It would count the passage of sections of clear leader tape to cue to the proper cut. The name Schafer is best remembered for automation systems, but it also made the Schafer Spotter, a modified reel-to-reel machine with photo cell detectors. RCA developed a similar wide-belt machine that never went into production. It used a tape belt 13 inches wide and divided into 101 tracks, each having a maximum time of 90 seconds, with HF response topping out at 8 kHz. Perhaps best remembered was the Gates ST-101. Apart from a few ads in the Journal of College Radio, they were never really advertised, and few were sold.ĭespite the huge success of the ATC/Collins cart machine at the 1959 NAB Show and subsequent production of machines by BE, the future of the endless loop tape format was by no means guaranteed - there were competitors. Starting in the mid-1960s, they also manufactured four-channel remote broadcast consoles and turntable preamps, although the marketing strategy seems to have been keeping their existence a secret. While cart machines were the mainstay of the early BE, they did branch out into cart accessories, such as cart tape winders and various types of cart storage racks. The first employees were Austin Knox, engineer, and Jack Neff, sales. The first machines were shipped in wooden cases BE’s familiar blue hammertone aluminum ones came later. BROADCAST STUDIO WITH TAPEDECK SERIESThe two parties apparently were unaware of each other until Beville saw the ATC machine at the 1959 NAB Show.īroadcast Electronics was founded in June 1959, and the first production runs of the legendary 500 series were assembled in the WWDC garage. “Jack” Jenkins were developing the ATC machine at WJBC in Bloomington, Ill., Ross Beville of WWDC (now WWRC) in Washington, D.C., was working on the Spotmaster. While ATC/Collins generally is credited with selling the first cart machines, the P-series, Broadcast Electronics is acknowledged as a close second.Ībout the same time that Fred L. This installment of Plugging Into the Past looks at the first and last models of cart machines manufactured by Broadcast Electronics. While there is no formal end point for tape cartridge technology, the party was winding down by 1999, giving carts a 40-year run. The digital audio revolution of the ’90s marked the beginning of the end for the tape cartridge machine, as hard drive storage and playback of digital audio files became the norm. Precision-manufactured cartridges, high-bias tape and stereo cart decks were among the milestones. Over four decades, the technology was tweaked and refined. Along with the 45 rpm record, the cart machine made the top 40 format possible. When ATC/Collins introduced the cart machine at the 1959 NAB Show in Chicago, it revolutionized radio.
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