Above is another view of Mr Blackham's unusual Nagra SNN. As far as I can see, apart from not having
5 Z- d! d9 q5 {3 z6 a3 C D9 x* Vthe 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
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machines, as does the 'patina' of the anodised finish. A most interesting version, has anyone got another?
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a: G) @& g* ?2 x7 k$ g1 B- K(Apparently yes, I have recently been advised.)
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& w# m0 D3 X2 q a, hClick on either of the above images for more information.
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* For those who are looking at the stereo versions of this recorder often to be found on 'Eday', do
C) T9 f6 V/ H4 B6 w6 Qbeware, 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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5 I r) k6 x% N) K Q* d& A7 P& GNagra SNN - full track recording at 3 3/4 and 1 7/8 i.p.s. - high quality recording in Mono
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9 U/ B; g `! F. nNagra SNS - half track recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Mono
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Nagra SNST - Stereo recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Stereo
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: f7 V1 C9 i: p/ K @Nagra 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
. y. J) L! h4 X& y/ O0 N! b9 Ahave some chance of capturing a muffled or distant conversations. So these older stereo machines will
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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
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truly 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
2 b+ @" n/ m, h6 [% B. C2 L2 velectronics 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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$ x( r& i6 L$ p$ ?3 Y3 U7 rI have been amazed at the prices some people have been willing to pay on that wild west auction site for
; ^# D* P7 ?" p3 W) A% m% w! r# ~the 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
/ }: r& i$ l; W* j* Kseveral pairs of empty plastic reels. It then was quite a simple matter to wind tape off the pancake and
6 U0 z7 d8 [1 f1 {onto the Nagra plastic reel (by using the hand crank on the machine). I did this a few years ago and
: D P! m- }3 W h" tthings may be slightly different these days, but perhaps worth investigating rather than spending some
9 ?! x: O- S$ R4 w7 kVERY silly money.
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