GETTING THE NAVY TAPED

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 432, 3 October 1947, Page 7

GETTING THE NAVY TAPED

NZBS Tests New Recorder At Sea

N terms of human relationships, the visit of the aircraft carrier Theseus was important, for many hundreds of new friendships were formed; but the visit was interesting, too, in terms of radio, for the recordings made on the carrier during exercises off Auckland were something new in New Zealand broadcasting history. To the average listener, tuned to, 1ZB on Sunday evening, September 21, or to 1YA ‘a week later, these broadcasts were probably little different from similar recorded radio reports previously heard; to the discerning listener, however, there was greater fidelity, clarity and continuity. The reason for this was that for the first time-apart from test trials-the new NZBS tape recorder was used. Previous broadcasts of this type have been either disc-recorded or made with a wire recorder. The advantages of the new machine are many and any experienced radio technician or broadcaster will enthuse over it at length. The machine is about the size of a large mantel model radio. On top are two reels, similar to those used on a film. projector but about seven inches in diameter and wide enough to carry the quarter-inch tape, which is like a paper streamer, black on one side and ;‘rey on the "other, and metal impregnated. The tape passes from one reel to the other through two knobs about an inch wide. One of these is the obliterator, which removes from the tape any previous recordings made on it and the second is the recorder, which works on magnetic principles. In one corner of the top of the machine there is a small hole into which is plugged the lead to the microphone. Above this are five buttons and four switches, for stopping and starting the machine, for recording or playing, and for volume and tone control. When it is wanted to make a recording, the machine is plugged into the

power, the controls switched to "record" and the announcer says his piece, or lets the noises he wishes recorded come | over the microphone. When he has finished he calls "cut" over the microphone, the technician stops the machine, and if it is necessary to hear what has been recorded he can immediately switch the controls to "play" and the recording can be heard over the speaker in the machine. The tapes can be used many times, previous recordings being © automatically obliterated when the machine is set to "record," but if it is wanted to superimpose something upon a recording this can be done by running the tape round the side of the obliterator instead of through

it. If the tape should break when the machine is running, or if the spool finishes, the machine automatically stops. The «anachine has these advantages over the disc recorder: It is more compact; it can run without having to put ih-a new spool for a very much longer time than it takes to complete the recording of a disc; it does not have to be absolutely level when recording-it will function on its side or even while being moved around-and noise such as close gunfire, which would ruin a disc, can be recorded on the tape without trouble. It is much simpler to edit than either a disc or wire recorder, for the tape can be cut with a pair of scissors and the two ends joined up, whereas wire recorder editing has to be done when a disc is made from it and similarly in the case of a disc recorder when a second disc is made from it. A wife recorder of the type used by Norman Corwin in his One World Flight series is about half the size of the tape recorder being used by the NZBS, but the latter provides no difficulty when it is being carried around, even up and down companionways on ‘an aircraft carrier. Then the tape has greater fidelity and clarity than the wire, technicians consider, and it can achieve greater continuity than the disc. An example of the practical value of the last-men-tioned advantage is the case of an unrehearsed radio interview. If this is made on a disc recorder, the interviewee has to be asked to stop giving his views while the disc is being changed, and then to carry on as if there had been no hiatus. This, as might be imagined, is a very difficult thing for the inexperienced broadcaster to do. As regards the practical results of the former two points, this is something listeners will be able to appreciate themselves in future programmes of radio "reportage."