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Marconi "Blattnerphone" Tape Recorder

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Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday
Address
1867 St Laurent Blvd, Ottawa, ON
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Browse all Visitor Information for Canada Science and Technology Museum
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Marconi "Blattnerphone" Tape Recorder

Marconi "Blattnerphone" Tape Recorder

Current location:

Collection Storage Facility

Provenance:

In 1933, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (later CBC) installed three Blattnerphones in Ottawa. The CBC donated this one, along with 11 reels of audio tape, to the Museum in 1969. In 1992, working with CBC Archives and Telecom Australia, the Museum shipped its Blattnerphone recordings to Melbourne, Australia, where technicians played them back for the first time in fifty years.

Technical history:

Magnetic recording technology dates back to 1898, when Valdemar Poulsen patented the Telegraphone, a device that recorded the electrical audio signal from a telephone transmitter as variations in magnetic flux on a length of steel piano wire. Over the next thirty years the technology evolved very slowly. By 1930, advances in electronics allowed the first commercially successful wire recorders to be introduced as dictating machines and telephone recorders in Europe and North America. Recording on solid steel media, whether wire or tape, remained the dominant form of magnetic recording outside Germany until about 1950. Perhaps most interesting of these devices was the Blattnerphone, or Marconi-Stille recorder. This large device recorded on steel tape 3 mm wide — a loaded reel weighed 15 kg.

History:

In 1933, the first Blattnerphone in Canada was installed by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (later CBC) at its Ottawa station in the Château Laurier Hotel. Important events such as royal and political addresses, the opening of Parliament, or a Dionne Quintuplets’ birthday party could be recorded as they happened and rebroadcast later to reach the widest possible audience.

CSTMC/SMSTC 1967.0727

CSTMC/SMSTC 1967.0727

Unknown (from newspaper)

SCITECH
Canada Science and Technology Museum
Artifact No.
1969.0727
Manufacturer
Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company Limited
Manufacturer Location
London, England
Manufacture Date
1933
Acquisition Date
1969
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About Canada Science and Technology Museum

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The Canada Science and Technology Museum tells Canada's innovation story in an immersive, educational, and fun way.
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Contact Us

Canada Science and Technology Museum
1867 St Laurent Blvd
Ottawa ON K1G 5A3
Canada

613-991-3044
1-866-442-4416
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  • Plan Your Visit
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    • Buy Tickets
    • Online Resources for Science at Home
    • About the Museum
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    • Exhibitions
    • Spaces and Studios
  • Bookings and Rentals
    • School Programs
    • Birthday Parties
    • Summer Camps
    • Venue Rentals
    • Travelling Exhibitions
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • Group Visits
  • Educational Programs
    • School Programs
    • Virtual Field Trips
    • Program Location
      • At the Museum
      • At Your School
      • Online
      • Browse all Educational Programs
    • Popular Links
      • 3D Educational Resources
      • Digital Learning Kits
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