Ampex 351 - Page 69

SECTION 7
THE AMPEX HEAD
Half-track head assembly
7-1
89-0144
Issue A
J
The head assembly of an Ampex magnetic
tape recorder is the heart of the equipment.
The technical and detailed know-how required
for the fabrication of these head assemblies has
made Ampex the foremost manufacturer of
magnetic recording equipment in the world
today.
In theory, a tape recorder head assembly is
a simple device. In practice however, building
a head assembly is a complicated task requiring
extremely precise manufacturing techniques.
There are three head stacks in an assembly —
erase, record and playback. In recording, the
erase head eliminates any previous recording
from the tape. The record head puts a new sig 
nal on the tape by magnetizing the iron oxide
particles in the coating on the tape. In play 
back, the magnetic flux in the moving tape in-
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