Reel-to-Reel Wire Recorder
date: label: date made
content: ca 1950
label: date made
content: ca 1950
name: label: maker
content: Webster-Chicago
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: In 1940 Marvin Camras received an engineering degree from the Armour Institute of Technology and began work at the Amour Research Foundation. The prior year he had constructed a prototype wire recorder with a new type of recording head and adapted the technique of “AC bias” for improved sound quality. AC bias involves adding a high-frequency alternating current signal to the recording that significantly lowers noise and distortion.
label: Description (Brief)
content: During World War II, Armour manufactured U.S. military wire recorders using Camras’s design. General Electric licensed the design and produced a version of the Armour recorder. After the war other companies took licenses from Armour to produce recorders. One such company was Webster-Chicago, this model 181 “Webcor” unit is one of that company’s products. Webster-Chicago’s products did well in the market and the company produced wire recorders into the early 1960s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
label: See more items in
content: Magnetic Recording
label: See more items in
content: Communications
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Adrian Cronauer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1992.0315.01
label: catalog number
content: 1992.0315.01
label: accession number
content: 1992.0315
label: model number
content: 181-1
objectType: label: Object Name
content: wire recorder
label: Object Name
content: recording device
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 1/2 in x 12 in x 12 in; 21.59 cm x 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm