Nov
24
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1221
11/24/2009 6:21 AM
Whether the new movie “Pirate Radio” is a success, one thing is for sure, old broadcast pros will be scrutinizing every frame for “authenticity,” as they’ve done with any movie that touches on radio including “American Graffiti,” “Play Misty for Me” and “Howard Stern’s Private Parts.”
Broadcast Electronics has already claimed a prize, spotting a pair of its Spotmaster 500 cart players in “Pirate Radio” scenes involving the illicit 1960s radio broadcast operation.
To radio personnel over the age of, say 45, the Spotmaster was a beloved (and occasionally cursed) piece of studio equipment from the 1960s through the 1990s, when, first, CD and other media players (often designed to look and function sort of like cart machines) and then digital automation supplanted them.
Broadcast Electronics manufactured the Spotmaster line from 1959 to the early 1980s and maintained them until spare parts ran out, according to a press release from BE.
Shown in the photo below in back of the illuminated lamp is one of the two Spotmaster 500s, with DJs played by Rhys Ifans in forefront and Tom Sturridge in the background.
2 comment(s) so far...
Arrr! Shiver Me Spotmasters!
How about that Gates "Yard" console...This low-profile console featured an outboard power supply, including the B+ for the tubes. This taught many young engineers the importance of plastic vacuum attachments!
By Steve Brightwell on
11/25/2009 3:19 AM
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Arrr! Shiver Me Spotmasters!
im manager of an radio station thats been in service since 1946. we still have carts and the later model of the spot master. i use it at my home to record and play around with. the gates console in the movie. is sweet. we have an operational gates "gatesway II" and gates agc/limter & decibel controllor tied to our BE 5E and it does great. our stream on our website is live off air. check it and let me know what you think..
By Adam Sturgill on
9/10/2010 12:55 AM
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