WSPA Master Control Switcher
This was the Master
Control switcher and nearby RCA camera controls. This photo is in
pretty bad shape. Well, you can see the pretty basic, no frills
switcher. You didn't need much for just rolling film, tape and
taking netowork feeds.
Let's see...if I can remember...ahhh yes...after spending many weekends seated here I remember it well after 21 years! The tape carts were for voice overs or audio tags for local and regional commercials. The little keyboard was the character generator that we used for weather scrolls and such. It was actually a remote console for the one we used in production.
On top of the switcher console was a triple deck ITC tape cartridge player to play the aforementioned tags. You also can see the Motorola desk mike for the 450 Mhz UHF link that we used to communicate with the transmitter site on top of Hogback mountain.
To the right of the console is a small effects generator that was hardly ever used...this panel was eventually replaced with a remote start, rewind and recue console for the TCR-1.
This was the old production control switcher prior to the installation of the new Grass Valley system we bought. The buttons tothe left were A/B video input sources along with remote starts. The stop watch brings back memories too! You need it to time the pre-rolls on the VR-1200's! The buttons to the right for for the effects generators. Above are the production and preview monitors and to the right were two camera monitors.
Here's a shot of the old production control room favoring the audio board and the announcer booth. Audio requirements were pretty basic needing only the Revox reel-to-reel, an ITC tape cart stack and the console. Can you remember Dave Handy sitting in that booth doing all those voice overs? I have some old audio of him around somewhere...I'll have to dig it up.
Although not officially part of Master Control, this was one of the film chains located right around the corner. On the left was a 16mm RCA projection using, a dual drum slide carosel and the mirror assembly. The mirror assembly redirected the 16mm or slide projection onto a ground glass surface where a color camera was position on the opposite side. If you were quick you could flip the mirrors on the air from the 16mm film unit to the slide unot without fading to black! However when you were not quick enough...it was obvious...especially when the boss would call in after the break to remind you of it! Of course when you were running a movie at 2:30am...not much mattered anyway.