What is it? GLENSOUND BBC GSOD1/130

[richardash1981]

I was browsing ebay again looking for stand-alone "clean" microphone preamps (in other words, not tube or otherwise distorting ones), and this came up:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-GLENSOUND-BBC-GSOD1-130-LINE-DISTRIBUTION-MIXER-TRANSFORMER-BALANCED/143999418239

I don't think it's what I am looking for, but I'm not at all clear what it does do, and the internet didn't help me so I thought I'd ask here where someone probably knows!

 

[sandall]

No, not what you're looking for - it's a 2-channel, 6-output line-level splitter. The jacks will all be PO B-gauge, so not much use unless you want 12 old-style male XLRs or fancy the case.

[sunray]

No, not what you're looking for - it's a 2-channel, 6-output line-level splitter. The jacks will all be PO B-gauge, so not much use unless you want 12 old-style male XLRs or fancy the case.

I believe it's a Stereo to mono buffered 2 channel 3-output line-level splitter. Times 6

IE mix 2 transformer isolated inputs together, amplify/buffer including a level control then transistor/transformer driver to 3 outputs twice which is repeated a further 5 times. A few years ago I would have bitten the hand that held it to get it. I still have the Drake rack with 8 mic pre-amp cards, transformer I/p and o/p if of any use.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sn5L4gj3psWTgvSq9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why can I not put carraige returns in?

Edited April 10, 2021 by sunray

[sandall]

No, not what you're looking for - it's a 2-channel, 6-output line-level splitter. The jacks will all be PO B-gauge,

Correction: it's 6 separate channels of 2-output splitting. Each has input (0dB or -20dB) on jack, input transformer, split to 2 output transformers, each feeding 1 XLR & 2 jacks. Each channel has an amplifier IC, so I would guess 1980s vintage. Not quite as over-engineered as the stuff built in-house.

[sunray]

No, not what you're looking for - it's a 2-channel, 6-output line-level splitter. The jacks will all be PO B-gauge,

Correction: it's 6 separate channels of 2-output splitting. Each has input (0dB or -20dB) on jack, input transformer, split to 2 output transformers, each feeding 1 XLR & 2 jacks. Each channel has an amplifier IC, so I would guess 1980s vintage. Not quite as over-engineered as the stuff built in-house.

Ooh that's shaken me, I remember them being -10dB, the pics do show as -20dB. These were often modified for all 0dB o/p [just change some resisters IIRC] which this one has been. The 2 ip's per section were designed as stereo so would have been the same.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if different versions were made.

[sandall]

I'm beginning to wonder if different versions were made.

Wouldn't be surprised. GaryNattress probably knows all about them.

[sunray]

Looking at the pics again I wonder if there are 2 available as one pic shows the XLR without the red dymo labels and mic level o/p.

 

 

 

 

Own up, who's been bidding? The price has doubled since I looked at 14:15

Edited April 10, 2021 by sunray

[GaryNattrass]

Can't remember exactly what these were used for but we had a lot of Glensound kit on international athletics and other ITV and BBC sporting events and I suspect this was just part of the distribution system for unilateral audio as most of the incoming comms and IFB circuits wouild be via GPO or latterly BT telephone lines so you needed to isolate them and distribute to other positions for earpiece feeds ete or into commentary boxes. Other outputs would go into a monitoring matrix so you could hear and establish the comms before passing onto the presenters etc.

 

The last time I used all this kit was in 1990 for the indoor athletics championships at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow and we had a central lines area with Glensound mixers for all the BT lines to go in and then the commentary boxes were in the stadium via coax multiplex.

 

We used an AEQ digital system via fibre optic on London 2012 and other Olympics but for Glasgow 2014 commonwealth games it was back to a Glensound digital system on fibre optic.

 

I think that is basically a six way active split and distribution box but the -20 inputs would be more for telephone lines and then they are taken up to 0db line level for distribution. It could also be for buffering international sound and production talkback feeds etc.

Edited April 10, 2021 by GaryNattrass

[richardash1981]

Thank you all for the information. It isn't me bidding because you have all confirmed it isn't what I'm looking for! Worthpoint have a listing for the same thing with different pictures so I suspect a few have been through ebay and some pictures may be "reused" ...

[sandall]

Worthpoint have a listing for the same thing with different pictures so I suspect a few have been through ebay and some pictures may be "reused" ...

I did notice some amazingly ambitious prices for other Glensound kit. Maybe some people got over-excited at a broadcast sell-off & are hoping to get their money back ?

[Brian]

I still have the Drake rack with 8 mic pre-amp cards, transformer I/p and o/p if of any use.

 

 

I did notice some amazingly ambitious prices for other Glensound kit. Maybe some people got over-excited at a broadcast sell-off & are hoping to get their money back ?

 

Anything with decent audio transformers goes for real money. Those Lundahl transformers in the Drake rack will ensure it fetches a good price on eBay if you decide to sell it.

[richardash1981]

The Drake rack sounds interesting at first look, because I started off looking at 8-way mic amplifiers (the various 1U boxes which seem to all be discontinued).

 

However Sunray seems to be missing the control part of his (the front panel with the gain control etc. on it), and others report that the gain range available is 40dB to 80dB and only 12V phantom power is available.This makes me think a reasonable amount of work would be needed to make it useful to me (as I don't really need the transformer isolation, undoubtedly the most costly thing there).

[sunray]

The Drake rack sounds interesting at first look, because I started off looking at 8-way mic amplifiers (the various 1U boxes which seem to all be discontinued).

 

However Sunray seems to be missing the control part of his (the front panel with the gain control etc. on it), and others report that the gain range available is 40dB to 80dB and only 12V phantom power is available.This makes me think a reasonable amount of work would be needed to make it useful to me (as I don't really need the transformer isolation, undoubtedly the most costly thing there).

I know almost nothing about the Drake kit, it was part of a rip out but it originally fed into a fairly standard desk at line level using 20 pair phone cable for everything, very likely Allan and Heath, some several floors away in the main control room. Since I've had it a colleague used it for AT8033 remote microphones in a school which I believe it handled well.

 

 

A pair of them have been installed in another school hall for some really cheap phantom powered mics and feed directly into the Drake romote powered version of the Fostek monitor speakers [pics added to https://photos.app.goo.gl/sn5L4gj3psWTgvSq9 ] using cat5 for show relay. Again it was not one of my jobs so no detail.

Edited April 11, 2021 by sunray

[jamesperrett]

The Drake rack sounds interesting at first look, because I started off looking at 8-way mic amplifiers (the various 1U boxes which seem to all be discontinued).

I don't know what your budget is but the Audient ASP800 and ASP880 are still available new. If you don't need the A/D conversion then there's an ASP008 currently on Ebay. I find the ASP008 to be a sensible, clean sounding unit.

[sunray]

 

Anything with decent audio transformers goes for real money. Those Lundahl transformers in the Drake rack will ensure it fetches a good price on eBay if you decide to sell it.

Surprisingly there was not a single bid on Ebay several years ago, then it was the rack and a slave rack [without psu] and I think 14 cards and 5 speakers.