Red Green show, Harolds instrument
- Thread starter Kovnyn
- Start date
Id say I see a C64 right there at the bottom.
jhk1982
New Member
did some searching on Google and it looks like the long panel is from an Ampex VR1200 Video Recorder.
Source:ID this Keyboard [Archive] - Vintage Computer Forum
Source:ID this Keyboard [Archive] - Vintage Computer Forum
Kovnyn
Sr Member
The keyboard? I'll look into that, thanks.
Thanks so much!
I knew I could count on the RPF.
Now that I know what I'm looking for, the hunt begins. The commodore 64 keyboard is easy enough to acquire, but that Ampex Vr1200 is another story.
The C64 has a case around it, I can't quite make out the tag but it looks to say MN Tec, or perhaps MINI Tec. And it doesn't look like an original casing for a C64 keyboard.
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jhk1982
New Member
The article I linked also identifes the keyboard which might also be difficult to get.
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TazMan2000
Master Member
jackdoud
Sr Member
I looked into this a couple years ago and didn't get any further than the part numbers for the keyboard and video recorder listed above.
The Video Recorder is fairly rare at this point and if you do find them they're usually expensive. You're probably better off just scratchbuilding one. I found some decent close ups in my research.
The Video Recorder is fairly rare at this point and if you do find them they're usually expensive. You're probably better off just scratchbuilding one. I found some decent close ups in my research.
Attachments
It’s the control panel from an Ampex VR 1200 Videotape Recorder. Google it. It also has attached a keyboard and a set of rabbit ears antenna.
mwirkk
New Member
Hello, I'm a new user here. I found this forum through a search for this very topic!
The keyboard unit could also be a TEC Inc. Tele-Tec 1445; see:
terminals-wiki.org
Glad I found this thread! Thanks to those who've been here before me. I've been looking for this info for years! Best image I could ever find as evidence from the show was the same/similar image as OP Kovnyn posted above, which I think must be a reduced resolution copy from a production original. I could never get a good enough still from either recorded broadcast or DVD. Anyway, even with this photo there isn't high enough remaining detail to absolutely identify the model from its badge. However, it does appear that the exact model might have been blacked out, though it can be seen that it is one of the models of TELE-TEC terminals, either of the 4xx or 144x lines. I too originally saw a resemblance with the Commodore bread-box style enclosures of the VIC-20 and C64, but they didn't seem to quite fit. Then I thought maybe it's from some relatively obscure or little known (today) Canadian brand, such as from the NABU line of computers. That made alot of sense to me, given Red Green is afterall a very homegrown Canadian show. And that's what I had expected to find. It wasn't until I found this thread that the clouds parted and the sun shined through. I had done searches on "TEC" before, but they all seemed to end in dead end warrens down the proverbial rabbit hole.
As for the Ampex recorder controller panel I had no idea about and didn't even know where to start. Thanks!
Cheers! -mwirkk
The keyboard unit could also be a TEC Inc. Tele-Tec 1445; see:
Computerworld
For more than 40 years, Computerworld has been the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide. Computerworld's award-winning Web site (Computerworld.com), twice-monthly publication, focused conference series and custom research form the hub of the world's...
books.google.com
Category:TEC - Terminals
Glad I found this thread! Thanks to those who've been here before me. I've been looking for this info for years! Best image I could ever find as evidence from the show was the same/similar image as OP Kovnyn posted above, which I think must be a reduced resolution copy from a production original. I could never get a good enough still from either recorded broadcast or DVD. Anyway, even with this photo there isn't high enough remaining detail to absolutely identify the model from its badge. However, it does appear that the exact model might have been blacked out, though it can be seen that it is one of the models of TELE-TEC terminals, either of the 4xx or 144x lines. I too originally saw a resemblance with the Commodore bread-box style enclosures of the VIC-20 and C64, but they didn't seem to quite fit. Then I thought maybe it's from some relatively obscure or little known (today) Canadian brand, such as from the NABU line of computers. That made alot of sense to me, given Red Green is afterall a very homegrown Canadian show. And that's what I had expected to find. It wasn't until I found this thread that the clouds parted and the sun shined through. I had done searches on "TEC" before, but they all seemed to end in dead end warrens down the proverbial rabbit hole.
As for the Ampex recorder controller panel I had no idea about and didn't even know where to start. Thanks!
Cheers! -mwirkk
mwirkk
New Member
Hello, I'm a new user here. I found this forum through a search for this very topic!
The keyboard unit could also be a TEC Inc. Tele-Tec 1445; see:
Computerworld
For more than 40 years, Computerworld has been the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide. Computerworld's award-winning Web site (Computerworld.com), twice-monthly publication, focused conference series and custom research form the hub of the world's...books.google.comCategory:TEC - Terminals
Glad I found this thread! Thanks to those who've been here before me. I've been looking for this info for years! Best image I could ever find as evidence from the show was the same/similar image as OP Kovnyn posted above, which I think must be a reduced resolution copy from a production original. I could never get a good enough still from either recorded broadcast or DVD. Anyway, even with this photo there isn't high enough remaining detail to absolutely identify the model from its badge. However, it does appear that the exact model might have been blacked out, though it can be seen that it is one of the models of TELE-TEC terminals, either of the 4xx or 144x lines. I too originally saw a resemblance with the Commodore bread-box style enclosures of the VIC-20 and C64, but they didn't seem to quite fit. Then I thought maybe it's from some relatively obscure or little known (today) Canadian brand, such as from the NABU line of computers. That made alot of sense to me, given Red Green is afterall a very homegrown Canadian show. And that's what I had expected to find. It wasn't until I found this thread that the clouds parted and the sun shined through. I had done searches on "TEC" before, but they all seemed to end in dead end warrens down the proverbial rabbit hole.
As for the Ampex recorder controller panel I had no idea about and didn't even know where to start. Thanks!
Cheers! -mwirkk
mwirkk
New Member
I have to say, I think it's really quite amazing that in this case a TV stage prop of a fictional device was actually assembled from components that were sourced from HW that had roughly the function of what it was actually meant to represent, broadly speaking. In this case, broadcast TV production equipment and a remote terminal computer station. I was not expecting that! I thought they'd have been parts from something much more mundane and domestic in origin. I wonder if they scavenged old equipment from around the CHCH-TV station there in Hamilton, or maybe a college that was turning out its outdated inventory, or if they made a trip to one of those computer and electronics recycling places to find those parts? Like I said already... Amazing!
Cheers!
Matt Wirkkala (mwirkk)
Seattle
Cheers!
Matt Wirkkala (mwirkk)
Seattle
mwirkk
New Member
Ugh!! You know what? If I had just been more diligent and thorough in reading the Wikipedia page for The Red Green Show I would have seen in the section describing Harold Green there was a description of this stage prop and what was used to construct it!
quote:
"Harold's advanced knowledge of computers, television and technology originally landed him the job of producer and director of the television show, often wielding a portable device with dials and a keyboard, used to create the show's visual effects and transitions, although he did not have it in later seasons. This prop was assembled out of an Ampex VR 1200 videotape recorder, a Mini-Tec terminal keyboard, and a set of rabbit-ear antennas."
Doh!! Well, atleast now I see it's been verified as canon. <;b
The Red Green Show - Wikipedia
Cheers! -mwirkk
quote:
"Harold's advanced knowledge of computers, television and technology originally landed him the job of producer and director of the television show, often wielding a portable device with dials and a keyboard, used to create the show's visual effects and transitions, although he did not have it in later seasons. This prop was assembled out of an Ampex VR 1200 videotape recorder, a Mini-Tec terminal keyboard, and a set of rabbit-ear antennas."
Doh!! Well, atleast now I see it's been verified as canon. <;b
The Red Green Show - Wikipedia
Cheers! -mwirkk
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