Wednesday - December 25, 2002 . Merry Christmas and happy new year! Another year is almost behind us. It has been a great year for this web site too! The collection increased in size by more than 50% during this period. I will continue collecting and trying to keep this the leading source of information pertaining to archane video recording technology. May many more people discover, and enjoy, this fascinating bit of techno-history. ~LabGuy~ Wednesday - December 18, 2002 . Added another wiring diagram to the connector page. [SEE IT HERE]. Scroll all the way to the bottom of that page. Monday - December 09, 2002 . The site rebuild is comlete. New tonight! A rare Bauer Video VTR-1004 quarter inch portapack VTR and camera! See it on my new [Museum of Extinct European Video Tape Recorders] page. Monday - November 25, 2002 . HARD HAT ZONE! The site rebuild continues. Check your links over the next couple of weeks. I am adding, renaming and deleting many pages. Your links may be broken during this process. The only page that is guaranteed to not change name is this one: <http://www.labguysworld.com/>. Feedback would be appreciated before the concrete sets! Friday - November 22, 2002 . CAUTION! WET PAINT. You may have already noticed that this site is currently undergoing some serious reconstruction. Be warned that some of the pages may temporarily not look right, because they are mid-way through reconstruction. I work on them as much as possible, but even a LabGuy has to sleep and go to work occasionally! As my HTML skills improve, I try to make the site look and perform better. (Good luck, LabGuy!) Many of you will be pleased to hear that the scrolling rainbows (animated GIF images) that decorated many of the pages are being phased out. These are a hang over from when I first began building this site. In fact, I believe that I "borrowed" them originally from the site of Chuck Pharis! When this site first appeared in October of 1997, it was called, "LabGuy's World Wide Web Watering Hole"! I still see this name occasionally on hideously outdated links pages. The site and the collection have come a long way in those short five years. . . Any suggestions or criticism at this point would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! No new hardware to report. Though, I'm told there are things coming in the mail. I guess I shall keep you in suspense for now. As always, Stay Tuned! Sunday - November 17, 2002 . Many new things to report today! First, I have to issue A WARNING to all the guests who have linked to "internal" pages on my site. There is only one page that I will guarantee to not change its URL or file name. That is the "Front Page" of the site or this link here: <http://www.labguysworld.com/> or <http://www.labguysworld.com/index.html>. Ebay sellers are welcome to "borrow" image files from this site for their ads. I only ask that you include a link back to my front page in return. I do check ebay every day for just such borrowed files. It brings me never ending amusement! From time to time, I will be rebuilding portions of the site. The names of files may be changed or even omitted for my own (il)logical reasons. This process may also break some of the links on other pages. Please be patient as I weed these out. While performing a big rebuild, it is possible for me to miss an internal page link or two myself, rendering some "child" pages unable to return to their "parent" page. If you should happen to notice any of these broken links, I would truly appreciate it if you send an email bringing the culprit page(s) to my attention. Thank you in advance! The [B/W camera Museum] contains the pages that I rebuilt today. My original filenames were too cumbersome, so I changed them to a more straight forward numbered series. This makes it much easier to add new files now as the museum grows. The [Color camera Museum] pages will be next to suffer my editing frenzy! A new [FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page] has been added! It is currently under construction, and is likely to be for some time. Feel free to provide questions, answers, corrections or any other ideas that you may have. This page is my own attempt to decrease the recent email overload that has kept me very busy beyond reason. I love to help people, so don't be shy to write, but please check the FAQ page first. New in the [B/W camera Museum] today! A truly spiffy piece of technology, an [RCA TC-2811 CCD Surveillance Camera]. One of the earliest commercially available CCD units, this is a fascinating piece of technology history! Please, check it out. LabGuy's World is still impatiently awaiting the two European additions to the site. I suppose cheapest postage shipping from Germany to California won't be as fast as a matter transporter, but one can always hope! As soon as these items arrive, the all new Extinct European VTRs page will be officially launched. Can you wait? I know I can't! If possible, don't miss the Leonids meteor showers tonight and tomorrow night. Be outside between midnight and dawn for the show of the century. Another shower this large is not due for over one hundred years, so DON'T MISS IT! Trivia item for you: This site now contains 1,126 image files, 203 HTML files and 1 video file! I provide this information for the chronically curious and students of web site construction. Note that this site is constructed using no frames, no scripts, no complex animations, no pop-ups, no banner ads, or any other bleeding edge "fluff" that makes most web pages so garishly ugly, unfriendly and rude! The operation of this site is supported entirely by my own efforts and money. Costs are roughly $250 per year site hosting fees and $3,180 per year equipment storage fees to keep my collection housed and dry. I spend an additional several thousand dollars a year collecting this very rare and fascinating equipment and literature on the subject. This is a very serious web site, despite its low tech construction and my poor organizational & writing skills. One last and most important point: This site would not be possible without the contributions of information, images and equipment from the nice people who provide them. To all of you, my undying gratitude! Wednesday - November 13, 2002 . [CLICK HERE] if you would like to see LabGuy's shiny new (sort of) JVC KV-360 EIAJ VTR with slow motion playback! Tuesday - November 12, 2002 . I'll bet you thought LabGuy fell off the Earth! Finally an update to report! Received today, one beautiful 1974 vintage Sony VO-3800 Umatic portapack VCR and mating power/color adapter model AC-3000! [SEE IT HERE] More updates coming very soon! Things like: A Frequently Asked Questions page. Or a new page devoted to European VTRs in my collection. Don't miss it! Sunday - October 20, 2002 . I have scanned the manual for the Panasonic NV-204 one inch VTR. [CLICK HERE] t see it. This manual will be normally linked from the [One Inch VTR Museum] page. Wednesday - October 16, 2002 . Does the fun never end? The newest item in my museum is the clone of the Panasonic NV-3040 remote controlled VTR. LabGuy's World now has an actual working [Concord VTR-850] "Automatic" B/W EIAJ VTR. Monday - October 14, 2002 . Happy Columbus day! The Panasonic NV-204 one inch machine has been posted! [See It Here!] More goodies in the works. I guess I'll leave you all in suspense for now. Stay tuned!!! Sunday - October 13, 2002 . The Panasonic NV-204 one inch machines have arrived! That's right, "machineS" plural. LabGuy's World would like to thank Terry Dilbeck for setting us on to these very nice displayable units. Stay tuned for photos and information coming very soon! Friday - October 11, 2002 . Check out the latest addition to the B/W camera museum tonight! For your pleasure, one [Electron Corporation Vidicon Kit Camera] from approximately 1960. See it. Enjoy it! Tuesday - October 08, 2002 . This evening I have added new camera to the museum. It is an [Hitachi GP-5U manufactured in 1978]. Coming in few days, two [Panasonic NV-204 one inch VTRs] from the mid 1960s. Judging from the photo, these VTRs are in very nice shape. Stay tuned. . . . . Monday - October 07, 2002 . A few more updates on the [Sony CV-2000 prototype Videocorders] page tonight. Check out the CV-2000 prototype entry and the DV-2400 entries. Hidden pictures there. Saturday - October 05, 2002 . First. I got carried away this evening and resurrected a page from the past. On this page, I explain in painful detail how to take FULL COLOR photos with only a B/W Connectix Quickcam. The process will work with other B/W computer cameras as well. [SEE IT HERE]. New to the museum today. My first professional broadcast Umatic portapack. An early 70s [Sony BVU-100 Umatic portapack VCR]. I have very little info on this particular unit. Any data you may supply would be greatly appreciated! Howard katz has sent some more beautiful photos of some [Sony CV-2000 prototype Videocorders]. The first prototype was built up from a Sony audio deck! The second one is a beautiful preproduction prototype videocorder. See them! Enjoy!!! Friday - October 04, 2002 . Many new things to report! First, my good friend, Howard katz has sent some beautiful photos of some [very early Sony color VTRs] that were never produced. One model is entirely prototype and the other is just pretty to look at. Next on the list is the addition of a [Sanyo VTC-7100 portapack VCR]. Vintage 1978, all parts present and intact! (For a pleasant change) I have a few more surprises, but no more time to list them tonight. Check back soon! Friday - September 27, 2002 . Tonight I have added a new item to the [Video Switcher Museum] page. A very rare and virtually brand new looking Sony SEG-1A, first generation BW small studio video switching unit. Friday - September 27, 2002 . Only one new item in the museum tonight! A very nice Asaca (ShibaSoku) Color Bar and Test Pattern Generator. [SEE IT HERE]. Wednesday - September 25, 2002 . Several new operator's manual is posted this evening. First is the manual for the [1968 Sony SEG-1 Special Effects Generator]. This manual will normally be linked from the [Vintage Video Switchers] page. Second is the manual for the [1968 Sony AVC-3200 BW Camera and AVF-3200 Viewfinder]. This manual will normally be linked from the [AVC-3200 Camera Exhibit] page. Tuesday - September 24, 20020 . A couple of new things tonight. First, I obtained the somewhat rare DXF-1 one and a half inch viewfinder that goes with the [Sony DXC-1000 Trinicon Camera]. Very sexy indeed! Second is another camera was added to the [B/W Camera Museum] pages tonight. See the [Sony AVC-1420 Consumer Vidicon Camera]. Still to come, an Asaca color test pattern generator, A [Sanyo VTC-7100 V-Cord I format Portapack and Camera] and much, much more! Stay tuned! Monday - September 23, 2002 . Thanks to Bruno Merlier, there is a new entry in the [Extinct VTR Catalog]. See the [Bauer Video Catalog] page! Bauer Video Manufactured a 1/4" reel to reel video portapack and camera. Thursday - September 19, 2002 . Coming soon! Another, possibly more intact, [Motorola EVR film player]! Also some good news concerning something to watch on it. I just got two [EVR Films] on Ebay! There were three films, and wealthy as I am, I was only able to score two of them. Someone else out there is interested in this format. (Hi homevideoguy!) LabGuy's copious bank account is now down by almost $150 for the purchase of those two films! At least they are going to be interesting. The two films are about the moon landings of the late 60s and the early 70s. These films would have been the hot topic and very timely indeed back in 1971. (Don't tell me how they end, I want to be surprised!) Too bad the EVR format failed for the most part. . . . Another new item. A reasonably rare Sony DXF-1 electronic viewfinder for my [Sony DXC-1000 Trinicon Color Camera]! Photos of that coming very soon. Speaking of new items, there is a very nice and somewhat rare [Sanyo VTC-7100 V-Cord I format Portapack and Camera] in LabGuy's future. The deal is done except for the writing of the check and the licking of the stamps! Gee whiz! I almost forgot. There is also a nice Sony AVC-1420 B/W camera joining the museum collection any day now too! The [Video Formats Table] has been updated by Jason at [VideOlson]. When you visit VideOlson, be sure to tell them LabGuy sent you! As usual, stay tuned! Same Lab time! Same Lab channel. . . Friday - September 13, 2002 . Some minor updates in place tonight. First, I've discovered a sunshade for the monitor that is built into the [Sony TAV-3610] and second is some progress to report on the [Ampex VR-660 Restoration Project]. I was finally able to remove the video heads from a surplus quadruplex VTR head motor assembly obtained from Ebay. It was a little tough, but I took my time to avoid damaging the video heads. Next stage will be to actually try to install them into the VR-660. Stay tuned! Thursday - September 12, 2002 . Several updates in place tonight. First is another Sony TAV-3610, this one complete with monitor, on display on the [Sony EIAJ VTR page] tonight. Scroll to the bottom of that page. Second and third are a couple of nice [B/W cameras]. First of these is a 1974? [Sanyo VC-500 portapack camera]. The other is a very nice [RCA BW-003 Consumer Vidicon Camera]. Enjoy! Coming soon! A very very nice Asaca color video test signal generator. Just the thing for servicing all those pesky non-functional VTRs and monitors that seem to be endlessly stacking up around LabGuy World. . . Monday - September 09, 2002 . A NEW PAGE! I have just added the all new [ACTUAL VIDEO FILES] page. Who would have thunk it! Actual video on a site about.... Video! The first video posted comes from Troy Walters in Australia. Troy shows how NOT to use our vidicon camera. I suppose this entry is filed under "Educational". There are some more video clips from the movie Auto Focus on the web today. [SEE THEM HERE]. Sunday - September 08, 2002 . Philo T. Farnsworth day came and went, in San Francisco yesterday, and virtually no one noticed. LabGuy attended a remarkable, though somewhat small, ceremony at 202 Green Street, the place where the first all electronic demonstration of television took place seventy five years earlier. On hand was a small crowd of maybe 100 individuals and Farnsworth family members. Most notable among the family members were Laura Player and Agnes Lindsay, two of Philo Farnsworth's sisters. They spoke, with great love, of their brother and his accomplishments. It was obvious, from the start, that there was no love being shown for RCA, David Sarnoff or Vladimar Zworykin! This was a 100% "Farnsworth Literate crowd" and they understood the significance of this 75th anniversary! Also present, with a couple of wonderful historically significant television artifacts, was world renowned television collector Jerry Grulke. Mr. Grulke was dressed the part as a young Philo T. Farnsworth. He wore a very nice brown suit of the era with matching brown shoes and fedora. He added a nice touch of class to what turned out to be a very small event considering the scope of the topic! Mr. Grulke had with him an actual Farnsworth brand 10" television receiver from 1948 and the very Nipkow (nip-kov) disk used to scan the famous Felix the Cat figurine at AT&T / Bell Labs throughout the 1920s. The event lasted a little over two hours, wrapping up around 1pm. Here are some photos from that event: . [Three or four generations of Farnsworth descendants pose for a group photo] [Jerry Grulke and his historical television artifacts] [Jerry Grulke explains video bandwidth to a rapt listener] [A close up examination of the Nipkow disk] The event was wonderful because it celebrated the achievements of a great man. It was also melancholy because Farnsworth's contribution to the art is still not given the proper recognition it deserves. It turns out that their is video of the event online at [THIS PAGE]. Thursday - August 29, 2002 . The trailer to the movie, "Auto Focus" is available on line. As you may recall, this is the production I rented early video equipment to. It is the story of Bob Crane's tragic life. [Check out the trailer here!]. (Requires Apple Quicktime 5 Plug In). Tuesday - August 27, 2002 . New tonight. More scanned literature! This time for the [Dage Color Line of Equipment from 1954!]. Recently obtained Dage flyers and price lists from the period of 1954 and 1955 according to the dates on some of the pages. This new page will normally be linked from the [Dage Catalog Page]. Also new tonight. Even more scanned literature! This one is the [Ampex VR-7000 Operator's Manual]. Also included, a four page supplement detailing how to change the video head. This new page will normally be linked from the VR-7000 entry of the [Ampex Catalog Page]. Monday - August 26, 2002 . Just added a very nice Sony DXC-1000 trinicon camera from about 1973 or 1974 to the museum collection. [SEE IT HERE]. Also new tonight. The Operator's Manual for the [Sony CV-2200 Videocorder]. This page will normally be linked from the [Sony Half Inch Pre-EIAJ VTR's] page. Enjoy! Sunday - August 25, 2002 . New tonight! Five absolutely brand new pages containing Operator's Manuals and Advertising Flyers! They are: Enjoy! Friday - August 23, 2002 . Coming soon! A 1974 Sony VO-3800 very early Umatic portapack VCR and an Asaca color test signal generator. Also, some minor updates to the [Library Page] and the [Links Page]. Monday - August 19, 2002 . RED HOT NEWS! - Actual photos of a an actual [Wesgrove Longitudinal VTR] from 1964! These photos are only a couple of days old too! This Wesgrove VTR is in beautiful condition considering its age! John Fletcher found this unit at a ham radio swap meet and was kind enough to provide these great photographs for us all to enjoy. Thanks, John!
There is also a new small studio camera in the [B/W Camera Museum] tonight as well. It is a [Singer UC-2Z] small studio vidicon camera. Thursday - August 15, 2002 . Sad news to report tonight. [CLICK HERE]. Coming soon! A Singer brand B/W studio camera. Same bad news as before, but will still be displayed. It was shipped uninsured, so it did not need to be surrendered for the claim. (Live and learn!) Also coming soon! A really cool looking General Electric CCTV camera from the mid 1960s. Stay tuned! Monday - August 05, 2002 . And yet another addition to report! If you [CLICK HERE], you can check out the Sony AVC-4000A B/W studio camera coming real soon to LabGuy's World! Ebay and "obsessive compulsive behavior", ain't it great? Sunday - August 04, 2002 . Updates all over the place today! The [Shibaden Catalog Page] has many updates for you to check out! The appropriate entries in the museum pages have been updated to reflect the new information as well. The entry for the Bell & Howell portapack, which is really a Shibaden SV-707, has been updated at the bottom of [THIS PAGE] and the entry for the Shibaden SV-510U EIAJ VTR was updated on [THIS PAGE]. Not to be forgotten, a couple of B/W Shibaden cameras in the museum were updated as well. They are the [Model HV15U] and the [Model HV-50U]. There will be a few more Shibaden information updates in the next few days. I am awaiting some more Catalog Flyer pages for some Shiba one inch VTRS, the SV-727U and the SVC-727U. More info as it arrives. On another very happy note, LabGuy's World has obtained a very rare Sony AVC-4000A B/W studio type viewfinder vidicon camera! That should be here in about a week. Stay tuned! Saturday - August 03, 2002 . The posting of the [Asaka one inch transverse quadruplex VTR], a couple of days ago, has generated more fan mail than any other listing in the history of this site! The primary question on everyone's mind seems to be, "where is the Asaka machine getting the vacuum for the female guide"? I honestly do not know. If anyone has more information about this fascinating machine, please write and tell us all about it. If you have documentation you can donate, sell or loan, let's work out some sort of deal. LabGuy is not happy when the information is not complete! Tuesday - July 30, 2002 . Added a new page to the VTR catalog section tonight. Give a big howdy to [The Asaka Catalog Page]! If you ever wondered what became of Shibaden, then here is your answer! According to Marcel Snijders of Holland, most of Shibaden was purchased and absorbed by Hitachi Denshi. The remainder of the company regrouped and became Asaka. They manufactured cameras and VTRs through out the 1970s for sure. I find nothing about Asaka on the web today. Anyone got any more information about this company that you would like to share with the fans of LabGuy's World? [Contact me!] Did you know that Shibaden made quadruplex VTRs? Neither did I! If you have photos and info about these, or any other Shibaden products, please share them with us. I also continued to add material to the new [Time Base Corrector Museum] page this evening. It is a loving work in progress. Keep checking back every two or three days for continuous updates! Sunday - July 28, 2002 . Another great collectable lands in LabGuy's lap tonight! (Figuratively speaking!) A rare and very old Ampex VR-7300 and a ship load of accessories! This is a one inch type A format VTR and color adapter unit from the late 1960s. [See it on this page]. Scroll down the page to the fifth article. LabGuy's World gained a new page tonight! The long awaited Time Base Corrector Museum page has been added finally! It is a work in progress so bare with me. [See it here]. Please, let me know if my description of how time base correction came to be and how it all works is understandable. Due to a lack of interested generated, the long standing "LabGuy's Wish List" page has been eliminated. Since I started these pages in 1998, almost every item on that list has been located, obtained and documented! You really have to marvel at the power of the internet and the world wide web to bring people together who share common interests! The only items on the Wish List page that is still not in LabGuy's museum, are the JVC FV-1500 color EIAJ video tape player and the JFD model 700 EIAJ B/W VTR deck. Anyone got any of these to donate? To sell? [Contact me!] PLEASE? As a result of eliminating the Wish List page, the article concerning the Gadabout Gaddis Cartrivision video cassette has been relocated to the [Extinct Video Cassette Recorders] page. Another fine example of circles within circles of life. (Read the article!) Saturday - July 27, 2002 . The 75th Anniversary of the invention of electronic television is upon us! September 7th is declared Philo T. Farnsworth Day! Without the efforts of Mr. Farnsworth, there would have been no video recorders and without video recorders, there would have been no LabGuy's World! There will be official celebrations in San Francisco on that date. That is where the first all electronic television systems was demonstrated in 1927 at 202 Green Street, right near the historic Fisherman's Wharf. LabGuy's World will be covering these events and reporting back to you from there immediately afterward. On June 23 of this year, I went to San Francisco for the express purpose of visiting the monument in front of the 202 Green Street laboratory. [LabGuy poses] The plaque reads: . IN A SIMPLE LABORATORY ON THIS SITE, 202 GREEN STREET, PHILO TAYLOR FARNSWORTH, U.S. PIONEER IN ELECTRONICS, INVENTED AND PATENTED THE FIRST OPERATIONAL ALL- ELECTRONIC "TELEVISION SYSTEM" ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1927 THE 21 YEAR-OLD INVENTOR AND SEVERAL DEDICATED ASSIST- ANTS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSMITTED THE FIRST ALL ELEC- TRONIC TELEVISION IMAGE, THE MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH THAT BROUGHT THE PRACTICAL FORM OF THIS INVENTION TO MANKIND. FURTHER PATENTS FORMULATED HERE COVERED THE BASIC CONCEPTS ESSENTIAL TO MODERN TELEVISION. THE GENIUS OF GREEN STREET, AS HE WAS KNOWN, DIED IN 1971. CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 941 PLAQUE PLACED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE PHILO T. FARNSWORTH FOUNDATION, INC. SEPTEMBER 15, 1981. While standing there, I was overwhelmed by the significance of the discoveries made at that very spot 75 years earlier. This location is only two blocks from Fisherman's Wharf. If you visit San Francisco, you MUST visit this building at the foot of historic telegraph hill. Check out these additional links for more information about the MOST amazing human being in history!: [TV is 75], [The Farnsworth Chronicles], [The Official Farnsworth Archives] STAY TUNED! Tuesday - July 23, 2002 . It's official! LabGuy's World is a movie "propping" company! There is beginning to be some news on the web about the movie I rented vintage video equipment to. The movie is called, "Auto Focus" and stars Greg Kinnear and Willam Defoe. It is about the life of Bob Crane, the actor who stared in Hogan's Heroes throughout the late 1960s. [Read more about it here]. The director mentions "a man in San Jose" who donated vintage equipment to the production. That's me! And I wouldn't call it exactly "a donation"! On the review site listed previously, there is a photo of Crane (Greg Kinnear) holding my CVC-2100 video camera, in a typical 1960s kitchen, shooting video of his wife (I presume). The movie comes out in October or there abouts. Be sure to see it and check out some of my old equipment in action! The film's property master, Rick Chaves, tells me that the equipment looked great on camera! They used my 1965 CV-2000 VTR, CVC-2000 & CVC-2100 cameras and my EV-200 one inch Sony VTR as well! I can't wait for the film to open! Friday - July 19, 2002 . Added a beautiful Blonder-Tongue vidicon camera to the museum pages tonight. This camera dates back to the late 50s or early 60s! It is just a camera head, but it is in excellent physical condition and it looks awesome on display! [SEE IT HERE]. Tuesday - July 16, 2002 . The Akai VT-150 system has arrived safe and sound! New photos have been added to [THIS PAGE]. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page. Also, another addition to the B/W camera museum tonight. A mid 1970s CTC-5000 vidicon studio camera made by GBC. [SEE IT HERE]. Sunday - June 30, 2002 . Well, the stomach acid part of the process is over! LabGuy's World has finally obtained the extremely rare and elusive Akai VT-150 color 1/4" portapack VTR! The Akai Museum page is complete. See this wonderful system at the bottom of [THIS PAGE]. Other than a couple of odd accessories, I now have the complete catalog of 1/4" video recorders made by Akai! It did cost more than the VPR-5 broadcast 1" portapack VTR. But, that's what I get for advertising the rarity of the unit. That leaves only one question. Where were all the other collectors? This item was obtained from Ebay, as usual, and with a total of only two bids after being listed for ten days. If you were a "wannabe" bidder on this item, please write and tell me why you passed on it. I think I already know the answer. . . Thursday - June 27, 2002 . LabGuy's World has obtained another [Cartrivision VCR]! It was kindly donated by Mike Veldman. Thanks Mike! Over the next few months, I will attempt to tinker this one to life. Anyone know where to get the belts for one of these things? Friday - June 21, 2002 . The fun never stops at LabGuy's World! Tonight we have a new addition in the category of non-EIAJ VTRs. Check out the Bell & Howell model 114999 record only portapack VTR! [See it at the bottom of this page here] Of course, this machine was not made by Bell & Howell! What we have on display is actually a Shibaden SV-707 portapack with the Bell & Howell name on it. Wednesday - June 19, 2002 . What an incredible week! Two new VTRs and a new camera to report tonight. The first is a relatively rare Ampex VPR-1 one inch type C format broadcast VTR and the other an extremely rare Akai VT-120 1/4 inch portapack VTR and matching VC-115 portapack video camera. [See the VPR-1 here] and see the Akai VTS-120 system [at the bottom of this page]. Tuesday - June 18, 2002 . Posted an update on the restoration of the Ampex VR-660 tonight. The new entrance and exit guide pins are installed and happy. [See them here!] Monday - June 17, 2002 . Posted a couple of fresh photos of the Sony DV-2400 portapack VTR and camera tonight. [See them here!] Coming Soon! A new museum page devoted to: Time Base Correctors! The remanufactured guide pins for the Ampex VR-660 are in! Here is a [SNEAK PREVIEW] of them. Not much to look at now, but once they are epoxied into place, the restoration of that machine can finally get into high gear! This little custom manufacturing job was kind of cheap to! Only $97. 50! Not bad for two threaded stainless steel pins manufactured to torturous early 1960s tolerances! I still need a pair of video heads for the VR-660! Anybody got some? Stay tuned! Wednesday - June 12, 2002 . After all these years, labGuy's World has obtained an RCA CC-001 Single tube color camera. This was the first consumer color camera offered by RCA in 1978. [Check it out here!] This camera was graciously donated to LabGuy's World by Sean Meskill. Thanks Sean! That's two in a row in two days! What surprise will you have for us tomorrow? Three's a charm, they say! Tuesday - June 11, 2002 . There is an exciting update on the [Sony Prototype VTRs Page] tonight! I have finally obtained definitive information about a very rare Sony portapack prototype that I saw in many magazines of the 1960s, when I was just a kid. I knew I didn't dream it! The long slender design, the coaxial reels of tape, separate battery pack. Turns out my memory may not be as bad as I thought it was! Check it out! Another new goody is coming to LabGuy's World. Found this very day, hidden away in an obscure ad on Ebay, a very very rare [Bell & Howell version of the Shibaden SV-707] reel to reel portapack! Kind of tossed in with a run of the mill Canon brand color home video camera as an after thought! My good friend, Sean Meskill, spotted this ultra rare artifact in his normal scavenging rounds on the world's greatest flea market! Thanks, Sean! You da man! Ooh, ooh, ooh!!! Sunday - June 09, 2002 . Two items of interest to report tonight. First, there are some update photos and information on the [Two Inch VTR Museum Page]. Second, LabGuy's World will finally be getting an Akai VT-120 1/4" reel to reel VTR and the mating VC-115 vidicon camera. The VT-120 was the last of the Akai B/W models. That leaves only one more model needed to complete the [Akai 1/4" VTR Museum]. Can anyone provide me with a VT-150? Photos and info to be posted very soon! STAY TUNED! Wednesday - June 05, 2002 . There is a new two tube color camera on display in the museum tonight. It is a rare Panasonic WV-2310A compact two vidicon color studio camera. [See it here]. Friday - May 31, 2002 . While browsing the web earlier today, I stumbled across a wonderful piece of work by a fellow named Jason who posts a web site called [VideOlson]. His site provides information about video production and duplication for the consumer. Great idea! Jason had produced a reference table of video tape formats past and present. LabGuy wrote to Jason and asked very nicely if he could mirror this great page at LabGuy's World. Jason said, "Yes"! [See this new page here]. Thank you very much, Jason! Thursday - May 30, 2002 . Have I ever mentioned that Murphy is a good friend of mine? I usually turn down dubbing jobs for just that reason. Recently, I broke down and accepted a dubbing job. Two tapes in the VX format copied to VHS. My VX machine was "running last time I used it"! How many times have I heard and read that before? Anyway, to make a long story short, that darned machine decides to get cranky and go into auto shutdown now. I will find a larger hammer and give it another go this Saturday. Wish me luck! As usual, Stay Tuned! On the good news side of things, check out my latest acquisition! It is a fairly rare [Ampex B/W Vidicon Camera] for use with the old type A format VTR. What a nice find! Thursday - May 23, 2002 . Made a few corrections on the Site Info page, fixed up the links page a little. Not much new to report except that I will be trying to transfer a couple of vintage Quasar VR-1000 videocassettes this weekend. This task will help some nice folks relive their memories of the "big game". The tapes contain recordings of two high school basket ball games from the late 70s. Of course, on the initial go at having a look at the tapes, the one working VR-1000 decided to misbehave. Will go back and tackle these problems again this Saturday. Wish me luck! Wednesday - May 15, 2002 . The [DV-2400 Portapack Vidicon Camera] page has been updated with some new exciting high quality photos of this beautiful camera! Thanks go out to Jennifer for cleaning out her basement and turning up this sweet item. Up to now, LabGuy has purchased five or six DV-2400 cameras, VTRs and associated accessories in an attempt to restore a complete outfit as it would have appeared if it had been purchased in 1967. Finally, this camera has the microphone on top! Only one item left to find. That would be the leather satchel that the DV-2400 portapack VTR goes in. Anyone got one? My good friend, Sean Meskill, has made me aware of the blatant gap in the Sony catalog pages this evening. So, let it be known, that Sean is the first contributor to the all new, completely fantastic, [Sony Umatic Catalog Page]! Sunday - May 12, 2002 . Look for three new VTR entries on the [Ampex Catalog Page]. They are the VR-7000, VR-7500 and XVR-7500. All are one inch type A machines. One is B/W, one is Color, and the last records 875 line medical (X-ray) video! In the [B/W Video Camera Museum], I have added the 1967 vintage [DV-2400 Portapack Vidicon Camera]. I have had this camera for several years now. I simply forgot to post it for general consumption! I'm too young to have Alzheimer's! At any rate, the camera is posted now. Enjoy! Two more tubes have been sold from my [Vacuum Tube Collection]. You better hurry and check them out if you want any! The good ones are going fast! Tuesday - May 7, 2002 . It has been a while since my last updates. Here is a big one. The Ampex VR-660 has arrived at last! What a rare beauty it is too. [CLICK HERE] to read more about it and see some pictures. Thursday - April 25, 2002 . LabGuy's vacuum tube collection is for sale! [LOOK HERE] to find out what is available. Make me a reasonable offer! Otherwise, it all goes up on ebay! Tuesday - April 23, 2002 . Added the Sanyo VTC-8200 V-Cord II VCR to the [appropriate museum page]. Check it out! Monday - April 22, 2002 . LabGuy's World has obtained its first V-Cord II format VCR today. It is a model VTC-8200 by Sanyo. Approximately 1977 vintage. It is on the bench getting new belts. It has already produced a picture as well as fast forwarded and rewound the only tape I have. The belt I tried on the capstan was too tight. It would run in high speed but not in low. I will search for another belt tomorrow. Photos and a museum entry to follow soon. Stay tuned!!! Monday - April 15, 2002 . Updates all over the place tonight! I have added two more cameras to the [B/W Camera Museum Pages]. They are the [Ampex model 7016007 vidicon camera] and the [Audiotronics PVC-808 small studio camera]. I have also updated the entry about the Motorola EVR Teleplayer on the [Weird Stuff Museum Page]. Check 'em out! You will be amazed. . . Other than those things, it has been a TAXING day! Sunday - April 14, 2002 . LabGuy returns! He has been at the NAB convention in Las Vegas for the past week. What a grueling experience! Attending and working at a huge trade show, walking endless miles of aisles, and then partying into the wee hours can take a lot out of a person. . . and the wallet! Of course, now it is back to work, work, work! There are the inevitable orders to fill, new last minute features to add to upcoming products based on customer input obtained at the show as well as all of my regular engineering duties. Sounds like fun, I can't wait! The Motorola EVR teleplayer has arrived! The Audiotronics video camera has arrived! A ton of old magazines full of history information have arrived! A whole bunch of other things have arrived! Photos and info as soon as tomorrow night! Watch for it! Saturday - April 6, 2002 . The [Two Inch VTR Museum Page] has been updated to include the Ampex VR-660 even though it has not actually arrived at LabGuy's World as of yet. I couldn't wait! I've also implemented a two column, journalistic, style of formatting the text. Let me know if you find this easier to read than my former "sentences so long they appeared on the next monitor" style. With my 1280 pixel / >200 letters wide LCD monitor, I was getting crossed eyes trying to read my own writing! Hey, just like on this page! Well, the long awaited NAB convention is upon us! LabGuy leaves San Jose early Monday morning headed for Las Vegas, Nevada. He won't return again until late Friday night! It will be grueling, but somebody has to do it! Ask for me at the Prime Image booth or at Chuck Pharis' booth. C-ya there! Thursday - April 4, 2002 . That comet sure is bringing a lot of good luck to LabGuy's World! The weird Siemens VTR arrived today. It is fascinating! [Check it out here!] Tonight, I have also added two more photos to the Museum entry for the [Quasar Great Time Machine VCR]. LabGuy's World has obtained an original (brand new still in the box) VT-100 mechanical clock / timer for this system and I thought you folks needed a better view of where the head drum is located in the deck. No one has asked, but I have also found out a few spec's about running times, tape speed and length which I have included as well. Enjoy! Wednesday - April 3, 2002 . Just added some fascinating new images of the Ampex VR-1500 two inch half helical VTR to the [Ampex Catalog Page]. I need help identifying the machine that I used to show as the VR-1500. Is that a photo of a prototype VTR perhaps? Gee whiz! Here we go again! LabGuy's World has just obtained it's first V-Cord format VCR! It is a [Sanyo VTC-8200 V-Cord II] format color VCR from the mid 70s. Stay tuned for more developments when this beast arrives! Tuesday - April 2, 2002 . The fun never stops! Watch for a very rare [Motorola EVR (Electron Video Recording) "Teleplayer"] to appear in these pages soon. My original unit, shown on the [Weird Stuff Museum Page], has somehow turned up missing recently. It must have gotten lost in one of the many moves I made a couple of years back. It was not complete and stood no chance of being restorable anyway. That is also why no new photos of it have been added. Today, another Motorola Teleplayer unit was obtained from [Good Old Ebay!] and all is well at LabGuy's World once again. If anyone has any EVR software (films) for these players please contact me. Monday - April 1, 2002 . I've added a circuit example for an electrostatic CRT deflection driver circuit to the [Vacuum Tube Museum Page]. Look under the entry for the 2BP11. The rest of the site suffered through a series of miscellaneous spelling and grammar corrections. Thanks go out to one of my co workers for his proof reading efforts. Thanks, Jeff! The deal is complete for the 1963 Ampex VR-660 two inch helical VTR. Now all I have to do is wait for it to arrive. That is going to be difficult! The shipment is coming all the way from New York state to California! My friend Michael wrote tell me about a video recorder he had seen at a flea market that weekend. He put me into contact with the seller, [Silicon Salvage] and the next thing you know, I've purchased a Siemens (medical?) VTR ~ sight unseen. From the description, I am fairly certain it is a clone of this [Grundig BK-204] or vice verse. This machine weighed in at at 120 pounds and was expensive ot ship from Anaheim to San Jose. Once again, I impatiently await the delivery of a new historical treasure. . . (Photo Credit: BK-204 photo provided by [Tim Stoffel's Quadruplex Park]) Thursday - March 28, 2002 . It's official! LabGuy's World is getting a rare Ampex VR-660! This is a two inch helical VTR from 1965(?). [CLICK HERE] for a see a sneak preview! What a beauty! Monday - March 11, 2002 . Added two more items of interest this evening. The first is a very rare [Audiotronics VTR, model PVR-708] and the second is a [Sony BVE-3000A Video Editing Controller]. Thank you to all the people who have visited this site over the past four years and an extra thanks to those of you who have returned! To date, I have posted over 700 photos to this site. As of tonight, 719 to be precise. This site consumes over twenty megabytes in total. So, if you think you've seen it all, you probably haven't! Besides, it's a sure bet that I will always add something new tomorrow. Sunday - March 10, 2002 . Added two more cameras to the [B/W camera museum pages] today. The first is the long awaited [Quasar Great Time Camera]. The next on is a classic [Panasonic WV-033P vidicon camera] with an interesting viewfinder arrangement intended for very early home video use. Also added a couple of photos of the Sony [AV-3600 EIAJ VTR Ready Reference Card] on the appropriate page. Thursday - March 7, 2002 . Notice: I have started compressing my jpeg files a little less than in the past. Those of you with dial up access may notice a greater time delay in the loading of these files. I hope that the improved quality of the pictures makes up for the inconvenience of the downloading time. I am banking on most people getting into local high speed service where it is available. Believe me, it is worth every penny! Updated the entry in the VTR museum concerning the [Sony AV-3600] EIAJ type 1 VTR. Added a new wiring diagram to the [Connectors Page] (all the way at the bottom of the page). Added couple of new names added to the [Contributors List]. Added two more Umatic VCRs to that [Museum Page] as well. On that same page, I have added a new photo of the Panasonic NV-9400 Umatic portapack VCR (Near the bottom of the page). Friday - March 1, 2002 . I've added another color camera to the museum and updated the Quasar VR-1000 "Great Time Machine" entry. The color camera is a [Panasonic WV-3700] single tube, two piece unit from 1978. Check out the [Quasar VR-1000's] uniquely accessible video head assembly! If you like vacuum tubes, then check out my latest addition in the [Vacuum Tube Museum]! It is a totally modern infrared image converter tube. An ITT 8598 that is smaller than a flash light battery and includes a power supply. I smell a summer time project coming up! I will finally be able to see what kind of critter is scratching around in the tree in my back yard every night! Still to be added, a Quasar VK-100 "Great Time Camera". It is a black and white vidicon camera, the perfect mate to go with the VR-1000 "Great Time Machine"! LabGuy has been having a "great time" with this stuff, too! The Ampex VR-660B is just rumor. I shouldn't have even brought it up at all, really. Forget I even mentioned it. . . . Tuesday - February 16, 2002 . Are you ready for this? Coming very soon, an [Audiotronics PVR-708 EIAJ VTR] from about 1972! Audiotronics, if you recall, made all of that ultra tough AV equipment we used in grade school. They made phonographs, tape decks, PA systems, overhead projectors and so on. All of it built to survive the end of the world! Stay tuned! Still awaiting the arrival of the Sony BVE-3000A edit controller. There is no truth to the rumor that LabGuy's World is getting an Ampex VR-660B two inch helical VTR from around 1965. Nope. No truth, at all. . . . OK, maybe a little! I'd keep checking back here now and then just to be sure. . . And don't even think "Machtronics" VTR. . . Sunday - February 17, 2002 . See the latest addition, a rare Baird 3762 photomultiplier tube on the [Vacuum Tube Museum Page] today. Coming soon! A Sony BVE-3000A Video Editing Controller. This thing is huge! It has a rack mount chassis about 12" high and a huge control head covered with buttons and displays ala Star Trek! Why is LabGuy so excited by this marvelous item? I'm glad you axxed! LabGuy used to be the lead tech on the assembly line where these were assembled in the early 1980s! He would bring them to life at the "wake up" station. That was the location, on the assembly line, where power was first applied to the system. Never had one go boom! But, did have to duck clouds of smoke once or twice! Once we came up to speed, the approximately 30 people on that line produced 35 units in a row that came up 100% functional at wake up. That is some kind of record, too! If you've ever worked on an assembly line, you can appreciate how a simple error downstream can become a catastrophe later on! I sure do miss those times. . . Wednesday - February 13, 2002 . See the [1967 RCA PK-301 vidicon surveillance camera] in the [Vintage B/W Video Camera] pages tonight. Tuesday - February 12, 2002 . Added a few items to the museum and updated some entries in the library page. LabGuy just obtained a couple of new, I mean "old", Sony video cameras, [one color] and one[ black and white]. See them in the museum pages. Look for a nice photomultiplier tube donated to LabGuy's World by Robert Rathbone. It is another half inch diameter, end viewing type with a built in high voltage divider network similar to the Dumont 6362. See them both on the [Vacuum Tubes Page]. Last, but not least, added two more books to my research collection. Thursday - January 31, 2002 . The equipment, that I rented to a Hollywood movie company, was returned to me today. Coming in the fall of 2002, "Auto Focus", a film about the life of Bob Crane. The man that played the character of Colonel Hogan in the comedy series "Hogan's Heroes". Starring, in this film, as Bob Crane's vintage video equipment is: LabGuy's vintage video equipment ! <Silly, huh?> Next, a second [ Akai VTS-300 ] system arrived in the mail today. This is the deluxe model, too! Follow that up with a couple of high quality [ photos of my CV-2000D ]. Amazing how much better my new digital camera is compared to my old one! Saturday - January 26, 2002 . What an interesting week! Got a new rare Mullard VCR-522 1-1/2" cathode ray tube to add to the [Vacuum Tube Museum Page] and the long awaited Quasar Great Time Machine has finally arrived! [See it Here!] Speaking of time machines, have you folks been following the controversy over the Prime Image Digital Time Machine (DTM)? Well here's the scoop; The DTM will squeeze an additional amount of time into a tv program for the insertion of more advertising. Bad for you and me, but very very good for the broadcaster with paper thin profit margins. The good news is, the DTM does its magic without altering the content of the program material. Nothing is lost in the way of content, nuance or quality. The thing works so gosh darn good that it has several patents! The DTM is routinely used to add 30 seconds in a half hour program. This time can be used for public service announcements (which are mandated by the FCC) for instance. Or a paying advertisement can be placed in the slot. Either way, the broadcaster improves the cost effectiveness of his business. Recently, a CBS affiliate got caught using his time machine during an NFL game. It was noticed that the live radio broadcast was out of sync with the TV broadcast. Well, needless to say, the fertilizer hit the air mover! The debate continues. All of this controversy has resulted in several news crews showing up at our business to interview the principal parties on the subject. As a result, [LabGuy got to meet Jim Goldman], a long time silicon valley and national tech news reporter. While at Prime Image, [Mr. Goldman interviewed the President, Bill Hendershot (standing), and our vice president of sales, Jim Aldrich (seated)]. LabGuy invited himself to the occasion just to bring you the news about the news! Pretty long winded and silly, huh? Even sillier than that, my long time good friend, [James "Jimmy" Harding, had a spaz attack] when he saw the IVC 9000 for the very first time! Tuesday - January 15, 2002 . The vacuum tube collection has two new additions in it tonight. The first is a 1940s vintage RCA 1847 two inch experimenter's grade iconoscope. The second is a very tiny Dumont 6362 photomultiplier. See both of them [RIGHT HERE]. Saturday - January 12, 2002 . Last night, I ran into an old friend. What fun that was! Who is my friend? To find out, [CLICK HERE]. Check out the 1981 Funai CVC portapack I just got. To see it, [CLICK HERE] then scroll down the page. Saturday - January 5, 2002 . Boy howdy! Did I score big time! When orthicon tubes get listed on ebay as vidicons, all the big time collectors miss out on them! Heheheheheee! LabGuy's World just obtained an RCA 4536, 4-1/2" image orthicon tube and its matching deflection coils for less than a hundred bucks! These tubes have gone, in the past, for over four hundred and never less than two. In its yoke, it is quite unrecognizable for what it is. The seller had no idea what it was and I was more than happy to go with the status quo. Check out this jumbo imager on the [Vacuum Tube Museum Page]. I have also posted a fresh photo of the Dumont 6263 photomultiplier tube as well. Tuesday - January 1, 2002 . Wow! Another year has passed. And what a year it was, huh? I would like to point out that LabGuy's World does not contribute to terrorism. Never has and never will. (I'm glad to get that off my chest!) For my first act of the new year, I have just added a new museum page. Go and see the Two Inch VTRs in my collection, [RIGHT HERE]. Click here to: Read last year's What's New Page Return to The Top of LabGuy's World Last updated: November 25, 2002 |
![Bell & Howell version of the Shibaden SV-707]](Portapack_002.jpg){kind=link}
