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Cart Machine Questions

M

mort59

Guest
:) I just purchased a pair of Broadcast Electronics Dura Trak 90A stereo cart machines. One is record/play, the other play only. I have no previous experience with cart machines. I notice that carts for sale are listed as mono or stereo. What is the difference between the two? Can mono tapes be used in a stereo machine or vise versa? Also,the record unit has two buttons marked "sec" and"ter". What do these do? Thanks.
 
If the heads are aligned properly, you can play a stereo cart on a mono machine. You may get some phase cancellation between the two tracks, but that's always been the problem with stereo carts. Mono carts will work on stereo machines, although sometimes the mono audio gets into the cue track, since the mono audio track is wider than the two tracks put down by a stereo machine. This may lead to false cues.

Secondary cues usually used to trigger other equipment, as in automation systems, at the end of the cut. Some machines also use the secondary cue to trigger a fast forward function or to mute the audio output. Tertiary tones were sometimes used to sync other equipment to an audio track. One use I saw is where there was a narrative on the cart that triggered a slide projector to change slides using the tertiary cues.
 
Wow!!! Nice to see that BE made a great job by making the manuals online, including the vintage discontinued stuff. Wish that Harris did the same with all the equipment :-[

In Big H's defense they do have SOME of their manuals in an archive if your subscribed (free) to access it. With that being said I tried to get a manual once (before the internet site was available even) and they wanted to nail me for 69 bucks. It was for an older audio processor that still worked ok, so naturally declined. Appearently it was just going to be a Zerox anyway. That's the poblem with Big H. They always want to stick it to ya nearly any way they can. I'll be sure to stop by their booth this year and tell them why I'm going to work overtime to never buy any more of their stuff for that very reason.
 
OKCRadioGuy, it's my understanding that Harris is getting out of the broadcast business totally. Which to me is really sad; I remember back in the '70s before multiband processing became all the rage, you could actually hear that a Harris or Gates FM transmitter sounded better than the rest. The highs were more open. Now days, who could tell?

JJ
 
Harris getting out of the whole business, or just the radio side?

I wonder if the TV guys shopping for equipment know when they are out at NAB.
 
An interesting rumor, and one thsat's been mongered about every manufacturer over the last six or seven years. Some went, some dint. To what or whom is it ascribed?
 
You know, the one thing I keep wondering about is that after the DTV transition (Feb 17, 2009), how many DTV transmitter manufacturers will be thinking about their exit strategy?

With the exception of the time when the FM band moved, I don't know of a time in our history when there has been a mass changing of equipment.

I guess it's easy to see why Harris would get out of radio. There are many players, many of which are better, and priced lower. I think the days of you and I picking up the Gates or RCA catalog and buying something are long gone. That said, there are still a few people using carts, and I suspect there will be niche businesses for rebuilding and servicing them. Which reminds me, I need to get my BE cart decks and spare motors on Ebay before too long.
 
There will always be the replacement and the foreign markets. I feel sorry for any manufacturer who based his longterm business plan on the bump in production which digital engendered, whether radio or TV. They knoew it was a one - time thing. One tower manufacturer told me they were buying material and building to order, cos they knew the boom would slack and didn't want to be over manned and over inventories when all the marginal towers had been replaced to hold the new antennas. And, one or two tower types have faded over the last couple years, pluis there has been considerable consolidation. I note the good ol' Plymouth Indiana Rod tower company is now a divisionj of Valmont. Somebody (Sabre) either bought or mor[phed from Stainless, did they not? And Bernie's outfit is now a part iof DiElectric. Harris will likely continue on in some regard.
 
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