Search for a Phonebyte made by The Blue Group

[zonexero]

Searching the planet for anyone who might have one of these lying around or knows someone who has one.
The system was called "PhoneByte" made by a company called "The Blue Group" out of Clearwater Florida. I tried contacting the company, but I think the site and emails are since defunct at this point. They were mainly used to digitally record phoners / phone calls, DJ's sometimes used them to voice-track their shows in some stations. It was simply a mini cpu tower with specialized cards for the audio i/o. These are the only pics I could find of the unit. Thanks!

 

[Mikey Radio]

Searching the planet for anyone who might have one of these lying around or knows someone who has one.
The system was called "PhoneByte" made by a company called "The Blue Group" out of Clearwater Florida. I tried contacting the company, but I think the site and emails are since defunct at this point. They were mainly used to digitally record phoners / phone calls, DJ's sometimes used them to voice-track their shows in some stations. It was simply a mini cpu tower with specialized cards for the audio i/o. These are the only pics I could find of the unit. Thanks!

Their site is still up: The Blue Group

I'm not sure if you'd want to bother trying to resurrect a system that many decades old, as technology has improved so many times over since, but if you can't reach them through the website, phone number or e-mail listed, you might also try and see if the company is incorporated, etc. and find the "owner" that way. Good luck!

 

[atch1951]

Their site is still up: The Blue Group

I'm not sure if you'd want to bother trying to resurrect a system that many decades old, as technology has improved so many times over since, but if you can't reach them through the website, phone number or e-mail listed, you might also try and see if the company is incorporated, etc. and find the "owner" that way. Good luck!

If you're not in a hurry, I have four. I'm still months away from checking them out to see if they still work... other jobs more pressing. They cost $2500 each in 1992; according to Ben Umberger, Blue Group's president and system builder, the sound cards installed cost $1500. Ben was an engineer at Oldies 96.3, a Cox network station in Clearwater, now called Q105. He was gone by the time I moved to Clearwater in Y2k, not sure what became of him.

If any of mine still work, I'm hoping to get $500 each. Once I list them, if I go several months without any interest, of course I will gradually lower the price till someone bites. I don't have the keyboards with the built-in trackball, nor the outboard pushbutton box, nor the security dongles; none of these are required to use as a phone call record/edit/playback. I say that, not actually yet having tried to bypass the security dongle... but vague memory says it was just a line in the boot process that could be commented out... we shall see. Hey, we retired them in the late '90s, and my memory ain't what it used to be.

I am Dale Atchison, a studio engineer at WSM-AM, WSM-FM, and WWTN-FM in Nashville, 1987-2000. I installed and maintained these and the next generation models from '92 till I left in Y2k.
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>

 

[zonexero]

If you're not in a hurry, I have four. I'm still months away from checking them out to see if they still work... other jobs more pressing. They cost $2500 each in 1992; according to Ben Umberger, Blue Group's president and system builder, the sound cards installed cost $1500. Ben was an engineer at Oldies 96.3, a Cox network station in Clearwater, now called Q105. He was gone by the time I moved to Clearwater in Y2k, not sure what became of him.

If any of mine still work, I'm hoping to get $500 each. Once I list them, if I go several months without any interest, of course I will gradually lower the price till someone bites. I don't have the keyboards with the built-in trackball, nor the outboard pushbutton box, nor the security dongles; none of these are required to use as a phone call record/edit/playback. I say that, not actually yet having tried to bypass the security dongle... but vague memory says it was just a line in the boot process that could be commented out... we shall see. Hey, we retired them in the late '90s, and my memory ain't what it used to be.

I am Dale Atchison, a studio engineer at WSM-AM, WSM-FM, and WWTN-FM in Nashville, 1987-2000. I installed and maintained these and the next generation models from '92 till I left in Y2k.
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>

Funny; I just saw your post almost a year later, I am not sure why I was not notified, still interested. $500 a bit steep for me at this point, but of course other options considered. I run a youtube channel called "IJDM" which we occasionally cover old radio station equipment and do a bit of history, which is what I would use it for. Let me know. [email protected]

 

[radiofan2023]

Funny; I just saw your post almost a year later, I am not sure why I was not notified, still interested. $500 a bit steep for me at this point, but of course other options considered. I run a youtube channel called "IJDM" which we occasionally cover old radio station equipment and do a bit of history, which is what I would use it for. Let me know. [email protected]

He hasn’t logged in since last April, maybe you should email him

 

[zonexero]

Just did thanks.