Magnetic Disc Recorders

[Zelandeth]

Just stumbled across This Link while browing another forum and rummaging for some information on magnetic discs of the computer variety.

Certainly never seen or heard of one of these before, it intrigues me however and I'd be really interested to hear of anyone who's had first hand experience with this equipment.

I'm assuming that it was seen as a lower quality, cheaper alternative to reel-to-reel machines of the time...must have been using a very small area of recording media for each pass though, so I imagine would have been rather lo-fi!

Intriguing device though, and I thought it was definitely worth a mention here to see if anyone had one.

[KeithsTV]

When I was at school back in the 60s we had a magnetic disc recorder given to the radio club. I don't remember much about it but we did try it out. I don't think the quality was that brilliant as it may have been intended for office use as a dictation machine. I can't remember what happened to it or who the manufacturer was but I've never seen another one.

Keith

[dseymo1]

Some of these were certainly designed for office use, with the great advantage over tape of random access to any passage (an advantage which carried over to computer storage systems, of course). I can't remeber specific examples, but believe that the better models had an electromechanically controlled pickup arm, working on the parallel tracking principle, which enabled fairly precise selection of a passage by remote control via a pedal (for typists) or switches on the microphone (for those dictating the message).
There was also a range of Dictaphone machines, which used helical recording on sheets of magnetic media wrapped around a drum.

[Radio_Dave]

I've never seen that model before but Pye made a similar device and called it a 'Record Maker'. It came with two tone arm heads, one for playing 'normal' records and another for recording onto the magnetic discs.

They turn up on Ebay regularly but their, fragile, Bakelite case means its not one for posting!

David

[brenellic2000]

As far as I am aware the American 'Timex' used the Brush Mail-a-Voice (license built in Britain as the Thermionic Products 'Recordon') technology with a 9" dia oxide coated paper disc. The response was quite adequate for speech. The round central plastic plate held the disc in place via a register pin; the plate had a fine scroll along which the arm tracked, much like a record player, while the magnetic head recorded or read the paper disc. Of course, as the peripheral speed was faster on the outer edge than the inner, frequency response decreased the closer the arm got towards the centre!, so only the outer 2" of the disc were usable.

The scrolled plate ensured compatability with other Timex, and I suppose Mail-a Voice/Recordon, machines.

The Timex was a very short lived model.

Barry

[dave walsh]

There is a photo of the bakelite cased model on the front cover of a Radio Bygones mag from a few years back. I remember selling one of these to a chap at an Elvaston Castle Radio Rally, when I had a stall in the mid eighties. He was a keen bakelite collector and told me he was a local radio producer! Dave W

[60 oldjohn]

The scrolled plate ensured compatability with other Timex, and I suppose Mail-a Voice/Recordon, machines.
I understand that the "plane" spiral groove could be made "wavy" for security and when used in matched pairs the message could only be read by a machine with the corresponding scrolled plate. Many different pairs could be made by varying the position of the locating peg on the same scroll. John.

[brenellic2000]

Different patterns of spiral groves would indeed be quite plausible and possible, though I've not heard of this being put into practice. However, the British Forces of the Rhine briefly used Recordons in the early 1950s, but whether they used 'coded' spirals, I know not.

Barry

[gaydar1952]

Maybe off topic- but for what its wort. During the early sixties I spent a lot of time in a local childrens hospital. I remember the doctor used a very strange dictaphone. The recording media was a kind of thin "tube" about 4" wide and approx 6" in diameter. The outside of this tube was covered with a magnetic layer and was iserted into the dictaphone from the right. Guess it it recorded tracks in a spiral matter. Never seen that ever since. Remember thou that my medical journal had some of theese (folded flat). That was long before medical records went digital.

[brenellic2000]

Not heard of that machine before. There was a multi-channel tape recorder which used a 4" drum of tape - can't remember what it was called. The late dictaphone type machines used flat sheets of coated film.

Barry

[McMurdo]

Ive got one of the dictaphone-style mag disc recorders somewhere, very heavy and I think of american manufacture, hybrid minaiture valve/transistor.

[ricard]

The actual recording principle (smooth surfaced disk with separate tracking 'puck') indeed looks the same as on the Brush BK-501 Mail-a-Voice (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/brush_m...k_501bk50.html). I've got one of these, but have never gotten around to actually trying to use it. Probably needs a careful startup. I thought I'd try to use disks from old 8" computer floppy disks to start with as the unit didn't come with any original 9" disks.

The Timex machine looks very nicely styled for home use rather than the Brush devices' rather industrial finish.

Another magnetic disk recorder intended for dictation use was the Agavox (http://www.johansoldradios.se/dictat...hines/agavox-2), which used a disk with one magnetic coating side, and the other side with grooves for tracking. It was slotted into the machine from the right, and the white button on the left front of the machine actually moved the disk drive mechanism so you could cue into any point on the disk. The head was stationary. I can't figure out if the machine was Swedish or English in origin. I've got one of these; it looks like it's made in the UK, but Aga (the company that made stoves) was a Swedish company, and they also made radios and tape recorders. I don't know if it's the same company though. I remember seeing them in doctors' offices here in Sweden in the mid-1970s.

I use mine as part of my answering machine setup, to record incoming messages. The other part is an answering machine from 1969, made by Ericsson, which uses a internal, non-removable magnetic disk for the outgoing messages. My wife finds it too complicated, but on the other I have friends who refuse to talk to answering machines but don't mind mine, because they think it's so neat...

/Ricard

[brenellic2000]

The Agavox was license built in Southampton for a short while by Thermionic Products, who developed the Brush Mail-a-voice into the 'Recordon'. T-P also of course built the Soundmirror paper-tape recorder (see my website Brenelltape.co.uk). I've not yet fully discovered why T-P took on the Agavox other than as a safeguard to keep production going. They were at the time world leaders in airfield communication recorders.

I have 3 Recordons, all slightly different; none work - yet. They did a deluxe 'Diplomat' model which also served as a telephone speaker recorder, but production ended circa 1953/54 at the time the Timex came on the market.

Barry

[Andy_Clarke]

I have a Recordon too. Serial no. 008812

It has the Bakelite microphone with it, but sadly no mains lead, footswitch or head set. I also have 5 recording discs for it.

I'd quite like to get hold of the special mains plug, and the headset, so it could be restored to working condition.

Andy

[brenellic2000]

The 'special' flat-4 pin plug is I believe a Paignton unit - Recordon leads are like hens' teeth! Serial No 00812 - which motor does this machine have - a simple tin-smith's job or a Garrard/Collaro unit. There were two subtly but distinct variants of the Recordon - any chance of a photo or two?
Barry

[Andy_Clarke]

Here's a couple of pics. You're not going to believe this but we used to have two of these, complete with all the leads etc. My dad had them where he worked, in the early 1960's. They were obviously redundant so they came home, I certainly remember at least one of them working, but I guess over they years with house moves etc the 'loose' bits got lost.

Andy

[Andy_Clarke]

Last edited by Brian R Pateman; Today at 06:19 PM. Reason: Large embedded images converted to thumbnails.

Sorry! However there is nothing in the forum rules about embedded images - I did look first...

Andy

[Jimmyhaflinger]

Originally Posted by Radio_Dave

I've never seen that model before but Pye made a similar device and called it a 'Record Maker'. It came with two tone arm heads, one for playing 'normal' records and another for recording onto the magnetic discs.

They turn up on Ebay regularly but their, fragile, Bakelite case means its not one for posting!

David

The Pye record maker also came in a wooden lowboy radiogram format, i have one but it's missing both the magnetic discs and the magnetic head

[brenellic2000]

Thanks Andy, that is an early model. By all accounts they were pretty good for dictation which is what they were designed for!
Barry

[Andy_Clarke]

So what timespan was the Recordon in production, what differences were there over the production run, and roughly what year would this one be do you think?

Andy