Picked up these -- seem to be 1960s monochrome - might record color ?

Heck yes! Check out the site Labguy's World it is one of the best sites regarding early VTRs.

And BTW "ah hate yew"!

Heck yes! Check out the site Labguy's World it is one of the best sites regarding early VTRs.

And BTW "ah hate yew"!

Hey, Dammitt, that's MY line !! Work YOUR side of the Street ! (grin)

Those are Ampex Type A 1" helical scan decks. Probably B&W only. VP-xxxx = player. VRxxxx = recorder. It's a full Alpha wrap and the manual tape pull-in guides are prone to hitting the heads making a very distinct "ping" noise as the head flies across the room. Industrial and consumer grade. Not good enough for air. Probably blanking problems not up to FCC specs. And a stunning 300 lines of res. It was replaced by the invention of Type C which was in broadcast service for years.

I have one of the later ones in the attic. And until I get largish helpers, it is staying there. It has color capabilities if you add a color hetrodyne board. Not sure of my model number.

Then you have to find 1" video tape. They are a novelty only at this time. Not much value.

Check this Wikipedia for full model info on what you have and be sure to visit Lab Guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_inch_type_A_videotape

Check this Wikipedia for full model info on what you have and be sure to visit Lab Guy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_inch_type_A_videotape

Well, I see these ones are models 4900 & 5000 making them the first type A's (1965)

They have pretty blue PC boards and were surprisingly made in Chicago and not at Ampex's Silicon Valley Calif facility.

They are for folks who have tapes and need spares to keep working examples running. Here is a neat Type A tape restoration story: http://www.amiaconference.com/techrev/V10_01/sturm_sargent.htm

...

I have one of the later ones in the attic. And until I get largish helpers, it is staying there. It has color capabilities if you add a color hetrodyne board. Not sure of my model number...


Unless you took the belts out before storing, expect to have a gummy mess inside when you do haul it down. The ones I had in the 80's had already done that, along with the Ampex consumer audio decks. (I'm hoping the modern belts in the audio deck don't go soft like the originals, cleaning the tar out is REALLY messy!)