Blattnerphone

Taken from the history of the Telstra Research Laboratories (TRL) (Australia)

The Blattnerphone was an early audio recording device of which only 12 were made during the early 1930's. It was used by radio news services of the time and the Australian Broadcasting Commission purchased a unit. It fell into disuse after the war and languished in the vaults of the Victorian Museum. The Blattnerphone is mounted on a wooden table and weighs about 100kg. The recording medium is a 3mm steel tape that passes at 1.5 meters/second past a reading/recording head. The tape holds about 30 minutes of audio.

In 1985, for display during the Laboratories open day, the Blattnerphone was recovered from the Victorian Museum and restored to working condition by TRL staff. Washing machine motors were used to replace existing motors and various other adaptations made. At the time, it was the only working Blattnerphone in the world. In 1992, the Canadian Broadcasting Commission had a requirement to play 11 Blattnerphone tapes and called on TRL for assistance. The contents of the 11 tapes were successfully transferred to magnetic tapes.

This video clip aired on both the Channel 9 evening news and a slightly longer piece on the Channel 9 breakfast show, "Today", which is presented here. The source videotape in NTSC format was discovered in the back of a cupboard in poor condition. It is thought that the tape was given to TRL by a Ch.9 News reporter and features the 2 versions that aired, as well as the various takes that made up the final versions of the aired segments.

The working Blattnerphone was donated to the Museum of Victoria.