Above is another view of Mr Blackham's unusual Nagra SNN. As far as I can see, apart from not having
2 X# e# \# x. N5 a: g, r% q( Z N1 wthe various anodised legends on the deck plate, also absent are the adjustable AGC threshold knob and
) L E2 r6 t8 X$ O$ D2 T, n$ x1 Gthe transport lock-out 'switch' next to the meter. The cover 'hinge' arrangement differs slightly from later
+ `. V$ i8 d4 A ?. S, E g* r) H
machines, as does the 'patina' of the anodised finish. A most interesting version, has anyone got another?
$ T: o5 y9 T6 t- n
9 h& ?* Z8 Z0 K( w(Apparently yes, I have recently been advised.)
1 ]) {* h" j+ }+ [
/ ?! |. U) G( B2 S
- K5 ?/ V: N6 u
Click on either of the above images for more information.
* Q) G$ F3 I& x% j ?
) z* r9 p1 B# q; l# M! H6 |7 N. {% O
* For those who are looking at the stereo versions of this recorder often to be found on 'Eday', do
# N" Q7 H( |8 B6 f3 Z) \" [# I
beware, as It is unlikely that these will be the recent versions designed to record high quality music.
" Y" m2 J* B, ?& Y8 ]1 R$ k# l: K8 X1 ?There are now apparently four versions of the Nagra 'SN':
# C7 X; J. @7 y9 a2 M' E! R
) k; u) ?) G3 U' t& D( k9 e, b
7 S4 l" \0 ?+ ~; rNagra SNN - full track recording at 3 3/4 and 1 7/8 i.p.s. - high quality recording in Mono
- a" b6 [7 q, p( ?8 Q' r- K
& I! g+ Y7 h# L- }1 s$ ^% yNagra SNS - half track recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Mono
! c- i8 [6 L, o# E- G
0 K0 u/ y6 y5 G4 \5 iNagra SNST - Stereo recording at 1 7/8 and 15/16 i.p.s. - surveillance quality recording in Stereo
& U4 f8 k# ^3 i: M6 Q4 g
+ [" g8 @# t5 a, g# F0 @- t. M+ |
Nagra SNSTR (recent) - Stereo recording at 3 3/4 and 1 7/8 i.p.s. - high quality recording in Stereo
' \ f* p' S0 s- C! Y' P9 K
3 V) B9 v$ L6 z: W/ l: y
. Y; l, ?1 p/ P1 ~7 s* [; PApparently for covert surveillance use it was preferable to have two separate recording channels to
( ]* K0 m! ^, ?/ N! Q8 ]have some chance of capturing a muffled or distant conversations. So these older stereo machines will
6 c6 R+ {+ n: z, {0 xtherefore be
optimized for speech recording only, and will also
run at low speed for maximum
" M6 e3 {8 D2 d! v
recording time and not fidelity. Actually Nagra made a special playback loudspeaker system (25100
3 f! i! {& X; s3 W. o' u" L
DSP) with built in equalization to compensate for the quite limited frequency response of these
! ]7 Y' n5 b2 t3 `; ^: b6 | Zrecorders. A standard mono Nagra SNN running at 3 and 3/4, like the ones on this page are capable of
5 F- Y2 t* L" T: Y+ s. b: j# G* E, qtruly Hi-Fi recording, but
the slow speed SNS and the SNST stereo versions are not. Perhaps it might
7 Q8 p4 t/ K9 S: v! U- V
be possible to convert these machines for Hi-Fi use, but this would involve replacing most of the
# U. V! D5 S2 [electronics and be very expensive.
& n \& i7 A' g* R) F
3 k' s, k7 C2 Y( w
% l* H$ S2 |! g# u$ O K8 ICheaper to buy a rather bette
r stereo
IV-S in the first place!
+ J) L/ x; j! x' z! k
! L O# |' Z; ^" ? V" v2 V% E$ d U2 k6 R( |; P
Tape for the Nagra SN
5 H8 O7 H0 C) [2 A' N5 A
* H3 D8 x8 T4 @. z# Z( V2 g! z1 W3 ?* s, F4 o# T
I have been amazed at the prices some people have been willing to pay on that wild west auction site for
) E1 Y3 B/ o( h
the little reels of tape for this machine. When I first acquired my example from the BBC naturally I
7 A& G) |0 D# zwanted to play with it and make some recordings. I knew that the tape was basically re-reeled cassette
( u& ? ?+ @" i
tape so I approached a tape duplication house in the UK and quite easily obtained a few part used
. p5 H: Z" Y2 Z/ S" u3 r'pancakes'. These are the un-flanged bulk reels of tape (about 10" dia) that are automatically wound into
8 Q0 m( S& [$ P3 O, S! K, {the cassette shells. I then contacted Nagra UK (always helpful) and obtained for around ?5 each
! V+ u+ ]+ U7 s0 _& H
several pairs of empty plastic reels. It then was quite a simple matter to wind tape off the pancake and
N+ Q: Y! B7 I8 j% e
onto the Nagra plastic reel (by using the hand crank on the machine). I did this a few years ago and
! x6 J! `+ \. d* L. K _5 hthings may be slightly different these days, but perhaps worth investigating rather than spending some
+ @! C$ a0 o3 p) M: b& l( Q
VERY silly money.
% d* j. z+ L+ i9 z$ q0 d% a% x' \
# I: o7 H/ R7 t/ }/ J
$ F7 C1 C/ M; q0 x) U% \! B