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VPR-5 Scanner Close Up
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A close up image of the top surface of the VPR5 upper head drum.
Note the under cut girder-like machining and the various bits of internal
electronics.
When this 5-Inch diameter video head scanner is running, it rotates at 3000
RPM and the forces at the outside edge approach 1,000g. The outer drum which holds the various video heads fits over a central core of the drive motor. This core contains rotary transformers for video signal coupling and slip rings for control and powering. It seems that to replace or adjust the video heads, this outer drum can be (moderately) easily removed by just releasing the various fastners and un-plugging connectors.
While I originally though that this head drum was machined Titanium, Mr.
William Carpenter (a past Ampex product manager) was kind enough to point out that it is in fact a hard coated aircraft aluminum, and that; "we did quite a bit of research on scanner coatings, and as a result our scanner wear was about 1/10 of our competition." It is likely that this coating is a variation on type III hard anodise. |
