Re: [AV Media Matters] Audio query

[rohre@ARLUT.UTEXAS.EDU]

Thanks Steve for lead on later Cuddihy work.

I may give him a call, he called me at the time of the Gailileo
recorder start up funny, as we had bought the same batch of tape,
different slitting. He is a great resource on tape aging issues. His
work of course, had to be done with coupons and accelerated life
testing, but it was very thorough. He is one of the reasons the deep
space voyages have been so successful.  They use delayed tape
playback as a intermediate "memory" for data from the flybys until
they swing into antenna azimuth for an earth transmission. Also,
when high rate Telemetry failed, lower speed tape playback was what
got the data home over the low speeed TM path.

Today, I was screening old test tapes in reel to reel formats, and
retiring no longer needed ones.

I found a 1980 Ampex type 766, Intermediate Band instrumentation
reel, perfectly playable after 20 years of average electronic lab
storeage.  (Test Tapes are kept near the recorders, and we have a
dual air conditioner in that lab to enable closer control of
humidity, but temperature is about 68 F.)

Stuart Rohre
Univ. of TX, ARL Recording Lab