I was on an Archives committee that looked into this deeply. So was Jay
McKnight.
The tape had been very thoroughly erased. Apparently portions had been gone
over more than once.
We set up a system using another tape with similar attributes to require
proof of concept. I don't recall if anyone tried it, but we never got to
stage two of three or four- I no longer recall.
Steve Smolian.
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marcos Sueiro Bal
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2017 8:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Nixon tapes (was: REIP Jim Wheeler)
From what I understand, the issue of playing back Nixon tapes is
periodically (every few years?) revisited to see if magnetic microscopy
technology has advanced enough to warrant an attempt to extract audio from
the erased portions. A few years ago it was decided this was not yet the
case.
http://www.thic.org/pdf/July06/nist.dpappas.060718.pdf
Marcos Sueiro Bal
Senior Archivist, New York Public Radio
646 829 4063
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lou Judson
Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2017 10:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] RIP Jim Wheeler
My condolences to all who knew him as well.
This makes me wonder - has digital tech progressed enough to be able to find
the erased recording down in the murk? It would still be fascinating to know
what it was... and why erased!
<L>
Lou Judson
Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Jun 17, 2017, at 6:59 PM, Brewster Kahle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Sorry that he has passed.
>
> At a Christmas party at our house years ago, I was a fly on the wall
> as he was talking with John Markoff of the New York Times. He worked on
> the Nixon missing 20 minutes of tape being erased. As I remember, his
> theory was that it was a conversation with Howard Hughes. This was not
> an official finding of the government however, and I think was informal.
>
> -brewster
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