Bob Hudson Posted March 23, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 23, 2010 Since last year I have had a cartridge used for recording in the MX-1330/ANH-2 sound recorder used to record cockpit and radio communications on the B-66 and B-57 bombers. These were wire - not tape - recorders and these magazines popped in just like a video or audio tape cassette. Today I finally was able to pull some of the 50-year-old audio off it and put it online as an MP3. This particular recording was made during a circa-1960 simulated bombing practice by the 84th Bomb Squadron, flying the B-66 Destroyer out of RAF Sculthorpe in England. I have posted the mp3 and more info here: http://www.hudsonmilitaria.com/cockpit-recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted March 23, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 23, 2010 Cool! Well done on the save! -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share #3 Posted March 23, 2010 Cool! Well done on the save! -Ski Thanks: It was pretty my day's work Monday getting that audio digitized: the big problem was that the wire used in those military recorders is very, very thin, so that they can record several hours per spool: once you take it out of the magazine to play it on a normal wire recorder/player, it tangles at the bat of an eye. Plus it played back backwards and at a different speed than normal wire recorders (so they can record longer) so I had to find software to reverse the audio and change the pitch to make it not sound like Minnie Mouse. The wire recorder I used for playback has an output jack that has two slots (like an electrical outlet) so to connect it to my Mac I had to make up a pair of wire with alligator plugs on one end. Those connected to a stereo mini-plug cable plugged into my MacBook and the bare wire at the other was stuck into the slots. I've done a lot of audio, video and film conversions, but I must say that this one was a real kludge, and I was surprised at how well it came out and that I was able to capture these Cold Warriors at work (and you just gotta love the non-chalant way they say "bombs away"). Here's the type of machine I used for playback (there is a machine designed to playback the military cockpit recorder magazines, but I'd imagine they are nearly impossible to find). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted March 23, 2010 Share #4 Posted March 23, 2010 Bob, that's an incredible recording! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted March 23, 2010 Share #5 Posted March 23, 2010 Did you take any pictures of the "guts?" Where did you get your technical knowhow? That isn't something that you just pick up. -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share #6 Posted March 23, 2010 Did you take any pictures of the "guts?" Where did you get your technical knowhow? That isn't something that you just pick up. -Ski I will take some photos of the inside of the magazine/cartridge. I spent 30 years in radio and also I had my own video production/editing business, so I've been working with all sorts of recording media for a long time. Luckily I happened to have a wire recorder/player around: I bought it a few years ago to sell on ebay and never got around to it and it was "lost" until I was cleaning up a storage area Saturday and found it in a box beneath several others. The magazine came with a large grouping I picked up last summer: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=54226 I had sold most of the grouping to a forum member but kept voice recorder magazine because I wanted to see if I could retrieve anything from it: I had no idea if it was blank or what. At one point in the recording you hear someone reference "Bob." I am certain that is Robert Conroy, the guy whose grouping it was: he had over 1,000 hours in the B-66 and as I think about it, it may be that the reason he kept this particular magazine is because it was his last flight in a B-66. The magazine has a 1957 inspection sticker and the squadron returned to the US in early 1961. After that he started flying transports. Here's a photo of him as a young officer: I will send the buyer of a grouping a copy of the recording and the magazine itself. I will keep the wire reels in hopes of salvaging some audio. I would imagine that most of it is more of the same, but there might be some interesting tidbit hidden in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted March 25, 2010 Share #7 Posted March 25, 2010 Wow, too cool!! Thanks so much for sharing!!! Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share #8 Posted April 1, 2010 Here's what the inside of the recorder magazine looks like (minus the two reels: one for the wire, the other a takeup reel): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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