I must be a bit deranged: I've got a BBC RP2/10 in the corner of the living room, and it works! I find children especially are fascinated by the lights and switches etc. and it's useful for transcriptions to hard disk, But the groove indicator ("vernier" in the vernacular) takes a bit of explaining to the curious. They can easily see what the scale shows, but not why.

Hence my search for that elusive bit of cardboard: I remember in the early 1980s that stationery stores had a supply of these bookmark-sized things, with a hole in one end and a scale marked along an edge, matching the scale on the gram decks (including even the EMT 950s). I was told producers were supposed to audition disks in the office, and mark up the sections they wanted on the card, to hand to the grams SM when they got to the studio.

I think the idea dated from the TD/4 78rpm desks, and would have made more sense back then - microgroove was a bit to fine pitch for it to work well, and as I was (mainly) in the 33/45 RPM days, I was certainly never presented with one in a studio!

Anyway, my RP2/10 is in fine nick, and I'd love to find an original card to go with it if I can, or even a photo of one so that I can make a facsimile. It would certainly help with the explanation!

Optimistically,

Simon M. (ex- Audio Unit, Bristol)

Administrator wrote on Dec 14^th, 2010, 2:38am:



Fascinating...the e-bay seller states that the deck featured here weighs a ton so collection only from near tower bridge, London but the machine is ex-BBC Scotland...
Perhaps The Proclaimers carried it that 500 miles!