Console Spelunking

TheRed1

Console Conservationist
After I posted some old pictures of my 400 in the "Lights Out Pics" thread in another AK forum, I decided to try a few long exposures inside my working consoles. Since it's all Fisher gear down in the engine room, I thought I'd start a new thread here.

My first attempt didn't go very well so I re-read the manual for my camera and realized that the super-macro mode is meant for wide-angle shots with the lens pushed up to within 1/2" of the subject. So I did a little console spelunking:

Inside the Commander’s Console:

7-800C.jpg


1-800C.jpg


3-800C.jpg


Inside the 1960 Fisher Premiere:

3-TA600.jpg


2-EL84.jpg


4-EL84A.jpg
 
That blue glow is Telefunky!

:D


Absolutely beautiful photography. What camera are you using?
 
Now I'll have to say that I've never seen EL84s glowing blue before. Thanks for showing me.
 
In a dark room the blue glow is very faint. These are long exposures which significantly intensify the glow. What strikes me as odd is the ring-shaped blue halo centered on the square opening in the plates. The electromagnetic fields that form the beams must be round (a round beam in a square hole?).
 
That blue glow is Telefunky!

:D

No kidding! That glow is sort of like the hypnotic effect of watching your favorite reel to reel go 'round and 'round ! :D

Absolutely beautiful photography. What camera are you using?


No kidding! That glow is sort of like the hypnotic effect of watching your favorite reel to reel go 'round and 'round ! :D
 
How are those EL84s holding up in the 7189 amp?
Over 3 years and hundreds of hours with no problems. They came with the Premiere so who knows how many hours total. The original owner, an Air Force Colonel (who flew B-17s over Germany in WWII), installed communication equipment in the White House for SAC so he probably maintained it during his lifetime. His son was an electrical engineer and maintained it for his mother after his father died. I have his all their notes for the Premiere and they say that the EL84 is OK to use. They may have modified it to run EL84s, I don't know - a number of components underneath have been replaced over the years.


No kidding! That glow is sort of like the hypnotic effect of watching your favorite reel to reel go 'round and 'round ! :D
This is one of the very few times I've ever seen them in operation. It isn't often that I pull these monsters out from the wall and usually when I do I'm vacuuming and there's no point wasting music on a noisy room. I've been considering blowing up these photos, framing them and hanging them on the wall above one of the consoles.

EDIT: Sam, the camera is a Fuji S6000. It's OK but I miss FILM and all the lenses that went with my old Minolta X700.
 
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Same with the 7591A's in my 1000A. My 7868's in my 400 just glow orange/yellow.

Larry
 
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