When I was a kid I could never understand why it wasn't in color on our (B&W) set :rolleyes:

Anyways, I was messing around with some old reel to reel tapes I made as a kid, probably in 1970 or 71, mostly illegible junk, snippets recorded off the radio, really bad singing by me and my sister...

One thing I found of nostalgic interest ( to me at least) was this short snippet I recorded from the speaker of our RCA portable, it is the announcer saying "In Color" followed by the music from the progam.

http://www.vintagetvsets.com/videos/incolor.rm

Can anyone identify the music? not much to go I know, I'm thinking maybe Gunsmoke?

The quality is bad because it was a cheapo kiddy tape recorder without a pinch roller so the speed varies throughout the tape, I had to use software to get the pitch as close as it is.

I also found an entire Star Kist commercial :D

Eric

First post , here...

I always love finding things like this... some of the real treats are discovering reel-to-reel fanantics that were actively taping programs during the late 50's and early 60's... apparently, this practice was much more widespread than I might've thought.

At least one of the items that's surfaced is an audio recording of the "Tonight Show" that Jack Paar walked off of, back in the early 60's. Neat to hear it in realtively hi-fi sound!!

Real pity that AMPEX didn't a consumer 2" VTR model...!! :)

-Kevin



Moderator's Note: OOPS! It was pretty late when I tried to reply to this post and somehow I pushed the edit button by mistake and my reply got mixed in with this post. I've just noticed the error and corrected it but I may have inadvertently changed the title of this, Kevin's first post and don't know what it was originally called. Please accept my apologies for fumbling where no fumbling was required. Welcome Kevin!

Joel Cairo!!! With a name like that do you expect us to give you "the bird"?

Welcome aboard Kevin!...or should I address you as Joel Cairo, or CBS? :)

Ampex did actually offer a consumer VTR in 2" format. Trouble was it cost so much, only TV stations, networks and Howard Hughes' Grandson could afford them.

Cost of recording tape was very expensive in 2" format, still is today. Early home 1/2" R-R videotape for the Japanese VTR's of the late 60's/early 70's, was also extremely pricey for a domestic budget making even these machines only within reach of educational institutions like schools.

The miracle of mass production finally came around to bring the cost of VHS tape cartridges down to dirt cheap prices within the reach of the poorest among us. I marvel at how a VHS tape can cost less than a dinky little blank audio cassette tape!

Do you have any vintage TV's that you'd like to share with us? :)

Rob

P.S. The main amp I'm listening to right now in my HT/stereo listening setup still has three surviving Mullard EL34/6CA7's in it that I pulled from the electronics rack of a decomissioned Ampex Quad VTR-1000A back in the late 60's. There were 6 of them driving the 3-phase head servo motor. These tubes were used when I got them and now after being in my amp for almost 30 years are still going strong. I measured them a month ago and they tested as-new.

i have a reel tape that i acquired several years ago that has "elvis- the way it is" recorded on it. from the way it sounds, a microphone was placed in front of the tv speaker. I am guessing it was recorded during the summer of 1975.

there is an for the 1975 chevy vega boasting 37 mpg, among many other vintage commercials. i think there is also an ad for hertz rent-a-car pushing the ford pinto with a rental price of $9.99 a day, and the ford maverack for 15 a day.

the program was on the "nbc thursday night at the movies". it was recorded here locally because there was a "station identification" for our local kjac-tv channel 4... our local nbc station today. there is also an ad for the nbc nightly news with john chancellor. i myself just barely remember that name since i was only 6 years old in '75.

as far as the program itself, well, it was ok i guess. most of the songs that elvis sang that night belonged to other people... there were only a few that his own.

i did consider putting this tape on ebay a while back. with the elvis craze still going strong, i thought this item might sell being that there aren't too many copies of something like this out there. probably would do much better if it had been a recording from the 60's. maybe one day i will list it.

all in all, it is kinda neat to listen to. i do remember some of the ads, and i also remember the same channel 4 station i.d.... it was used for many years.

Originally posted by Eric H

The quality is bad because it was a cheapo kiddy tape recorder without a pinch roller so the speed varies throughout the tape, I had to use software to get the pitch as close as it is.

Eric [/B]

Eric,

i had one of those tape decks... i think mine came from radio shack... it was a hand me down from an uncle. it didn't have a pinch roller, so the recordings were pretty bad.

later, i acquired a magnavox with the pinch roller, so all of the tapes made on the realistic recorder sounded really bad. i still have the magnavox today. recently, i rebuilt the very simple circuit board in it and it sounds good as new.

I also used to record TV off the air. I used a Sony reel to reel. The only program that remains is the 1966 Academy Awards show. It was the first year it was telecast in color. So tape includes ABC color announcement/w music and that "Twelve O'Clock High" would not be seen this evening. Bob Hope opening was corny as usual.

Hi, all...!

Brian: I get "the bird" enough as it is, so I'll just consider this my sanctuary away from it... :)

Rob: Thanks for the welcome... and "Kevin" is fine. I used my "Maltese Falcon" nom-de-net because it 's the same name that I use over on Steve Hoffman's forum, and I just thought I'd maintain some continuity. I found this place after Steve pointed me here when I asked some questions regarding the images to be seen on a round-tube set.

I watch a lot of classic broadcasts (and am quite a vintage TV program collector), but it's been quite some time since I've seen a vintage round-tube fired up... I was expecting a **lot** more geometric distortion for some reason, but boy-- was I in for a shock when I saw some of those screen images in the "vintage color TVs" thread...!!

Astounding... Beautiful... Breathtaking... well, I'll just run out of adjectives.

As for my own equipment, I have a few vintage video machines (1/2" EIAJ sort of stuff, as well as Beta, VHS and 3/4" u-matic), but no vintage receivers... though I'm now drooling over the RCA CT-100s that I've seen here...!!

Anyway, I'm 43 , so I remember a lot of the stuff I watch **now**from the first time around, back in the 60s. My passion is to dig up old videotapes, particularly of classic game shows like "Password", and the like.

Which reminds me-- it anyone here has a line on 2" videotape copies of any classsic 60s game shows, especially those like the CBS primetime versions of "What's My Line?", "I've Got a Secret" and "To Tell the Truth", which were only preserved on kinescope films; **OR** NBC daytime programs like "Concentration", "Jeopardy!" or "You Don't Say" (which evidently weren't really preserved **at all**), please feel free to drop me a PM or an e-mail... these programs, considered "disposable programming" by the networks, are my particular passion...

Anyhow-- it's great to be here-- and I hope at some point that I can make a positive contribution to the group!!

Thanks again for the hearty welcome, folks... and now, back to your regularly scheduled forum, already in progress!!

-Kevin

A while back, a friend of mine in NY that collects Bewitched memorabilia made me a VHS tape of several Bewitched episodes taken from 16mm film. These were originals without touch-up color, unlike in re-runs we see today. Also included are the Chevrolet commercials (Chevy was the show's biggest sponsor). The openings and endings of these episodes show the cartoon Samantha and Darrin riding on a Chevy bowtie instead of a broom, which would not be seen on today's reruns. There is also the "Bewitched In Color" screen. Some are in color and some in B&W. ABC didn't broadcast this show in color till 1966. The quality is not the greatest... i suppose due to the degrading of the film over years, as well as this tape being recorded at a slower speed.

I also have a segment showing the ABC Thursday night line up and times for Bewitched, That Girl, and Love on a Rooftop. The music they used in some of these ads was pretty "groovy". The picture is of this segment is so bad that it can hardly be seen. Could be due to my VCR being 13 years old. One of these days I'll buy a new one.

It is really neat to watch these episodes from the 60's with the original openings, closings, and commercials... especially on a vintage set.

Below are some screen shots of the better scenes.