Above is another view of Mr Blackham's unusual Nagra SNN. As far as I can see, apart from not having
/ [1 X3 X8 k! \2 k* mthe various anodised legends on the deck plate, also absent are the adjustable AGC threshold knob and
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the transport lock-out 'switch' next to the meter. The cover 'hinge' arrangement differs slightly from later
5 J- E- s0 n4 }$ C/ _machines, as does the 'patina' of the anodised finish. A most interesting version, has anyone got another?
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(Apparently yes, I have recently been advised.)
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Click on either of the above images for more information.
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7 |3 Q/ l% Q0 @6 [& f* For those who are looking at the stereo versions of this recorder often to be found on 'Eday', do
7 t9 W/ m1 _- |' R! i5 `2 J4 ?beware, as It is unlikely that these will be the recent versions designed to record high quality music.
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There are now apparently four versions of the Nagra 'SN':
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' P# t8 o2 f( r) ~ }4 BNagra SNN - full track recording at 3 3/4 and 1 7/8 i.p.s. - high quality recording in Mono
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Nagra SNS - half track recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Mono
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1 e+ ]8 R0 ]' z2 x+ U6 r+ yNagra SNST - Stereo recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Stereo
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% S# |, i( j, V/ s& A3 eNagra SNSTR (recent) - Stereo recording at 3 3/4 and 1 7/8 i.p.s. - high quality recording in Stereo
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Apparently for covert surveillance use it was preferable to have two separate recording channels to
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have some chance of capturing a muffled or distant conversations. So these older stereo machines will
4 l# S3 i6 n* Y1 O1 H- Wtherefore be
optimized for speech recording only, and will also
run at low speed for maximum
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recording time and not fidelity. Actually Nagra made a special playback loudspeaker system (25100
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DSP) with built in equalization to compensate for the quite limited frequency response of these
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recorders. A standard mono Nagra SNN running at 3 and 3/4, like the ones on this page are capable of
( _- B% E) N5 ~* j7 D5 {% ltruly Hi-Fi recording, but
the slow speed SNS and the SNST stereo versions are not. Perhaps it might
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be possible to convert these machines for Hi-Fi use, but this would involve replacing most of the
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electronics and be very expensive.
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Cheaper to buy a rather bette
r stereo
IV-S in the first place!
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Tape for the Nagra SN
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2 }6 Z" n" T6 s1 ^4 R4 sI have been amazed at the prices some people have been willing to pay on that wild west auction site for
& v* _: J* T' [/ i3 w3 u9 g# Qthe little reels of tape for this machine. When I first acquired my example from the BBC naturally I
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wanted to play with it and make some recordings. I knew that the tape was basically re-reeled cassette
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tape so I approached a tape duplication house in the UK and quite easily obtained a few part used
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'pancakes'. These are the un-flanged bulk reels of tape (about 10" dia) that are automatically wound into
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the cassette shells. I then contacted Nagra UK (always helpful) and obtained for around ?5 each
' w2 t3 D- g$ u5 s+ nseveral pairs of empty plastic reels. It then was quite a simple matter to wind tape off the pancake and
7 J; A5 N) \7 C# Conto the Nagra plastic reel (by using the hand crank on the machine). I did this a few years ago and
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things may be slightly different these days, but perhaps worth investigating rather than spending some
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VERY silly money.
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