30 IPS adjustment w. 15 IPS generated tape?

[MsM]

I have an Otari MX-70, and have set it up on 15 IPS using an MRL tape. I use 15 IPS, but I would like to set up/"ball park" adjust the MX-70 on 30 IPS as well, but it won't be as important to justify investing in a second MRL-tape for now.

I was wondering if it would be possible to print 500 Hz and 5 kHz to tape at 15 IPS at some level, and then use that played back at 30 IPS to set repro level and eq. (Azimuth was checked for 15 IPS, was ok.). Doubling the speed will double the frequency, but how is level affected? Double the amplitude also? That is, at what level (VU) should I record the test tones at 15 IPS, to be used as 0VU at 30 IPS? Again, the adjustments at 30 IPS won't be that critical for now, it's just for "informal dabbling" a bit with 30 IPS.

Thanks.

M.

[Benmrx]

A friend of mine had (maybe still has) and Otari MX70, and did exactly what you were talking about, as far as printing tones at 500hz and 5K. Although I never used his machine in that fashion, it worked for him on plenty occasions. Me personally, I'm a little to uptight about that kinda thing to not use a real MRL for alignment.

The speed of the tape shouldn't affect level

[MsM]

Thanks, Ben

If I was to use 30 IPS more extensively, I think I'd get an MRL too.

[The Byre]

You may find it is easier in the long run - and cheaper - to buy a good sig-gen. Ebay is full of old test kit that goes fairly cheaply. Then you can calibrate for all F., and not just the usual 100, 1k and 10k.

[Sigma]

1 thousand hertz at reference fluxivity of 185 nano webers per meter...

ohh the humanity it's years but..i think i still have dreams of that mans voice or err are they nightmares

[Benmrx]

Originally Posted by Sigma

.......i still have dreams of that mans voice or err are they nightmares

Oh no...those are dreams

[Zep Dude]

Originally Posted by Sigma

1 thousand hertz at reference fluxivity of 185 nano webers per meter...

ohh the humanity it's years but..i think i still have dreams of that mans voice or err are they nightmares

Tell you something funny. I worked for him at Ampex as a teenager one summer in the 80's when he was doing the Ampex Video Magazine (I wrote the theme song using a dx-7, drum machine and an mm1200 the wheeled in for me, lol). The guy was Bob Day who apparently had been a known radio personality in his younger years around the Bay area and was the "voice of Ampex" as you well know. I think he did many VO's around the Bay area as well. I'm not sure if he's still with us as he was already in semi retirement back then.

I still get a kick out of it when I hear his voice on those MRL's.


P.S. here's a little bio on him I just found on the net. RIP, Bob,

Robert W. Day

Growing up in Depressionweary Oakland, California, Bob Day worked a variety of Jobs to help the family but he soon found he had an unusual gift for radio. Even as a young man, his rich bass voice commanded attention and his ability to "rip-and-read" with ease, moved him ahead of more senior announcers.

A familiar figure in Bay Area radio during the 1950s, he hosted KGO's "San Francisco Sketchbook," and later the populär "Success Story" series on live television. After that show's Ampex episode, he was lured away from broadeasting to introduce the video tape recorder with a nationwide tour in the "Ampex Video Cruiser," a 40-ft custom bus with cameras, the video tape machine, a crew of ten people and five-thousand vacuum tubes.

As the voice of Ampex, Bob Day continued as corporate story-teller, using television produced on video tape -"teleproduction"- on and off the Ampex campus for the next 35 years. Many of today's production techniques were pioneered a quarter-century ago by Day trying to tell a fresh story in the competition- charged cauldron of NAB's four-day grind. Techniques such as interactive video, quick-cut editing, synchronized multi-screen presentations... were pioneered in analog with just a typewriter, a stopwatch and what George Bush would later call, "the vision thing!"

His brand of story telling, which began on radio as just a voice in the dark, went on to illuminate television's transition from "staged" to "stored" images. It is widely acknowledged that Bob Day's work influenced other creative minds to enrich the vocabulary of video production.

On June 28, 1994, he died peacefully in his sleep. He was a loyal friend, a good guy who suffered fools with compassion. He never missed a cue and he always knew his lines.

This tribute to our friends and colleagues celebrates a triumphant time and acknowledges the continuing contributions made by Ampex alumni, everywhere. Our thanks to Tom Washburn and Pete Hammar for their assistance.

[carival]

I think that MRL actually has "conversion charts" on their website, for setting machines up at different speeds etc. with the "incorrect" MRL tape. I have a printed copy somewhere. I was kinda surprised to see them provide this info, instead of selling you another tape. Bob Day's voice is very comforting to me in a strange way. Is that weird? Makes me chuckle every single time. Can you imagine hearing a different voice on an MRL? It would be very wrong.

[MsM]

A big THANX to all of you

I have a signal generator I will use, quite neat for generating test signals on tape. I'ts an old Philips tube type, so it must have the proper "warmth" in the signal ...

The background on Bob Day was fascinating, nice to know a bit about voices you hear.

Downloaded the paper from the MRL site. Great site, packed with good info. Thanks for the tip!

M.