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The Electrodata Recording Museum
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Not many high-tech businesses can say they have been around for 40 years making products to suit the same market over all that time. Electrodata can make this claim and over the years we have built a museum that tracks our products and the technologies we have used. This museum resides at our Rydalmere factory and is open to anyone who might wish to make an appointment. A sample of some of our exhibits is now presented. FM 300 Instrumentation Recorder
Each FM300 was constructed by company founder Dr Stan Baker on his kitchen table using a modified Sony hi fi recorder and original electronics. Its moderate success provided the inspiration and capital for Electrodata's further recorders.
System 6300 Instrumentation Recorder
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The first recorder ever made by Electrodata, the FM 300 was a multi channel instrumentation recorder for capturing slow speed physiological waveforms in the laboratory. Featuring the ability to record four low frequency analogue inputs at once, the FM300 was noted for its reliability and value for money, which are still features of our recorders today.
This recorder incorporated the company's first tape drive and was used by medical and other researchers to record up to 14 channels of low frequency data on one inch recording tape. The 6300 was notable for its use of a one piece servo controlled capstan motor to drive the tape. This idea was later improved for use in Electrodata's wrap-around-capstan voice logging tape recorders.
The 8400 was Electrodata's first voice logging recorder and was developed in 1975 to satisfy a requirement of the then Department of Civil Aviation in Australia. The recorder was designed to have twin capstans driven by a synchronous AC motor and a complicated belt drive system. The number of mechanical parts was high as was the cost to manufacture. The man-power required to build all of the mechanical parts put a considerable strain on the company's garage workshop.
The system 8600 was a revolutionary voice logging recorder in its mechanical simplicity and the product that made the Electrodata name. Featuring only three moving parts on each recording deck, the 8600 drew on the capstan technology of the 6300 recorder and set new standards for reliability in voice logging recorders. The 8600 sold approximately 2000 units, and was capable of recording up to 63 channels.
The System 9600 built upon the spectacular success of the 8600, offering up to 84 channels and 4 recording decks per unit. The 9600 integrated computer technology into the recording system, including a monitor and full microprocessor control, as well as the option of full remote operation of the recorder. The 9600 continued Electrodata's tradition of building extremely reliable recorders, and in fact some 9600 recorders are still in use today.
The Quicklog 7000 was a single channel instant recall recorder, developed in 1983 to serve the needs of the emergency services industry, who required the instant retrieval of conversations. The first of a series of IRRs, the Quicklog 7000 used a simple auto-reversing 0.25 inch tape deck and a microprocessor controlled capstan motor. Although its lifespan was shortened by the emergence of solid state technology, this recorder saw years of faithful service in the New South Wales Police Service logging emergency calls.
Developed in 1985 using solid state memory, the Quicklog heralded the digital recording era. It was able to store up to 35 minutes of recording into its DRAM-based memory, and offered simultaneous record and replay, as well as microprocessor control and remote operation. Electrodata has recently released Quiklog 2000, which is a complete software product that continues the company's single channel recorder tradition.