Comments on: ICONS: rca and evaporating knowledge

By: Jerry B. Williams

Jerry B. Williams — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 22:42:41 +0000

[I was hoping he could clarify a vague detail in the schematic of a very old and very desirable microphone preamp. Because: if i had a little more info, i could easily ‘clone’ this device] — I used to work at the RCA Television Division on Sherman Avenue and also at the RCA Selecta-Vision Division over on Rockville Pike, both in Indianapolis, during the very early 1980’s. Since my job at the RCA Selecta-Vision Division was in the “Advanced Development Laboratory” tasked with the design and development of the “PAL” Video-Disc Mastering System equipment, I still have boxes of schematics, PCB layouts, mechanical drawings of chassis, etc. here-at-home that I had designed and created for all of the video-signal processing equipment. COOL STUFF!!! I even have boxes of color 35mm photo slides that I took of the four (4) 19″ racks of video equipment and I even took some BARCO video monitor screenshots of some of the images that the lab used for testing purposes. This is all GREAT STUFF that has now been lost forever, as when the facility was eventually closed down, all of the Hewlett-Packard and Tektronix gear was smashed and it and the 19″ racks were all thrown into a dumpster!!!
(NOTE: The included link shows a photo of the “RCA Selecta-Vision Division “PAL” Video-Disc Mastering System” consisting of 4 19″ racks).

What all of this leads up to is……….whenever you ever happen to come across this “clarified vague detail” and being an “Audio Professional” myself, I would be more than happy to assist you in not only “cloning” this microphone preamp unit, but also in designing it in such a manner as to be more like an actual “product” that could possibly be sold as a “kit” for other DIY’ers to enjoy building themselves!!! Sound like a plan?

>> PLEASE << contact me whenever you are able to "clarify this vague detail" schematic item and I will assist you with designing a nice mic preamp schematic, PCB and an appropriate chassis or enclosure, OK???

By: chris

chris — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:44:13 +0000

In reply to Curt Vincent. That's great Curt -yes i read this article last week when the issue came. Great that you did this! CR

By: Curt Vincent

Curt Vincent — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:00:10 +0000

In reply to Curt (Dry Bones) Vincent.

OK! Article published in TapeOp!!!

http://tapeop.com/interviews/116/clarence-kane-enak-microphone-repair/

By: Curt (Dry Bones) Vincent

Curt (Dry Bones) Vincent — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:40:28 +0000

OK gang, I interviewed Clarence last year and the article is going to be published in TapeOp in 2016. I just heard from owner, Larry Crane and the Senior Contributing Editor, Garrett Haines who told me two weeks ago the article WILL run soon. Cool, Clarence deserves it!

By: Don Bell

Don Bell — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 17:17:32 +0000

I still have some documentation on pro audio gear and 50 years experience repairing the stuff. I have found a lot of info in the internet. The hardest things to find are transformers and in some cases the tubes. When I was working for Ardent I had John Fry by up a couple caches of 6BM8’s and 6386 I had found at electronic parts dealers going out of business. Trying to keep the collection of tube limiters he owned was an ongoing part of the job. And finding parts was part of the challenge.

By: Curt Vincent (aka Dry Bones)

Curt Vincent (aka Dry Bones) — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 18:58:15 +0000

My father-in-law, like Clarence Kane, is a WWII vet. And 16 million men and women served in uniform during WWII. I recently read that WWII vets are dying at a rate of 416 per DAY in 2015. That is faster than during the war! That is also 152,000 per year. With them goes a lot of institutional knowledge of places like RCA. This is one reason I have befriended Clarence. I have known Clarence for 30 years and he has restored 11 ribbon mics for me. He has forgotten more about old mics then I will ever learn. I can, and have sat in his shop listening to his stories like a little kid. He knows a lot.

By: Jesse klapholz

Jesse klapholz — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:35:27 +0000

I have the entire personal records and archives of John Volkman of rca he headed the acoustic development labs from 1927 to around 1965. He was the force behind all of the innovations of fantasia. 215-886-8600

By: Silvio Cianfrone

Silvio Cianfrone — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:55:55 +0000

I have a few RCA Engineer Journals from the 1960’s. If anyone is interested I might be able to scan them. I hate to part with the originals.

By: Denny

Denny — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 03:44:46 +0000

I wish that I had stayed in electronics when I started in the mid 80’s
I had an uncle that was a TV repair man, He was very knowledgable when
It came to the vintage stuff. When I bought my first amp, I thought I needed
The biggest amp I could find, 100w or more and He and other techs would tell
Me that 20 or 30 watts would do just fine. I thought they were crazy. Little did
I know then, they were speaking of vacuum tubes and not solid state. Thirty years
And one Dynaco SCA-35 later. I knew what they were talking about
The 17 watts this puppy spit out, was night and day compared to the 50 and 60 watt
Solid state crap I bought during the mid 80’s and early 90’s.

Tubes are back to stay as far as I’m concerned!!

By: Enrique Gutierrez

Enrique Gutierrez — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 00:31:07 +0000

I’ve an Audio fan since child, but no fortunate enough to have the gear that I would like to own. That turns you to the DIY way, that makes you to learn on your own, and one of the things that brought me into practical electronics were the RCA Manuals, both Transistor, and more recently Vacuum Tube and all that I can say is that I’m amazed to read all over about the better sound of the tube equipement and thats what brought to learn about them; I can tell you that I sought each year for the amp circuit eiter discrete or IC until I stumbled back into tubes and got hooked by this “obsolete” technology and all the things that are brought back from the past that really do the job.
I’m with dual feelings about all the semiconductor in my trerasure chest; toy or what? I bought them to build some amps, but after I read all that they seem to be useless exept for psu’s and some test gear, but as I see the tubes are “in” again.