Loop bin duplicator: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:03, 27 April 2016

Revision as of 17:01, 10 November 2016

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A '''loop bin duplicator''' is a specialized [[audio tape]] machine used in the duplication of pre-recorded [[compact audio cassette|audio cassettes]] and [[8-track tape|8-track cartridges]].

[[File:Magnefax Duplicator.jpg|thumb|right|Magnefax 7in duplicator]]

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== Analog loop bin duplicator ==

An analog loop bin uses a long loop of either 1/2" wide (for cassette duplication) or 1" wide (for 8-track tape duplication) loaded in a large bin located in the front of the machine,. which isThe readloop tape for cassette duplication has 4 tracks on boththe sidesloop bin master tape (2 stereo tracks for Side A recorded in one direction, and the other 2 for Side B recorded in the opposite direction), and for 8-tracks has all of the 8 tracks (4 2-track stereo programs) recorded in one direction. The loop-bin master tape is read by the duplicator at a very high speed, for cassettes, either 32, 64, 80, or 100 times the normal speed of playback (1.875 [[inches per second|ips]]) of an audio cassette (60, 120, 150, and 187.5 ips respectively), and 10 or 20 times the normal speed of playback (3.75 ips) for 8-track duplication (37.50 and 75 ips respectively).

While this loop is being played back, the audio signals for the A and B side (or all 4 programs for 8-track) are sent to a "slave" recorder or an audio bus that contains multiple "slaves". The "slave" records from the loop bin master the A and B side to a reel of raw 1/8" audio tape (for cassettes) or all 8 tracks to back-lubricated 1/4" audio tape (for 8-tracks) wound on a "pancake" reel (similar to [[film|motion picture film]] wound on a plastic core) at the same high speed. After it is recorded, this pancake of tape is then loaded onto special machines called loaders. TheFor cassettes, the loader has cassette shells containing only a leader called C-0 cassettes that are loaded one at a time or into a hopper where the C-0s are fed automatically depending on the type of loader. The tape from the pancake is then spliced onto the C-0 cassette's leader and then wound into the cassette by the loader. For 8-tracks, the tape is wound from the slave recorder onto a device mounted on its side, called a "sidewinder", which holds several small reels, and extracts and winds the tape from the slave recorder onto each reel into an endless-loop configuration (with the tape being pulled from the center of the wind), where each full reel is then placed in an empty 8-track cartridge and spliced together, either by machine or by hand, with a foil splice that holds the loop together. The foil splice also serves to automatically engage an 8-track player to advance to the next program when played.

The 1/2" loop of tape in the duplicator usually will have a segment of clear leader spliced in between the beginning and end of the program (with some duplicators using a metal foil splice instead). This clear leader splice is read by an optical sensor (or in the case of a foil splice, coming in contact with electrical contacts in the tape path) in the loop bin duplicator, which triggers a cue tone that is recorded to the reel of 1/8" pancake tape. This cue tone tells the loader to stop and cut the tape from the pancake and eitehr splice it to the other length of leader in the cassette shell for cassettes, or to engage and disengage winding and cutting of the tape to an internal reel on the "sidewinder" mechanism for 8-tracks (a process for both types of media called "de-spooling"). In fact, part of this de-spooling tone (also known as a "tailor tone" or "trigger tone") can be heard at the leader or foil splice of some previously recorded audio cassettes and 8-tracks respectively, as a very low-frequency [[arpeggio|arpeggiated]] rumbling, but as an actual tone when played back at a higher speed.

In the [[XDR (audio)|XDR]] duplication process for audio cassettes, the loop bin duplicators use 1"-wide loop tape instead (like what is used for 8-track duplication), yielding in a better quality duplication.

== Digital loop bin duplicator ==

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* [http://www.audiodups.com/manufacturing.html Bin Loop Tape Duplication (With pictures)]

* [http://www.opticaldisc-systems.com/2002MarApr/Equipment64.htm Digital Bin Loop Master Machine]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101208122537/http://www.8trackheaven.com/ampex.html "My year at Ampex", by Ron Schauer, a former employee at Ampex's tape duplication plant]

==References==