Apollo Discussions > The Reality of Apollo

1969 1-Inch Video Tapes with Apollo 11 Landing & Moonwalk

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apollo16uvc:
Found these three video tapes at an online auction in the USA. They have since been sent to me in Europe and should arrive by next month.

1" tape on a 10" reel.







If we have to go by the case identifier (79P-ON-7084B-W3), they are exactly:

    Memorex Type 79 Series designed for helical-scan broadcast and closed circuit television recorders.

    Ampex VR-6000 and VR-7000 Series Recorders
    79P-ON-7084B-W3

    62 minutes 9-4/2" Precision Reel 1" x 3000' in Box 1"

So probably recorded with an NTSC Ampex Type A machine.


The seller did not have a way to play back the tapes, so nothing is known about their content or which format/machine they were recorded with. Neither do I know the condition of the tapes, if they need special treatment before they can be played back and digitized. It is a gamble and I am prepared to be disappointed, there could be something different on them entirely!

If the labels are correct however, the tapes likely contain USA television broadcasts of the missions during the written events. Of the NBC, CBS or ABC.

So while unlikely to be lost NASA footage, still very cool possibly live recordings off of US TV.


If they were recorded in 1969, the possible VTR formats are:

    Sony 1" (1964)
    Ampex 1" SMPTE Type A (1965)
    IVC 1" (1968)


Once the tapes arrive, there are several steps I need to undertake before I can look into contacting people for digitisation:

1. Assess their condition. What type of carrier is the tape? (Acetate, polyester?) Is the tape brittle, does it suffer from Sticky Shed Syndrome or similar.
2. View the tape under a magnetic viewing solution to verify there is any signal on them at all, and possibly determine format it was recorded with.
3. Determine if the tape is PAL or NTSC.

Finding an NTSC machine in Europe/UK is obviously much harder than a native PAL machine.
If possible, play the reels in a machine just for the audio, so I can verify the contents to be NASA related. I and I am sure many others here would recognize any Apollo 11 mission audio from a genetic late 1960s TV show...


Lets not think too far ahead, small steps. Not to get too excited...

Obviousman:
Hope it all goes well for you. They look interesting regardless!

JayUtah:
That looks like so much fun!

molesworth:
Wow!  An amazing find.  Here's hoping you can get something off them.

Keep us posted  :)

bknight:
I find it difficult to get any data from those tapes in the degraded condition they appear.
Good luck.

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