Audionics Space & Image Composer / Tate Audio

[par4ken]

I'm not sure which version it is, C or D most likely don't actually see any letters, it says 1978. It is two boards, they have to be separated in order to see the chips, I think E/F version has Sanyo chips(which were supposed to be better for Dolby decoding), the CP55/65 150 card could be upgraded from C/D to E/F. I'd like to try again with a CP65 just to see if it has the Exar set, if I can convince another seller to pull the 150 card out.
Seems like it often costs as much to have records shipped to USA from Canada as it does from Europe, you'd think being on the same continent would keep rates low.

I would suspect it would be more like an A or B, look carefully on the card for any markings. A few CP65's for sale but I wouldn't want to spend $200 or $300 for something that would just be added to my junk pile! It's exciting to know that this source of DES chips exists!

 

[furui_suterioo]

I would suspect it would be more like an A or B, look carefully on the card for any markings. A few CP65's for sale but I wouldn't want to spend $200 or $300 for something that would just be added to my junk pile! It's exciting to know that this source of DES chips exists!

Yes, reading now that C and D apparently have LEDs, most sellers probably won't want to sell just the one card but you never know.

 

[Akaiquadster2]

I acquired a composer and two Tate’s a few years back and they appear to be operational but the audionic no longer has the display part in order.

I’d love to know how to operate these things properly!

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

I acquired a composer and two Tate’s a few years back and they appear to be operational but the audionic no longer has the display part in order.

I’d love to know how to operate these things properly!

I provided a copy of the Fosgate Tate owner's manual to OldQuadGuy, and he's since uploaded it to his website: Quadraphonic.info ™ Manuals
And two versions of the owner's manual for the Audionics S&IC can be found at: Audionics of Oregon Space & Image Composer - Info & History

If you haven't calibrated any of the three units per their owner's manuals, definitely do so and get better results out of them. As far as the LED display not lighting up... can't offer any help there. I know just enough about electronics to cause damage! Recently, member par4ken bought a S&IC with a non-functioning LED and found it was due to a capacitor failure. See this thread, post #23 on page 2:

S&IC LED help?

 

[Akaiquadster2]

I provided a copy of the Fosgate Tate owner's manual to OldQuadGuy, and he's since uploaded it to his website: Quadraphonic.info ™ Manuals
And two versions of the owner's manual for the Audionics S&IC can be found at: Audionics of Oregon Space & Image Composer - Info & History

If you haven't calibrated any of the three units per their owner's manuals, definitely do so and get better results out of them. As far as the LED display not lighting up... can't offer any help there. I know just enough about electronics to cause damage! Recently, member par4ken bought a S&IC with a non-functioning LED and found it was due to a capacitor failure. See this thread, post #23 on page 2:

S&IC LED help?

Many thanks for the information. The S&IC came with the original box and instructions but I’m not terribly good at reading and understanding technical aspects of tech as I’m from the plug and play school of dummies.

 

[jefe1]

Wish there was a schematic for the Tate. That seems to be missing.
As well as one for the Sansui D1000

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Wish there was a schematic for the Tate. That seems to be missing.
As well as one for the Sansui D1000

Please see post#28 for the Sansui schematic:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/sansui-qs-d1000-manual.26992/page-2

 

[jefe1]

Thanks Sonik missed that.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Thanks Sonik missed that.

My pleasure. I sent the link & an e mail to Old Quad Guy for archiving but it never was posted.

The more you study that schematic the more you realize how different it was from just an QSD-2 upgrade. Any switching for Synthesize or Hall was done by biasing on an FET. Much of it was run off of 15V bipolar supplies so the offset would be very low & many of the couplind caps (which were non-polarized electros) could just be removed & jumped. There are 2 mysterious circuit blocks marked as "protection" but I've never sussed what that really means. And most important, I think, I'm pretty sure, they used a much more advanced adaptive attack/release on the FET IC. What was that... the 3103?

The original schematic was folded 8.5" x 15" so was to big too simply copy. And no scanners for me way back then! But I worked in photography so I had access to what's called a flat bed horizontal copy camera. I copied it to 4x5 Kodalith & blew it up on two 11x14 photo print paper & spliced together. That's what I used to scan & upload. I have no idea where the original is... I could do better today.

 

[par4ken]

but the audionic no longer has the display part in order.

Check that the DIP connector hasn't come unplugged if nothing on the display works.

 

[par4ken]

Yes, reading now that C and D apparently have LEDs, most sellers probably won't want to sell just the one card but you never know.

I see another card for sale, it just says Dolby 150 (no suffix) 1977. Likely similar to yours, but they want over $300!

 

[furui_suterioo]

I see another card for sale, it just says Dolby 150 (no suffix) 1977. Likely similar to yours, but they want over $300!

This website apparently sells CP55 units for $135, of course that still a lot of money and you probably dont want the entire unit, but I do see what looks to be a 150D card in one of the photos, maybe if you bothered them enough they might make a deal on just the card.
http://www.lightingimages.com/product/model-cp55-cinema-sound-processor/

 

[furui_suterioo]

My Composer had this piece of brown tape over the blue DIP display connector which basically blew away in the wind when I opened the cover, I still have it not sure what it was for(shielding maybe?) I dont see it in other photos of Composer internals:

 

[par4ken]

My Composer had this piece of brown tape over the blue DIP display connector which basically blew away in the wind when I opened the cover, I still have it not sure what it was for(shielding maybe?) I dont see it in other photos of Composer internals:
View attachment 58706

Just to keep it from coming loose would be my guess.

 

[Akaiquadster2]

Check that the DIP connector hasn't come unplugged if nothing on the display works.

Thanks - I’ll read up!

 

[par4ken]

This website apparently sells CP55 units for $135, of course that still a lot of money and you probably dont want the entire unit, but I do see what looks to be a 150D card in one of the photos, maybe if you bothered them enough they might make a deal on just the card.
http://www.lightingimages.com/product/model-cp55-cinema-sound-processor/

Yes but does the D card have the Tate chips?

 

[furui_suterioo]

Yes but does the D card have the Tate chips?

From what I've read, they didn't switch to Sanyo until E, so I would assume so

 

[furui_suterioo]

Yes but does the D card have the Tate chips?

From what I've read, they didn't switch to Sanyo until E, so I would assume so

Well I gave in to my curiosity, found a 150D card from another CP55 parts unit and the answer is...... NO:

I had read online that the "D" was still using Tate chips but I dont see any here, which would mean that the Exar chips might be on "B" or "C" card(which are much harder to find than the "A" and "D" cards, unfortunately). I do see Motorola, Texas, National, Philips ICs, I keep reading about Dolby switching from Tate to Sanyo ICs in the cat. 150 card but I don't see Sanyo chip, anyone know which chips are actually doing the Dolby decoding?

 

[furui_suterioo]

More Tate-er chips today, seller was nice enough to make seperate from a Dolby CP50.

 

[MikeWiz]

It's nice to see that analog SQ surround isn't forgotten! The fact that 25 years on there are still happy owner's of Space & Image Composers makes all the hard work and hassles expended in its design and production worthwhile!

While I can't be 100% sure (accurate production records weren't really kept as far as I know), the numbers that I recall are:

10 Pre-production prototypes were hand-built (identifiable mainly by PC board color... light green standard material instead of the Blue FR14 material of the production units). These were followed quickly (and without any major changes) by 179 regular production units.

I would estimate that approximately 50 of these 179 were built in the factory as Tate II (new "fixed" Exar chipset) units and probably a similar number were returned to the factory and I retrofitted them with the new chips. The remaining units will still have the original National Semiconductor chips.

If you look inside it is quite easy to distinguish version I from version II chipsets. The newer Exar chips were built in a 14 or 16-pin DIP package rather than the 18-pin DIP package of the Nationals, so they had to be mounted "hi-rise" style on an elevated adapter board that rose above all the surrounding components. The models with National chips had the detector chip mounted on the PC board itself (between two rows of large green poly capacitors) .

This ought to give you some basic information on the Space & Image Composer and some identification tips. I'll add more information regarding the development timeline, chipset differences, Ray Dolby and the arrival of Fosgate on the scene in future installments.

"No, not that Left Front, your other Left Front!"
- Charles Wood, Audionics of Oregon 1977

Steve

Oh, you will be a treasure trove of intel when I get around to ingesting the collection and can open them up. Foz’s own Tate 101-A had an altered switch on it marked Fast/Slow likely referring to the stearing logic speed? Are you still in washington? Your brain needs to be documented on video. You willing?