General Information

Serial #

41304

Part Number

1

Total Parts

5

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal & synthetic materials of construction.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

29.5 cm

Width

27.7 cm

Height

15.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Communications

Category

Television

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Sony

Country

Japan

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

This type of unit introduced in 1969. This unit purchased for use in 1977.

Canada

Example of video equipment used for instructional purposes in a Canadian university in the period before the introduction of compact video cassette formats.

Function

To record monochrome video and mono sound on tape.

Technical

Nicknamed the "Portapack", Sony's AV-3400 was the most successful device of it's kind ever sold. Capable of recording 30 minutes of monochrome video and mono sound, with still frame capability, this recorder was used with a vidicon-based camera (please see 2002.0562]. When used with a camera, the internal battery lasted up to 45 minutes; playing into a standard TV using an internal RF converter, 60 minutes of playing time was possible. Using a special EIAJ cable and a receiver/monitor, the machine could also record off-air programs. Specs: Video recording system- Rotary 2-head scan system, full field, composite video signal based on American TV standards (supplied from the video camera AVC-3400). Recording time- 30 minutes continuously with a V- 30H tape. Tape speed- 7 1/2 ips. Tape width- 1/2 inch. Video modulation system- frequency modulation. Horizontal resolution- more than 300 lines. Video signal-to-noise ratio- greater than 40 dB. Video input- 1.0 V (p-p), 75 ohms, unbalanced. Video output- 1.0 V (p-p), 75 ohms, unbalanced. RF output- 75 ohms, 80 dB (OdB= 1 microV/m). Audio input- (microphone input) 3.6k ohms, -65 dB, AGC. Audio output- (earphone output) high impedance. Audio frequency response- 100 Hz-10 kHz. Power requirements- DC, 12 V AC, 117V+ - 10 (with use of AC-3400). Power consumption- 12 W (without AVC-3400). Dimensions- 11 (w) x 6 3/4 (h) x 11 5/8 (d) in. Weight- 18 lb, 12 oz (with battery pack, tape and reel).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

All controls, connections, etc. labelled. Plate fixed to underside of recorder reads "SONY/ VIDEOCORDER/ AV-3400/ DC 12V/ SERIAL NO. 41304/ SONY CORP. JAPAN/ [ISO symbol]". Plate fixed to recording head and time counter cover reads "SONY/ MINUTES". Silver decal applied to one side reads "UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA/ Faculte d'Education/ ET-752/ FORMATIONS DES ENSEIGNANTS". Property ID no. "900-111-122" crudely incised into casing. "SONY/ VIDEO TAPE" and "B3570513" marked on take-up reel. Silver decal on inside of battery compartment door features diagram & "1. RF UNIT/ 2. BATTERY PACK". Silver decal inside battery compartment reads "CAUTION/ POSITION THE BATTERY/ PACK AS SHOWN IN THE/ FIGURE./ INCORRECT BATTERY PACK/ INSERTION MAY DAMAGE/ THE CORD/ Chinese [?] and Japanese [?] text". Diagram and text "BATTERY/ PLUG IN/ RF UNIT/ PUSH IN STRONGLY/ AS FAR AS IT WILL GO/ [Japanese text ?]" printed on inside of battery compartment.

Missing

Appears complete. NB: originally contained .3 battery pack: removed for storage.

Finish

Red-brown & beige baked enamel exterior finish; brushed silver metal trim; silver metal and black, grey and off-white synthetic fittings, controls, etc. Opaque grey synthetic take-up reel.

Decoration

N/A