a Sony EV-310 one inch VTR, a Sony UV-340 one inch VTR and a Sony PV-120 two inch VTR from 1963!!! Geez, only a month ago I decided to look for the older Sony machines. I never dreamed I could find them so quickly. The same thing happened last month when I decided to fill in the blanks when it came to Concord video equipment. So, on that note, does anyone have a Wollensak VTR-150?
People ask me, "LabGuy, how do you do it? Did you inherit a bunch of money or something?" Yeah. ~ Something like that! :)
The recent mystery over the Sony CV-310 VTR has proven more interesting than I first thought. Sony NEVER made a CV-310. But, it turns out, that Sony did make an SV-310! It was a two head, omega wrap, skip field half inch machine just like a CV-2000, made around 1963. In fact, it is a special version of the CV-2000. The difference is that the SV-310 had a built in audio amp and speaker and professional XLR audio connectors. How do I know? Good question, glad you asked! I bought a CV-2000 service manual. When I opened it, today, a service bulletin for a model SV-300 VTR fell out onto my desk!!! You could have knocked me down with a feather. What kind of luck is that? There are images of the machine in the bulletin, but being an ancient 1960's photocopy, the quality sucks. It is definitely NOT the machine shown on Martijn's web site, on the Sony page. In Dutch, Martijn says that he has no idea what the machine is. Now we know that Martijn really doesn't know! So now I am as stumped as Martijn! Stay tuned for more interesting developments as they happen!
Don't confuse the SV-310 with Sony's earlier SV-201. The SV-201 was a miniaturized quad machine. It used two inch tape (I'm pretty sure) and was based on transverse scanning with four video heads, just like the larger broadcast machines of the time. But, you gotta admit, it was kind of cute!
Sunday - May 20, 2001
.
OK. I finally got around to adding a few more items to the museum pages. First is the JVC CH-1800U three tube color camera in the color cameras museum page. Second was the latest addition to LabGuy's museum, a very rare and beautiful Panasonic NV-8000 VTR with walnut cabinet. Third is a semi rare Sony EV-310 one inch VTR. It looks like it is going to cost me more to ship it to California from Canada than I paid for the machine itself! In fact, I won the eBay auctions for these last two item only moments before updating the museum pages and this entry in What's New.
The Concord small studio camera arrived on Wednesday. Wouldn't you know it? LabGuy forgot the model number already. Can you say Alzheimer's, boyz and girlz? Photos of it as soon as possible.
The Concord VTP-310 arrived on Thursday. It is in beautiful condition. No photos at this time either, coming soon ~ I promise. The room mate has not been around to loan me his digital camera all week. I'll see him at work tomorrow and beg him. . . . maybe.
YECCCCCHHH ! ! ! !
Here is one for the bio-hazard boyz!! I received the second Sony AV-5000A VTR. After one quick look, I slammed the lid shut and shoved it way back under a work table where it awaits decontamination! Can you say hemoragic fever! (I know I can't spell it!) The damned thing is full of rat shit! The guy didn't even sweep the top of the unit off before shipping it!! I should report him to some authority! Jeez!!! I am open to any suggestions on how to safely clean this machine up. A breathing mask and rubber gloves are obvious. What kind of cleaning solution should I use? Or maybe I should just burn this one!
Monday - May 14, 2001
.
A couple of nice updates in the museum pages tonight. First, go look in the non-EIAJ VTR's for the Concord VTR-620. Next, see the Concord PCC-49 (oldest) single tube camera in Vintage Color Cameras.
More updates tomorrow night. . .
Saturday - May 12, 2001
.
Finally! A couple of items have arrived! Replacement vacuum tubes for the motor drive amplifier in my Sony EV-200, the Concord VTR-620 (in beautiful condition in its original box), and a very rare Concord color video camera PCC-49 from 1975! This camera is a new one to me. It is the oldest single tube camera I have ever seen! I also received a JVC CH-1800 three tube color video camera from Matt Patoray. It looks great on the dolly-tripod in my office! More photos of the new stuff when my room mate comes home with the digital camera! (I think he has babysitting duty at his sister's this weekend.)
Speaking of stuff in my office, notice that I have pulled my long running appeal for museum support. I went out and rented a storage locker today to make room at work. Just because the company now has no room for their own equipment, I have to move mine. It was obvious this day was coming! I will post a couple of humorous photos of my work area in a couple of days. I can barely roll my chair around without crashing into one of my priceless collectibles! Of course, I will keep one or two goodies behind to work on in my spare time! The big decision is, of course, which two? (or three?)
A MYSTERY SOLVED!
Ok, I can't read Dutch. So, shoot me! Turns out, that Martijn has a Sony EV-310 that he misposted as a CV-310. That's fine. No problem. What I could not read was that he says the he had no idea what the model number was for the OTHER VTR he was showing there. Does anyone have a guess what it is? See it on this page <HERE>. The particular picture of interest is <THIS ONE>. My guess is that it is an early JVC one inch VTR. Can YOU help identify it?
Tuesday - May 8, 2001
.
Still waiting for a truck load of video recorders! I know how to speed up the postal system! Mail the postal carriers their paychecks!
In the mail right now: Sony AV-5000A (#2), Concord VTR-1100K, Concord VTR-620, Concord VTP-310, Technicolor 212 (#3) and a Shibaden SV-510. This is just the VTR's! I'm not even going to list the video cameras, TV tuners, sync generators, vacuum tubes, video cables and service manuals I'm still waiting for. Jeez! It must be a quarter of a ton of stuff, easy. . . OK, I confess. I forgot to send the payment for the AV-5000A. But, it's all taken care of, so that one doesn't count. The rest of them, however, are going way over the two week mark now.
Monday - May 7, 2001
.
What a day! While browsing the web, using the Google Search Engine, I found two VTR's that I had never ever heard of nor had ever seen before!! And I've been at this mania for 25 years! Look on the Sony CV series catalog page and on the Shibaden catalog page for my surprises.
Boy, the mail sure has been slow. I've got tons of stuff coming and none arriving! Somebody tell my mailman to wake up and get on with it!
Friday - April 28, 2001
.
Coming soon! Three Concord VTR's and three Concord video cameras! Up to now, LabGuy's World has had only two small Concord cameras in the museum. But, due to the alignment of the planets, I will be getting a color EIAJ model VTR-1100K, a B/W non EIAJ VTR-620, a color camera model PCC-49, a small studio B/W viewfinder camera model unknown and a B/W EIAJ video tape player VTP-310. When it rains, it pours!
Just a historical note: In the 1960's some of the Japanese companies assumed English sounding names as there was still some sensitivity towards Japan remaining in the United States. Panasonic went by Concord. Akai was known as Roberts. Sony used the Delmonico name very briefly, but really had chosen its name to non nationalistic from the beginning. JVC was known as Nivico for a while as well. As the Japanese shed the image of "cheapness and shoddiness" and gained a reputation as high quality manufacturers, it was no longer necessary to use corporate aliases.
The VTR-1100K is of the Panasonic NV-3160 variety. Condition is unknown, it is still in the mail.
The VTR-620 also comes with a Concord video camera model MTC-12 and lots of the original accessories. The VTR-620 is of the Panasonic NV-8000 series of non EIAJ VTR's that run at 12 IPS (40 minutes on 2400 feet of tape) and should be compatible with that series. This VTR is in absolutely pristine condition and will arrive packed in its original box! The MTC-12 is a B/W surveillance type camera using a one inch vidicon.
A very rare Concord PCC-49 Color Video camera is in the mail as well. It is a rather complete outfit including the EVF-49 CRT viewfinder, the PS-49 AC adapter, the DC-49 DC adapter with battery pack, Superscope microphone and a load of cables. This one should be very interesting indeed. It appears to be a first generation Panasonic single vidicon color camera very similar to my RCA CC-002.
The model number of the small Concord studio camera is unknown. It has two lenses with it and a built in 4" viewfinder. It is also still coming through the postal system.
Friday - April 27, 2001
.
Updates to LabGuy's World tonight include a Technicolor 335 "Video Showcase" on the 1/4" VTRs museum page and a NEW museum page devoted to Vintage Video Switchers. On that one, you will see the 1968 Sony SEG-1 and read about what I have planned for it. Now on to the important news!!
I survived my trip to Las Vegas and the N.A.B. convention! While I was there, I saw many fascinating new video gadgets, services and paradigms! My brain is full now, can I go home? I also met many old friends in the video industry and missed a couple of others by mere minutes. I managed to pass out a couple of my LabGuy's World business cards to some folks who found them either intriguing or amusing.
Tim (Timba) Stoffel (Quadruplex Park) was fascinating and charming. A real pleasure chatting with him about some new additions to his web site. His other pages (Yes, he has more interests than just video.) were discussed as well as his plans to acquire enough remote land to have himself a Lion Farm. Yep, man eating beasts! Or if I know Timba very well, the other way around. Character is a blessing!
I missed meeting my on line friend, Howard Katz, by just a few minutes. Howard was the East coast tech representative for Sony through out the 1960s and on. While testing a Knox Video Technologies Router, I discovered Howard's name in the software boot up message! It figured that I could find him by dropping by the Knox Video booth. I was too late, but was reassured that my card would be passed on to him. Mr. Katz is responsible for all of the accurate information about the early Sony VTR's here at LabGuy's World. We got cut off in mid-stream when first I moved to Wyoming and (as I have just discovered) Howard then moved to Arizona. I really need to get back in touch with him so I can have all of my claims verified, criticized and corrected. Hi Howard!
At the DRS Ahead Technologies booth, I ran into old friends from CMC Technology. A company that is now gone, but where I worked first in 1980 upon arriving in the Silicon Valley. I learned that my old boss, John Luis, was alive and well. I hope to hear from him soon!
One last thing about the convention. A piece of advice. If you are going to a convention where you are sure to walk dozens of miles each day, DO NOT use that as the opportunity to break in your brand new shoes! 'nuf said!
On my off time, I did manage to get over to the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel where I visited the Star Trek Experience! Now, if you are a Treky, Trekor Or whatever, you've GOT TO see this! I can't tell you how it goes, for risk of being "assimilated", but it is worth every penny! There is also the Star Trek Museum, the Deep Space Nine Promenade and Quark's Bar! Following my experience, I was accosted by THESE TWO GUYS, who forced me to buy lots of gifts and souvenirs! (LabGuy is the fat one in the middle, who looks like the cat that ate the canary!) The definition of "sad": Those two Ferengi's are taller than me! Later, while eating a "cheeseborger" and sipping on a Romulan Ale in Quark's Bar, enjoying my drink's blue effervescence, I met the most entertaining Klingon! My sides still hurt from the comedy beating I took from him. Hurt me some more, big fella!
~Later!~
Monday - April 23, 2001
.
What happened today? LabGuy's World got 108 hits! I think that's a record. Thank you all!
I've got some of the updates in. The museum has been updated with entries for the Sony AV-5000A and the Panasonic NV-3020C. The entry for the Sony AV-8400 has been updated, showing off the new (virtually working) AV-8400 in the collection.
The Technicolor Video Showcase model 335 arrived today. But unfortunately, I don't have any more time to get it listed tonight. I'll be off to Las Vegas in the morning and there is a lot to do before then. I hope you appreciate me squeezing a couple of precious hours into getting some of the new stuff listed for your enjoyment. I amy post a little blurb about my trip if anything worthwhile turns up. C-ya!
Sunday - April 22, 2001
.
Sorry folks, I won't be getting to those updates this weekend. Too much other stuff to do to get ready for my trip to the N.A.B. convention in Lost Wages. Items to be added to the museum pages include the following: Panasonic NV-3020C (non-standard?) color EIAJ VTR, Sony AV-5000A non-standard color / B/W EIAJ VTR and a Sony AV-8400 color EIAJ portapack system plus accessories.
I will try my best to get them posted next weekend along with a synopsis of my upcoming trip to the N.A.B. show. Plan on reading a lot about the current state of digital SDTV & HDTV! Call me insane. (You're insane!) But, I'm just crazy about this stuff.
I have just obtained another Sony CVC-2000 video camera outfit. It is identical to the first one I got, minus the tripod. I also have a very rare Technicolor Video Showcase model 335 and several 30 minute Technicolor tapes coming in the mail. That's a combination 1/4" color VCR and 9" color monitor unit without the TV receiver. We already know I'm insane, so it should come as no surprise that I have yet another Sony AV-5000A coming in the mail! Great stuff! But, what the heck, a boy can't have too many cool toys, can he? Oh, yeah. Refer to my appeal at the top of this page again!
Thursday - April 19, 2001
.
First. Did you notice the changes on my front page? These changes were made to make the site entrance resemble more closely the new business cards I had printed. If you come to the Prime Image booth at the NAB convention, next week, and ask for me, I'll give you one of my new very expensive four color offset printed cards!
The AV-8400 arrived yesterday and has gone through a preliminary checkout. The darn thing is in very good condition and almost works. Of course, it needs belts. It pulls tape but won't rewind, though it records and plays OK! Rewind was not a show stopper either - that's where the little hand crank (armstrong) rewinder from my ancient DV-2400 came in handy!
The AV-8400 is very clean and came with an AVC-3400 B/W camera with two lenses, the AC-1000 power pack / color adapter. It has all of the (optional) plug in color modules and RF adapter. Another surprise was the BP-30 three hour NiCad battery pack was there and it's good. Imagine that! There is also a smattering of small accessories like the original microphone and earphone, cleaning cloth and wands, misc. cables, carrying straps and the big roll around fiberglass shipping case which has all the foam rubber rotting out of it! An hour with a paint scraper, hot glue gun and some new foam rubber and she'll be good as new! I'll try my best to post this gem to the museum pages this coming weekend.
To test this portapack, I wanted to use a known good videotape. This is where Matt Patoray's method came in handy. You fast forward a brand new VHS tape to the end. Then take out the full reel, cut off the leader and put it on the take up reel position of your VTR. Thread it backwards and rewind it onto an empty reel. You have to do it this way because VHS tapes are spooled "oxide out" and EIAJ was spooled "oxide in". The tape worked fine on the AV-8400. One VHS tape was able to fill a 5" spool half way.
Friday - April 13, 2001
.
Finally! The Sony AV-5000 has arrived ~intact! That's just like; UN-damaged!! Mr. Postman, you're slipping!!! And to top it all off, it's actually an AV-5000A! Who says Friday the 13th is bad luck? For the uninitiated, the AV-5000A is the model featured in the photo on this site's front page.
LabGuy's World now has one of every model of half inch reel to reel VTR in the CV (skip field) and AV (EIAJ compatible) series, that Sony ever shipped. Now if my old friend, and he knows who he is, would contact me about those two CV-5100's he has stashed away, LabGuy's World could even have models that were demonstrated, but never shipped commercially!
Test results and two separate tales about the AV-5000 will be posted along with the photos of this latest VTR with in a few days. As always, stay tuned!
Rumor has it that the AV-8400 color portapack will arrive next Thursday. LabGuy can't wait!
Sunday - April 8, 2001
.
Coming soon to LabGuy's Museum. A better quality Sony AV-8400 color portapack VTR and my first Sony AV-5000 non-standard color EIAJ VTR. The arrival of the AV-5000 completes the museum collection of half inch Sony VTR's. LabGuy's World now owns at least one of every model of half inch, open reel, Sony VTR that was ever shipped! Time to start in on the one and two inch Sony VTR's. . . .
The first AV-8400 in the museum collection is in extremely grim and rusty condition. It is very likely to become a parts donor to the new one. This beauty had an auto threading system which evolved into the later EIAJ-2 cartridge VTR format. In fact, all you have to do, to make an AV-8400 recording EIAJ-2 compatible, is to drop the reel into an EIAJ-2 cartridge. Stay tuned for exciting developments with this model.
Finally, after 26 years of anxious longing, LabGuy is going to get a Sony AV-5000 color VTR. In 1975, I received my regular quarterly catalog from Denson Electronics, a huge surplus dealer specializing in video equipment. In it, was an ad for brand spanking new Sony AV-5000 VTR's for the low low price of only $200! Up to that time, a new AV-5000 listed for $2250 retail. What a bargain!
Now, not to lament my upbringing, I will only say that my parents had 50,000 reasons as to why I did not "deserve" to have this VTR. They believed that deprivation and mental abuse build's character in children. (I don't know about that. But, I do know that it does build remarkable careers for thousands of psychiatrists and street corner pharmacists!) Enough said.
Well, an AV-5000 turned up recently and I got it! It will be arriving, in the mail, any day now. When I post this AV-5000 in the museum pages, I will go into more detail of TWO very interesting stories concerning the history of the machine and my years and years of searching for one of these extremely rare artifacts. Obviously, stay tuned!
Saturday - April 2, 2001
.
The Sony EV-200 one inch video recorder arrived today. It is in excellent condition and I will test is as soon as possible. Already got some brand spankin' new tapes for it and all the video gear a boy needs! Stay tuned.
Saturday - March 31, 2001
.
I've just finished updating the color camera museum pages. They are now broken up, like the B/W camera pages so that they load faster for you folks on dial up access. One new color camera in the line up. A rare Hitachi FP-3030 single tube color camera. Check it out!
Friday - March 30, 2001
.
The Akai VT-700 1/4" reel to reel video tape recorder arrived today. The packing was excellent, so there was no shipping damage. The machine has obviously been stored poorly over the years and will need a good top to bottom cleaning. I always thought this machine had a wood grained cabinet? The one I just got is black leatherette. . .
I threaded up a tape and the darn thing played it OK. It records too. I recorded multiburst, a test signal that is used to measure frequency response. Needless to say, this format is not the highest performing, but it makes usable pictures with just over 2 Mhz of bandwidth. This translates to roughly 190 lines of horizontal resolution (not be confused with scanning lines). Final conclusion: this deck will need a good cleaning, all of its electrolytic capacitors replaced, and a total mechanical tune up. But, compared to recent acquisitions, this one is a winner!
Thursday - March 29, 2001
.
Rumors are flying around. I don't want to name names, but Rick Thomas says that a lady at Sony told him of a rumor that Sony might manufacture a special color EIAJ machine because there seems to be a large demand by folks trying to recover recordings. It's only a rumor. . . right?
Rick Thomas has scored a couple or three hundred brand new vintage VTR's in warehouse sale. Apparently it was an old overstock warehouse who's owner up and croaked! There is thirty Sony AV-5000's in the lot and it is possible that LabGuy's World will be getting a couple of these (a 5000 and a 5000A). I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Earlier this week, I won an auction for a very rare Panasonic NV-3020C. This is a color incompatible EIAJ deck like the Sony AV-5000. The big question on my mind is, "is this machine color compatible with the Sony AV-5000"? Panasonic had this habit of copying every product that Sony produced in those golden years of VTR's. Stay tuned!
No sign yet of the Sony EV-200 I purchased last week. Probably get it some time next week. I did happen upon 7 reels of tape from another source in Seattle and might get 4 more from the place I got the EV-200 itself.
No sign either of the Akai VT-700 1/4" VTR deck. Any day now. I can't wait!
Monday - March 26, 2001
.
It was like Christmas for LabGuy today. Yep! Boy howdy!
The 1968 Panasonic NV-8100 1/2" reel to reel deck finally arrived. I got a few moments to plug it in and check it out. It works! Not only does it work, it works great! Looks like it runs at about 12 IPS. A real ripper! That should give about 40 minutes recording time on a 2400' reel of tape. Let's see now. . . where did I leave my abacus? . . . that's 2400 feet divided by 1 foot per second equals 2400 seconds. Hmmm. . . 2400 seconds divided by 60 equals ~ what do you know about that? ~ FORTY minutes! I didn't get a chance to record with it, but see no reason why it won't. Might be able to test it early tomorrow morning if all goes well.
Another Akai VT-100 portapack arrived today. It works too. . . sort of. Pulls tape, makes a picture on the 3" monitor and plays sound too. Won't take up or rewind. Nothing a few small rubber belts won't fix. Add another 20 minute 1/4" test tape to the collection. That makes for five test tapes, each one recorded on a different machine. These will be priceless for doing Akai and Roberts VTR tape path alignments in the future!
Two more color cameras arrived, as well. Another JVC GC-4800U (two tube) and an Hitachi FP-3030B (single tube). The 4800 checks out. It makes a picture, which is more than can be said for the first two! Probably could have used some more light. Anyone got a spare nuclear warhead I can borrow?
There was no time to check out the FP-3030 today. Stay tuned!
Never the less, LabGuy is overjoyed!
Thursday - March 22, 2001
.
I got a few minutes to test the Ampex VR-420 today. It needs work. Anyone got a service manual for this one? The transport runs good ~ with head servo problems, but the color circuits seem to be working.
I was feeding the Ampex VR-420 from my RCA CC-0020 color camera with color CRT viewfinder. Another cool toy that I have to get entered into the museum pages. The CRT operates on the principle of "beam indexing". This little 1" tube has about 120 red, green, blue & ultraviolet stripes printed across the inside of the faceplate. Yes, ultraviolet! There is only one electron beam that is switched in sequence very rapidly through the three colors. The circuits know when to switch because a photo cell picks up the pulses of UV light produced as the beam scans across the face of the tube. Thus the term "beam index". It works as good as it sounds like it would. What's the biggest shortcoming of the system? Think about this. How much index pulse is produced when the scene fades to black? Right. None! So, the tube has to be operated with the brightness turned up so it only fades to gray instead. Otherwise, color would rainbow for the first moments when video returns after a fade to black. The advantage of this tube is the lack of a shadow mask, which absorbs most of the electron beam in conventional color tubes. In the beam index tube, all of the beam gets to the phosphors increasing the efficiency and making for very bright pictures. Sony made a video projector with a built in Betamax VCR using a 5" version of this tube. It would project a viewable picture on to a plain white wall in a normally lit room. The tube was actually too bright to be used in a practical direct view set! Very Rube Goldberg! But, I love it.
Tuesday - March 20, 2001
.
The results are in. The latest Akai VT-110 ran for a grand total of 15 minutes before the capstan drive gave up the ghost. Not bad for an antique wannabe! Anyway, I now know that I seem to have several Akai 1/4" videotapes with usable test material on them. Seeing that old jumpy video, with all those horrid drop outs, on a 3" monitor made me so nostalgic! I wonder who all those strangers ~ and their dogs ~ from the (good) old days really are?
I also just received a copy of the full Akai VT-100 service manual in the mail. It may apply enough to the VT-110 for me to use it as a repair reference for now. My source says he doesn't have any of the other manuals. Oh, well. I won't let that stop me from diving in and working on the Roberts 1000 and the Akai VT-700 just as soon as the NAB convention is over! Isn't it a shame the way our day jobs get in the way of our hobbies? <heavy sigh>
I received an email from Richard Levine who recommended I try a high grade Maxell XL1 audio tape on my Akai VTR's. Richard claims he used to use it on his Akai VTR's with success. I have placed an order with him for some of this tape. Hopefully he can supply me with some very soon.
In all the excitement, I almost forgot! I scored a 1963 Sony EV-200 1" B/W VTR on eBay this morning! This is now the oldest example of the technical art in my museum (or soon will be!). This machine's coolest (hottest?) feature is that it uses a pair of horizontal output (vacuum) tubes in the head motor drive amplifier! Been a while since I had to wait for a piece of equipment to actually "warm up"! The day before, I also scored 7 reels of Ampex 190 1" tape on the proper reels for use with the Sony EV-200 as well. Hmmm, I paid more for the tape than for the VTR. The tape is coming from Seattle. Must have been that big earthquake shook this tape out of hiding? Naaaaa!!!!
Sunday - March 18, 2001
.
The search is on! Does anyone know of a source of quarter inch videotape? I have been told that high energy (chromium) audio tape might work for this. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Does anyone even read my "What's New" page? Please write and let me know.
LabGuy's museum now has enough 1/4" VTR's to really give the logistics some thought. I have at least one machine that is fully functional, at least in playback mode. Soon, I will be in possession of the full service manuals for several of these VTR's. The equipment line up includes; three Akai VT-100's, three Akai VT-110's, one Akai VT-700 and one Roberts 1000. I have enough parts of each of the 100 and 110 to make at least one completely operational unit of each. I see no reason why the Roberts 1000 can't be made fully functional either. The VT-700 is still in the mail, but I have high hopes for it as well. Also needed; 1/4" tape reels (5" / 7" / 10.5") with or without tape and NAB hub adapters to go with the 10.5" reels. I'd prefer reels with the Akai name printed on them but will take anything for now to get me started. Can anyone donate or loan a pre-recorded Akai 1/4" videotape for me to use as a test reference?
On the 1/2" EIAJ videotape front, Matt Patoray writes and tells me that he has found that VHS tape works very well on his Sony AV-3650. I have been told this by other people as well. A six hour T-120 cassette hold just enough tape to fill a 30 minute 5" reel. Soon, I will be testing Betacam (professional) tape on my EIAJ and non EIAJ 1/2" VTR's. Does anyone know if Betacam tape is chromium or pure metal tape? I will keep you all posted on the results of these very interesting tests.
I have been contacted by no less than two separate parties who need some old tapes transferred from the Panasonic (pre-EIAJ) NV-8000 format to something a little more modern. I have two of these VTR's that need to be restored to at least playing condition before I can make a realistic offer to help these folks.
It figures that I would get enthusiastic at a time when I have NO spare time to devote to these highly interesting problems. My day job is in "full speed ahead" mode, as we are preparing a couple of new products to unveil at the NAB convention in Las Vegas this coming April. So, it is work, work, work!!!
Why is it, that when someone sells a video camera on eBay, they will describe the lens in great detail, but hardly say anything about the electronics? I was just wondering. . . I have to say that at least 80% of cameras are advertised in this way. Don't people realize that the plastic magnifying glass found in a box of Crackerjacks has a higher resolution capability than either NTSC or PAL video? OK, I exaggerate ~ a little! In 30 years of working with video cameras, I have NEVER encountered a TV camera that was limited in any way by its external optics!
The only thing we need to know about the lens is its zoom range and speed ~ lowest f stop number. That's all. The zoom range lets us know if we can use it indoors ~ how many times have you zoomed all the way out and could only get two people in the picture while shooting in an average size living room? The f stop setting let's us know if we even stand a chance of having enough light for indoor shooting. (Sunlight is a "no brainer")
The demise of the MIR space station has been pushed out one more day. It is now doomed to fall into the south Pacific on the 23rd of March. I have time left to polish my hard hat!
Saturday - March 17, 2001
.
LabGuy is trying to make the museum and catalog pages, at LabGuy's World, a little friendlier for those of you who have dial up internet access. Some of the pages are so top heavy with image files, they can take over 15 minutes to load with a 56k dial up connection. The Sony and JVC catalog pages have been fixed up a little in this respect and the B/W Camera museum page has been fixed up a lot. Check them out and let me know what you think. I will try to limit pages to no more than 10 image files and also try to keep the file size in the range of 20 to 30 kilobytes. This makes the loading time less than a minute per page on average. As time goes on, I will repair more and more of the pages in a like manner. Panasonic Catalog page is next on my list. . .
There are quite a few image file updates in the museum pages. Browse through there and check them out. Hint: Quarter inch VTR's and Video Cameras, both Color and B/W.
Can you believe it? No new hardware acquisitions to report today!
Still waiting to duck when the MIR space station falls down. . . . Last reported official date for this spectacular event is the 22nd of March.
Thursday - March 15, 2001
.
News Flash! LabGuy's World has scored the, very rare, Akai model VT-700 1/4" reel to reel video recorder deck. This model is B/W, but can accommodate up to 11" reels for a total recording time of 90 minutes! I believe it is compatible with the VT-100 and VT-110 portapack VTR's as well. Photos and info will be posted just as soon as this marvelous item arrives.
Add one more Sony AV-8400 color EIAJ portapack to the museum collection as well. LabGuy, LabGuy. My, how your junk pile grows! Er, um, I mean your museum. . .
The highly collectable Sanyo VCM-2000 viewfinder camera has arrived. It had a very nice push rod type zoom lens on it. That's why I nabbed it. The lens works perfectly on the JVC TK-210 camera. It looked (and was) ridiculous on the (way too small) Sanyo camera. The little 6:1 zoom lens that came with the TK-210, however, makes a perfect mate for the Sanyo. By the way, the VCM-2000 works perfectly! Photos of both cameras will be posted in the museum pages in the next day or two.
The mystery Panasonic machine (still to come in the mail) turns out to be an NV-8000. I don't know how this compares to the NV-8000D. I will find out when it arrives. I am already receiving inquiries from people in need of dubbing services on these models.
Another highly collectable color camera is coming to LabGuy's World. This one is the Hitachi FP-3030. An extremely early single tube portable color camera from the mid 1970's. I read about this model, back then, in many of the trade magazines. It was highly rated. The seller claims this one is in operational condition. One can only hope that OOPS (I mean UPS) doesn't mangle it in transit!
Tuesday - March 13, 2001
.
Well, MIR, the Soviet space station, hasn't fallen out of orbit yet. Soon, though..... Hurry up! I'm getting a kink in my neck!
Meanwhile, back on LabGuy's World: A few (more) new additions coming to the museum pages. (That ain't news, LabGuy!)
Two more Akai VTS-110 1/4" VTR portapack systems. Another Panasonic 1/2" pre-EIAJ VTR, model number unknown, possibly an NV-8xxx of some sort. A highly collectable Sanyo viewfinder camera. As well as the proper lens for the JVC TK-210 camera.
Still in the mail are the JVC GC-4600U portapack camera and the AV-8600 color EIAJ VTR.
Also, there are a couple of ultra-collectables on eBay! I won't say what they are, as I don't want to jinx myself! But, those of you who can guess what those things are, BACK OFF! Don't bid! I WILL outbid you. You have been warned! Now, happy bidding! May the best (wealthiest) eBay sniper win!
The Video SEG has arrived. A lot of soldering, to make custom cables for all my different cameras, and viola! ~ a cheesy recreation of an early 70's high school TV studio! Look for this in early May. Following all the work that is needed to prepare for the NAB convention in Lost Wages, Nevada.
Wednesday - March 7, 2001
.
The Ampex VR-420 EIAJ VTR with stereo sound tracks arrived today. In perfect condition despite the best efforts of the UPS guy. He was actually throwing the boxes out of his truck into a pile on the ground as he unloaded!!! The packing was excellent! Double boxed, with a lot of bubble pack between the boxes and inside the VTR top cover. Thanks, Mike!
Three new additions coming to the museum in a couple of weeks. First is another Cartrivision "Instant Replay" vidicon camera and a couple of original Cartrivision microphones. Second is a very rare JVC GC-4600U portapack camera with the good old standard 6:1 zoom lens. Third is another Sony AV-8600 color EIAJ VTR deck. The collection just grows and grows!
Is there anyone in the San Jose, California area willing to donate storage and display space for LabGuy's museum collection? The company I work at is currently allowing me some space, but the collection is growing at a frightening rate. I fear that it will have to be moved to a storage locker and nothing could be worse than that. It will then suffer from "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. Not to mention costing a king's ransom each year in storage costs! Please, contact me if you can help.
Sunday - March 4, 2001
.
Exciting News!!!
On January 30, I received an email from Gregory Shulman on behalf of his father, Michael Shulman. It turns out, that Michael is one of the first founders and designers of Video Tape Recording in the former USSR (Russia). For many years he worked in this field as a designer and as a manager. For the last 3 years he has been the head of the Historical Museum of the LOMO (LOMO - is a large enterprise were the first Soviet VTRs were made). He also wrote the book "How to choose VCR" which contains a large catalog of modern VCRs.
Gregory was cruising the web and stumbled upon LabGuy's World. Here are his own words:
One week ago I did search in WEB for my father and found your site "LabGuy's World". I'd like to say you "Thank you very much for your work!". Your site is excellent, very interesting and VERY professional.
I love these guys! If Michael Shulman, the father of Russian video recording and his son Gregory say my site is groovy, you can take that to the bank!
Today, Gregory contacted me again to verify my address and to say that the info is ready to mail. So, look forward to the newest section on LabGuy's World; "The History of VTR's from the (former) USSR". This will probably be the only source on this subject to be found on the web for some time to come!
More News:
For the 24 days of February
since counter restoration, from Feb. 5 through Feb. 28, the average daily
number of hits at LabGuy's World was 43. The two best days were Feb. 7
& Feb. 20 with 75 hits each. In both of those cases, there was a link
to LabGuy's World included in an eBay auction listing.
FYI: I log the counter
reading every single day, between 8pm and 9pm.
LabGuy thanks all the
visitors to his world for their interest and enthusiasm.
Saturday - March 3, 2001
.
LabGuy is feeling long-winded today. So, here goes....
Look for an extremely rare addition to my EIAJ VTR museum page coming soon! LabGuy has obtained, at great expense, an Ampex VR-420 EIAJ deck VTR. This unit is unique in that it has STEREO sound tracks. Originally manufactured for Ampex, by Toshiba during their short corporate marriage, known as TOAMCO. This partnership lasted barely a year. During which, they developed this deck and a portapack called "Instavision". Read more about these on my Ampex Catalog page. My friend, Bruce Graham from L.A., has one of these decks and tells me that it is just rife with audio anomalies when one tries to edit with it. I can't wait to check this out!
The VR-420 is coming from New York state. I took the time to ask the seller to double pack this unit as carefully as possible. He assures me that he followed my directions completely. I'd like to thank him here, officially, for all his efforts. Thanks, Mike! He was even kind enough to ship the unit before he received my payment. And you thought trust in your fellow humans was dead!
The Rheem Roberts 1000 restoration proceeds slowly. The video heads are intact, but don't spin. The stereo deck runs and has good heads with almost no visible wear, but sounds like you are listening to the music through a wall. The stereo transport will not go into reverse play either. And, last but not least, the headphone jack is dead as a door nail too. Any guesses as to what causes multiple, seemingly unrelated symptoms like this? My money is on power supply failure. I'll bet that all of the effected circuits share a common voltage from the power supply that has failed. It could be as simple as a blown fuse or as complicated as three or four blown transistors. Either way, LabGuy can fix it. More news as it happens!
A friend of mine is a cabinet maker and I'll be imposing on him for cosmetic repairs. A new friend of mine, from the Great White North, will be providing copies, for a nominal fee of course, of Akai and possibly Roberts literature to assist me in my endeavors. He claims to have Akai VT-100 manuals, VCS-150 manuals, VT-700 manuals and, possibly, the Akai X-500 / Roberts 1000 manuals. I sure hope so! Thanks in advance to my new pal, Wallace.
Now, has anyone out there got a service manual for a JVC KV-360?
Also look for a new addition to LabGuy's B/W camera museum. A very rare JVC GS-4600U portapack camera will be arriving in the mail soon. Read the catalog entry about this one on the JVC page. Anyone got a service manual for sale for this critter?
Anyone out there got a JVC GS-4500U, camera or service manual for sale?
I am way behind on updating the photos of new equipment on the museum pages. My day job is getting very busy as the NAB convention approaches. Hopefully soon, I can borrow the room mate's digital camera again and get those long awaited photos posted.
Is there anyone in the San Jose, California area willing to donate storage and display space for my museum collection? The company I work at is currently allowing me some space, but the collection is growing at a frightening rate. I fear that it will have to be moved to a storage locker and nothing could be worse than that. It will then suffer from "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. Not to mention costing a king's ransom each year in storage costs! Please, contact me if you can help.
February 28, 2001
.
Like it says in the Bible; Seek and ye shall find! The long awaited video special effects generator is in the mail! Oh boy! I can't wait to get it and hook up several cameras. Cheesy TV here we come!!!
The Rheem Roberts 1000 maraca arrived today. Yep, the shipping gorilla strikes again! Packed great, busted to bits! Grrrrrr!!!!!! The deck itself is OK. Needs work of course. But, the cabinet needs loads of TLC.
February 27, 2001
.
The JVC TK-210 B/W studio viewfinder camera arrived today. It arrived in great condition even though, once again, the packing was less than perfect. To be fair, the unit was packed very well ~ for inept packing. Unfortunately, the guy forgot to remove the lens before packing the camera. We got lucky though. The lens had loosened up a bit where the mounting ring joins the camera. A little tweaking with a small screwdriver and it was good as new! As a matter of fact, the whole camera works great! Now I have three fully functional B/W studio cameras. Now all I need is a small B/W SEG and I can set up a cheesy little studio just like many high schools and colleges had in the 1970's!
February 26, 2001
.
The JVC KV-360 EIAJ VTR arrived today. When are people going to learn how to pack stuff for shipping? If I wanted a maraca, I'd have bought a maraca! Oh, well. A lot of glue and sweat and I can put the darn case back together again. That's just the cabinet! Then I can move on to trying to get the deck running.... But, most importantly (to me) was the question; is a JFD model 700 (my very first VTR) really a JVC KV-360 in disguise? Apparently not. Maybe the JFD-700 was a KV-350?
Also found in today's mail: a second JVC GC-4800U camera head. Oh boy! Now I can get down to trying to make that old two tube color portapack camera work! Too bad the N.A.B. convention is coming up. That means that we will be burning some midnight oil down at the old office. LabGuy is kept very busy!
I have not received any feedback on my earlier question of adding a vacuum tube section to LabGuy's World. I presume from the roaring silence that you all just can't wait! In the wings is an infrared sniper scope built around an RCA 1P25 IR image converter tube. There are a couple of one inch oscilloscope projects in the queue as well. One based on the RCA 913 one inch scope tube and the other using a 1CP1 tiny CRT! I may also write up the restoration of an ancient (1968) ATV Research kit vidicon camera that I recently acquired!
Other new hardware that has arrived and has been added to the museum includes another Akai VT-100 portapack (not working, contrary to the seller's claim), and a Dage model 800 vidicon camera with positive/negative video and scan reversal modes. The Roberts 1000 should arrive any day now....
February 11, 2001
.
Look for three new additions to the museum. Well. . . two new additions and a duplicate addition! My apologies to all the other bidders on eBay who lost out to my shameless "sniping" tactics. Bare in mind that I absolutely MUST have these items at any cost. It's nothing personal. Good news? I'm totally tapped out and can't snipe any more auctions until next payday!
The first new addition is a JVC KV-360 B/W EIAJ deck VTR. I can finally gratify my curiosity and find out for certain if my old JFD model 700 was one of these in disguise!
The second new addition is a Rheem Roberts model 1000 1/4" video OR quarter track stereo audio reel to reel deck! I used to own one of these many many moons ago. Boy, is it a heavy dog, too! But, well worth the trouble and cost to ship!
The third item, which is a duplicate item for the museum, is another Akai VT-100 VTR and VM-100 sidecar monitor. Hopefully, this is a working system. The seller claims that it is. Only time will tell!
February 7, 2001
.
The Sony catalog page has been rewritten to improve loading time for those of you who are dial-up connections. That page is (was) one of the largest in the catalog section with fifty image files to load! It took 15 minute to load on my computer at work using a 56k modem. I broke Sony into six pages, each one now being a far more reasonable size. The combined loading time of all six pieces should be less than the when they were all trying to squeeze through the phone line like 50 over-eaters at a free buffet! The JVC and Panasonic pages are next on my list. Oh! By the way ~ you're welcome.
Another little note. The counter has been working for only three days now. But, boy howdy, is LabGuy's World getting hits! In that short time, the average number of visitors is almost 61 per day! Not bad for lowly little "home page", eh? I hope this trend keeps up. I could go commercial. . . (LabGuy is dreaming again)
February 4, 2001
.
I hope you noticed that my counter is working again. It has been "out of order" for quite a while now. Apparently Geocites Dot Com removed their free counters some time back and left me hanging. Too many more important tasks were on my list to allow me the time to look into the problem. I finally got the time and found a nice source of free counters at: [www.yourcgi.com]. These nice folks have all kinds of free "gadgets" you can use on your home page. I think they sell your email address for the privilege however.... I'm not sure what the actual counter would have read today. But it was in the low 13,000's when it died about 7 months ago. So, I reset it to resume from 14,000. That's close enough for government work I suppose.
January 27, 2001
.
Boy howdy! It has been a busy week for LabGuy. Between his day job and obsession with his video collecting, he got very little rest this last week.
The JVC GC-4800U has arrived and I expect to update the museum photos of it early this coming week. I did try to power it up and discovered the main fuse was fried. Further testing revealed various problems. I suspect the power supply in the camera head is at fault. I have great confidence that this camera is full restorable considering its condition and the fact that I have the complete service manuals and video engineering facilities at my disposal. All of the pots are still glued in place and that means that no one has tried to realign anything! That's the greatest relief of all. The entire GC-4800U system is in gorgeous condition, virtually complete - only missing the original microphone and tripod. Its all packed in the original heavy duty shipping case as well. Even the cosmetic flaws are small. Just some residue from sticky tape that should be reasonably easy to clean off.
The concord TCM-46 portapack camera has arrived too. It turns out that the pistol grip from one of the Sony DVC-2400 cameras fits it perfectly. The cosmetic condition is rather grim, what my dad would have termed "a veteran". At least it gives the feeling of having provided a long service life to its original owner(s). It is the mate to the Concord VTR-460. Anybody got one? New updated photos of this camera to be posted very soon.
The second Panasonic NV-3080 VTR has arrived. It will be a "parts donor" to the first one, which needs lots of small bits and pieces of trim and hardware. Between the two of them, I believe that I can create a single fully restored unit. The museum still needs the AC adapter that matches the NV-3080. If anyone knows the model number of the power unit, LabGuy would appreciate an email telling him what it is.
LabGuy is seriously thinking of adding a vacuum tube section to his museum. Here, he will show off his orthicons, iconoscopes and various rare CRTs. Feedback on this idea would be greatly appreciated.
January 21, 2001
.
All righty then! Many photo updates and new additions to the museum plus a couple of lost eBay auctions and writers' (typists'?) cramp too!
There are more and more serious collectors out there these days I see. I got my butt whipped on that Quazar VX format deck on eBay. Congratulations to who ever you are! Same goes for the Sony CV-2000. Wow!
I did get the JVC GC-4800U camera outfit though. As well as the following list of marvelous items: Another Panasonic NV-3080 portapack VTR, a weird old Concord viewfinder studio camera, a very old looking Concord TCM-46 portapack camera with lens and cable, two more Sony DVC-2400 cameras, a mint condition Sony CVC-2000 camera (very rare) with almost all the accessories, a Panasonic NV-3160 color EIAJ VTR which is still in the mail, and another Sony 12.5mm-75mm 6:1 zoom lens (also still in the mail). New photos of all of this junk.... I mean great stuff as soon as possible!
Managed to add a little more to the actual "History of ..." page. Feel free to send fan/hate mail to me about it. I'm sure that I could use all the help I can get. If I ever get a "Cease and Desist" letter from one of the companies I mention, I'll know I've hit the big time! Later, ya'll!
January 7, 2001
.
First, Happy New Year!!!
Check out the museum pages! I was up late last night, 'til 2 am, updating them just for you! There's new pictures of some of my recent acquisitions and hints of more wonderful things to come!
December 31, 2000
.
Wow! Wish and ye shall receive! I now have bids going on eBay for both a Sony CVC-2000 and a JVC GC-4800U! The first one is Sony's earliest attempt at a consumer video camera to go with their CV-2000 VTR from 1965 and the second is JVC's two tube COLOR portapack camera from 1976. I don't care how much they cost me, I will win these auctions. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
December 30, 2000
.
Well, the new year is almost upon us! This page has grown over the last year and half. So, I have decided to trim it down!
Coming very soon in the new year: Photos of the Shibaden SV-700(U) and matching monitor. Photos of the Panasonic NV-8100D and its matching, all vacuum tube, monitor. Photos of the, absolutely mint condition, JVC CR-6060U Umatic recorder deck. New photos of the Sony DVC-2400 camera(s). New photos of the two Sony CVC-2100 B/W studio cameras. New photos of the two Sony AVC-3200 B/W studio cameras. Photos of and information about a Concord small studio camera, model number unknown at this time.
Still in the wings, a very rare Quazar 1000, VX format, VCR! Also known as "The Great Time Machine", because of it's time shift recording and viewing capability. Try to remember that in its time, using a VCR to watch a program at a later time was still quite a novelty to the typical television viewer. The VX format used a cassette with stacked, coaxial reels of half inch tape, feeding a full alpha wrap, single head scanner. The head drum actually intrudes into the cassette shell! Plus, this cassette is actually larger than many contemporary VCR's and camcorders!!! This format failed, even though it produced reasonably high quality images.
I would like to thank my room mate, Steve Kyte, for loaning me his digital camera for shooting all of the new photos. I hope all of you folks appreciate the improved quality of the images as a consolation for the slightly worse download time they cause. Unfortunately (for you), Steve and I have high speed DSL service and an Ethernet in the house now! We've been enjoying greater than two megabit transfer rates for some time now. It is a fact that dial-up access sucks. If you don't have wide band DSL where you are, you should move to where it is! :-)
For those of you who may be interested in the news from the previous two years, just [CLICK HERE FOR 1999 & 2000]!
Click here to:
Return to The Top of LabGuy's World
Last updated: August 19, 2001