This is the Spot Tape (Cart Machine) Section of
The Broadcast Archive

Please note the names above. They are some of the kind folks who shared pictures. More pictures are welcome - to show more about these key pieces of gear which made radio in the 60's-90's much more vibrant and exciting. Can you share any pix?

MacKenzie

Louis G. MacKenzie developed his "repeater" in 1955. Using a silver coated tag applied to an endless tape loop (to provide a "cueing" function, the single and "five pack" machines could provide instant starting of desired spots. The tape cartridges were square metal boxes, with the tape loop hanging out.

The MacKenzie repeater was used extensively in places as diverse as radio stations, television and movie studios, and Disneyland. The multi-deck units were very popular for use to insert "sweeteners" in television and movie productions - added laugh tracks, for example, or audience applause, etc. Perhaps the biggest drawback for broadcast was that the tape loop was exposed outside the cartridge, making it easy to damage.

Ted Bailey (then CE of WJBC) and staff engineer Jack  Jenkins developed the ATC (Automatic Tape Control) machine based on a transport from Moulic (SMC). A joint patent was granted to Bailey, Jenkins and Nolte (station manager of WJBC) as inventors. The cart machine was offered first to Gates, however Parker declined because he had the ST-101 in development., 

Collins Radio got wind of the machine, so when Gates Radio turned them down, Bailey and Jenkins took their design to Collins Radio and immediately made a deal to market the P-150/190 unit. ATC was formed in Bloomington, IL to manufacture the machines. Collins seemed to have set fairly high prices and sold fewer units than ATC desired, leading to a parting of the ways, giving Gates a second opportunity at Jenkins' design.

When Bailey and Jenkins approached Gates with their design, Gates Radio was already developing the ST-101. The ST-101 found its way into many stations, but it was not practical to run more than one spot at a time. Eventually, Gates changed and built machines that could utilize individual cartridges.

Eventually moving their products from Collins to Gates, Jenkins designed the Criterion series. The company was purchased by Gates and became the Automatic Tape Control Division. (Harris was afraid Automatic Time Control would charge trademark infringement.) Mo Franklin, Andy Rector, Jack Jenkins and others resigned and departed the Gates Radio Division when it became apparent that Harris would not support a continuation of the ATC quality tradition. 

This led to ITC. 

Harris

from Radio Estancia, Sao Lourenco, Brazil

Broadcast Electronics

1963 - $695 - to switch from record to play you had to rotate the knob on the lower right.

1963 - $545

The record switch was replaced with a button.

Approximately $5000 in 1988 

Tapecaster

Rockville, MD

Sparta

This is another company that started with the Viking deck and built a solid broadcast cart machine, then branched into other products.

A Viking deck with foil sensors.

It is reported that RCA's early machines used a Viking 38 deck, modified for broadcast use.

Glen Kippel says: "There is a rotary switch on the front (minus the knob) marked MANUAL-REMOTE-SEQUENTIAL-AUTOMATION. I assume that in the REMOTE position, the carts could be started by buttons on or near the mix console. SEQUENTIAL may mean that it will fire the carts 1-2-3-4 in sequence. AUTOMATION [probably] means that the carts could be controlled by some sort of automation system. MANUAL probably means the bttons on the front panel are used. It is a HEAVY dude -- I would guess somewhere in the vicinity of 100 pounds, or more.

ITC - International Tapetronics Control

Before his resignation at Harris, Jenkins was working on a new tape deck design. Franklin, Rector, Jenkins (as President, Sales Manager and CE respectively) and several backers then formed a new company south of Bloomington called ITC (International Tapetronics Control). The ITC designs were all pure Jenkins. The RP and SP machines were known as workhorses that truly merited the label "Premium Series." In the late 1970s, the "99" series was born, a combination recorder, player, eraser and splice locator. ITC was purchased by 3M in 19xx. 3M sold it to Don Carle and Al Taylor in 1990.  The company did not do well and went out of business in the 90s.

The RP/SP series were among the most popular of all cart machines.

PR&E - Pacific Recorders & Engineering

In the late 1970s, the folks at Pacific Recorders designed the Tomcat. Using "MaxTrax" heads, unmovable precision heads with extra width on the program channels to improve S/N and headroom, many stations found the S/N and stereo integrity of the Tomcat's fixed heads to be superior.

Carts recorded on the Tomcat were incompatible with any other machine. However, the Tomcat quickly had a reputation for solid operation with stable stereo reproduction. 

Still, the Tomcat was quite expensive. So in 1986, PRE delivered the Micromax, based on the British Sonifex machine. The Micromax was a very quiet, cool running (the recorder only used 15 Watts) machine that many stations found to be just what they wanted. The belt and flywheel kept wow and flutter way down.

Ampro

Ampro was sold to Scully in 197x. In November 1983, Ampro/Scully was sold to TTC

Otari

Beaucart

Audi-Cord

Audi-Cord was founded by Carl Martin who was another former ATC engineer.

Fidelipac

In 19xx Mike Sirkis began to build a new line of machines for Fidelipac, among others. His Dynamax series, for example, used photocells to identify different carts, allowing the system to react to different emulsions, recording levels, or even contact closures. Unfortunately, his association with Fidelipac did not last. The CTR-90 was designed by others.

Aristocart

In the early 1970s, Don Kalmokoff and engineers at CKNW invented the Aristocart whwen the CFMI automation system had problems with stereo music on the Fidelipac carts. The company lasted until the mid-1990s, with Kalmonkoff retiring in the early 90s. 

Sonifex

A British company, Sonifex machines have had an impact on American machines, but have not sold well here.

Rapid-Q

Keycart

KRS

A curious cart machine. Designed by Ry Smith, this one was the only cartridge machine able to reverse/rewind. KRS Magnetics was in Los Altos, CA. Smith even turned the idea into a reversible 8-track machine (the REV8) ... in 1979.
 

IGM - International Good Music

Primarily used in automation systems, it was also employed by some stations with "aggressive formats."

Sono-Mag

The Moulic family (Edison and sons Robert and William Jr. started Moulic Specialities in 1945, renaming Sono-Mag Corp  (SMC) in 1968.

KIOC - Vidor, TX - 1982 - Courtesy: Michael Minn

Gocart

Automation Systems.

IGM, SMC, Gates, Harris, and others had automation systems that used cart machines in various forms. 

Carousels, Gates 55, AudioFile, and other names were familiar to users of these products.  This page can be found here.

What is inside:

• Fidelipac developed a cart that used a longer tape path, so the tape was oriented vertically sooner. 
• ITC developed the "Scotchcart," which used no pads, but a long tape path and 
  internal pressure to maintain constant tape speed and phase.
• With the more sophisticated market, BE introduced features like automatic stereo phase correction.

Aristocart

Early 1970s, this cart had a guide post at the back end to give tape time for stabilization as it ran.