New subject: OT: wire recorders - skip if no interest

6 Sep 2002

I guess this is only slightly OT, since this particular recorder dates
...
 from around 1948-1950 ;) 
I managed to rescue a Webster Chicago model 79 wire recorder from a shelf
that was overlooked in my friend's shop after most of it had been dumped
into the dumpster. The model 79 was sold as a bare-bones unit without any
audio circuitry, while the model 80, which used the same mechanism, was a
complete unit. A little more info about Webster Chicago wire recorders can
be found at [http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~dmorton/webcor.htm], and more
info about wire recorders in general can be found at
[http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~dmorton/wire_recorders.htm].

The audio circuitry that my friend built for this model 79 appears to be
long gone, so in order to play back the 3 reels of wire I also rescued,
I'm going to have to recreate it.

I managed to found the instruction manual in a binder in the dumpster, but
I don't have a service manual (though I'd certainly like to find one). The
instruction manual covers the use of the model 79 and a basic design for
the audio circuitry.

If anyone else has a model 79 or 80, or thinks it might otherwise be
worthwhile, I'm willing to scan the manual if someone has a place to host
it on the web.

-Toth