Signedon top on metal tag, center: HARVARD UNIVERSITY / USN-ORI / B797
on top on plastic tag, center: MAGNETIC LOOP RECORDER
stamped in white on one side: OEMsr-658 PAL / 10763
Inscribedlabel: X0038
FunctionA magnetic steel tape recorder.
This part of a device known as a FLYBAR (FLYing By Auditory Reference). It was used in aircraft to record altitudes and replay them through auditory signals.
This multi-channel (24-channel) reproducer is a development that originated in the FLYBAR (Flight by Auditory Reference) project at Harvard's Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory. In order to quickly playback different kinds of flight-related information to the pilot, it was advantageous to have a recording tape that had multiple recordings (channels) in parallel on a short segment, rather than a long wire with the recordings arranged sequentially.
Historical AttributesThis is the original model of the Flybar recorder designed and built in the Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory. It was a multitrack recorder that stored information about altitude in auditory signals which then automatically played back at different altitude levels.
Single channel tape playback used for the Psycho-Acoustic Lab's Flybar project. Predecessor to the 24 channel reproducer.
It is an example of the reintroduction to the United States of magnetic recording technology, which had existed since the early 1900s but had limited commercial distribution. During World War II, magnetic recording had military uses where high fidelity and repeated recording and playback were necessary.
After the end of the War, magnetic recording, especially on steel wire, had a commercial boom that lasted until the popularization of the magnetic tape, a German development.
Primary SourcesTheodore W. Forbes, "Auditory Signals for Instrument Flying", in Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences , May 1946, pp.255-258.