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Mcintosh amplifiers helped the Apollo space program!

H

handyguy

Member
Just reading Don Eyles memoir of computer programming for the Lunar Module, titled "Sunburst and Luminary An Apollo Memoir." He mentions that amplified 800HZ signals were needed for testing purposes, and that McIntosh amplifiers were selected as an economical solution! He doesn't identify the model, but they were tubes (this is the late '60's.) How about that?
 
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handyguy said:
Just reading Don Eyles memoir of computer programming for the Lunar Module, titled "Sunburst and Luminary An Apollo Memoir." He mentions that amplified 800HZ signals were needed for testing purposes, and that McIntosh amplifiers were selected as an economical solution! He doesn't identify the model, but they were tubes (this is the late '60's.) How about that?
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And they helped the recording industry cut records, they helped with monitoring recording sessions. They drove shaker tables in industry, they were used in many laboratory and instrumentation applications, and used in audiometers for hearing tests, for the Bell System for repeater amplification, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for alert warning siren power amplifiers, for powering monitor loudspeakers in recording and broadcasting, military and scientific work. What a resume. Even the US Navy used them for powering sonobuoys.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
And they helped the recording industry cut records, they helped with monitoring recording sessions. They drove shaker tables in industry, they were used in many laboratory and instrumentation applications, and used in audiometers for hearing tests, for the Bell System for repeater amplification, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for alert warning siren power amplifiers, for powering monitor loudspeakers in recording and broadcasting, military and scientific work. What a resume. Even the US Navy used them for powering sonobuoys.
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One has to wonder why McIntosh turned their back on that segment of business. Silly.
 
It wasn't that they turned their backs, its just the amps were to heavy and to costly compared to units with out autoformers. Power Guard brought them back into the commercial business in a big way. Owners save big money with properly designed speaker configurations. The speakers and HF diaphragms never failed. Service calls were a thing of the past. By the 90's with Class D amps Mac just couldn't compete anymore. To large, to heavy, to costly. Thats why I have 207/s Where would I put 6 MC 252's or 12 MC 301's. and my speakers prefer direct coupled amps for the woofers. So I guess I could use 5 MC 152's but I would need a MC 205 for the woofers of the bi and tri amped speakers. I'll just stick with the 207's. 207's work great with efficient commercial EV Altec and JBL speakers. A 8207 with a commercial face plate would be a great choice in the past. But today with a ll the processing and speaker amplifier dedicated designs its a different ball game. People don't want to hall around MC 2600's or 602's when a 2 or three rock space amp can produce 10 times the power and weight 5 times less.
 
If they ever put McIntosh amps on one of their rockets, they probably would need an extra booster for all the added mass.

"Sorry John Glenn, it was you or the pair of MC275's so you will be sitting this one out".

-Geoff
 
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