Ampex 351 Series - SECTION 4 DEVELOPMENT AND THEORY; HISTORY OF MAGNETIC RECORDING

www.SteamPoweredRadio.Com
Valdemar Poulsen
SECTION 4
THE DEVELOPMEI\JT AND THEORY OF
MAGNET IC TAPE RECORDING
T here is no definite beginnjng lo the history
of magnetic recording but we ca n be certain
that cred it for building the first magnetic
recorder belongs to Valdemar Poulsen. Thi s
Dani sh tel ephone eng ineer who is often re-
ferred to
as the " Fath er of Magnetic Recording"
d
es igned the microphonograph which was an
inv ent ion of great scientific significance. In
this apparatus a steel wire was moved with
considerable velocity between
the pole$ of a
sma ll electromagnet. By u sing this device a
conversation cou1d be
perman ently recorded
for reproduction at any time.
In the ea rl y 1900's many scie nti sts were
attempting to use m agne t ic tape in preference
to
the earli er id ea of wire, About 1927
a
German inventor named PFl eume r was exper -
imenting with powdered coat in gs on tape. So
far as we know he did not u se ma gnet ic oxide
but coated his tapes with powdered metallic
mat e ri a ls . Development co ntinu ed a nd finally
ab
out the year 1939 the Ge rm ans produced a
tap e using a durable plastic backing. Thi s
began a n ew er a in the im provement of mag-
netic tapes, c ulmin a tin g in the superior fidelity
we all know.
To understand completely the uses and
operating techniques of your Ampex Series
300
Tape Transport, the basic theory of
Magnetic Tape Recording sho uld be empha-
sized
at this time . ..
4-1