Uher (brand)
Encyclopedia
Uher is a German
brand of electronic equipment currently owned and licensed by Assmann Electronics of Bad Homburg
.
The manufacturer, Uher Werke was based in Munich
, Germany, and is probably best-known for its former range of portable reel-to-reel
tape recorder
s which were once widely used by professionals in areas such as reporting and film-making. Since digital equipment has become widespread, these older analogue recording machines are no longer produced and the company has focused on other equipment.
They had 4 speeds: 7½ inches per second (i.p.s.), 3¾ i.p.s., 1⅞ i.p.s., and 15/16 i.p.s. With the longest variety of 5" tape (1800 ft. long), and using 4-track mono at 15/16 i.p.s., it would be possible to get about 24 hours' recording time on one reel of tape, albeit at poor quality suitable only for speech, and 6 hours' continuous recording time would be possible.
fulltrack (1-track Mono) recorders. These ran at a single 15 ips speed and provided a sync head for motion picture sound synchronization as well as dedicated record and playback heads. These models were not widely adopted. Even German and European television tended despite outfitting their radio reports with 4000-series machines to adopt Nagra
or Stellavox recorders for film production.
The final model of the Report series was the Report 6000 introduced in 1986. They featured a more modern 3-motor design and electronic control.
They had several sources of power:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
brand of electronic equipment currently owned and licensed by Assmann Electronics of Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus, bordering among others Frankfurt am Main and Oberursel...
.
The manufacturer, Uher Werke was based in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany, and is probably best-known for its former range of portable reel-to-reel
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
s which were once widely used by professionals in areas such as reporting and film-making. Since digital equipment has become widespread, these older analogue recording machines are no longer produced and the company has focused on other equipment.
Report 4000 series
The "Report 4000" series of portables had a neat, compact design, about 11" wide, 10" deep, and 4" thick. They used 5" reels of tape, and came in three models:- Report 4000 - 2-track mono, later 4-track mono
- Report 4200 - 2-track stereo (tape used in one direction), usable also as 2-track mono (tape runs in both directions)
- Report 4400 - 4-track stereo (tape used in both directions, being turned over in between), usable also as 4-track mono
They had 4 speeds: 7½ inches per second (i.p.s.), 3¾ i.p.s., 1⅞ i.p.s., and 15/16 i.p.s. With the longest variety of 5" tape (1800 ft. long), and using 4-track mono at 15/16 i.p.s., it would be possible to get about 24 hours' recording time on one reel of tape, albeit at poor quality suitable only for speech, and 6 hours' continuous recording time would be possible.
Other series
Based upon the mechanical design and chassis of the 4000 series recorders Uher also offered the professional- Report 1000 (early model Rangertone sync, later Neo-Pilot)
- Report 1200 Synchro (Neo-pilot)
fulltrack (1-track Mono) recorders. These ran at a single 15 ips speed and provided a sync head for motion picture sound synchronization as well as dedicated record and playback heads. These models were not widely adopted. Even German and European television tended despite outfitting their radio reports with 4000-series machines to adopt Nagra
Nagra
Nagra is the trademark referring to any of the series of mostly battery-operated portable professional audio recorders produced by Kudelski SA, based in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland....
or Stellavox recorders for film production.
The final model of the Report series was the Report 6000 introduced in 1986. They featured a more modern 3-motor design and electronic control.
Shared specs
All the Report recorders had small loudspeakers (mono) built into them, at various times either in the front, or on the top near the piano-key-style controls.They had several sources of power:
- Mains power, using an internal fitting power transformer;
- Internal rechargeable dry-fit battery: both nickel-cadmium and gel lead acid were available
- 5 standard (non-rechargeable) D-sized batteries.
- External power via a range of power adapters for automotive power (models for 6v, 12v and 24v were available).
External links
- Uher official website
- Belt Replacement Tips Step by step instructions for replacing drive belts on the 4000 series