webster: 228; Wire Recorder - A Cautionary Tale

Dear colleagues,

I recently had one of these beautiful machines in for a minor service. After getting it to work, I naturally went on to play one of the reels. (It was a recording of the "Bing Crosby Show" taken from a Voice of America broacast. All went well, and at the end of the recording I rewound it. On playing it again, disaster! the wire had jammed between the bulk of the winding and the side of the reel, because the rewinding process had been uneven due to bailer misalignment.  I should have inspected the reel before playing to make sure it was tightly wound and, more importantly, even. Alas,  this cost me many minutes of the recording, as the resulting tangle was too complicated to undo.

The bailer should move up and down smoothly and wind evenly on the reels. I hope this note saves someone else from making the same mistake.

Regards - Bryce

PS - The neon light serves as a recording level indicator- not an indication that power has been applied.

 

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