An LWT ident made by Electronic Arts

XLR-LNE? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector#Obsolete_patterns These days they're quite rare - they weren't deemed that safe ISTR (though they did latch so didn't fall out) Replaced by IECs (which will fall out without external clips etc...)

Ah yes, I know the connector you mean, we used to refer to it as an LNE connector, but I believe it's correct to refer to it as LNE, XLR or indeed XLR-LNE ! Only 5amp capacity.

Nothing wrong with acquiring kit if you have an interest, although I do wonder what you thought you could do with your very own cue-dot generator at home! I've collected bits and pieces over the years, stuff that was going to be junked. I've given some of it to the BBC's archiving programme and to a private company that's hires out vintage TV gear.

I did keep an Ampex MkXX head which came out of one of our ACR25 cassette machines. You may be familiar with it? If not you can see a machine here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_YXCNpTfAg

The video head assembly was developed to have a retractable female tape guide so that the assembly could be 'deployed' in a vacuum threading tape path, ie completely hands off. If you look almost exactly 1 minute in you will see the video head assembly through the small window and the vacuum guide retracting in and out as the tape is automatically threaded up. Some beast that machine.

So why did I keep it? It makes an interesting door stop so it still has a practical application!

We had a number of these units, 2 bought specifically for 'Sport' when ITV started Saturday night football. In all my years with them I can only remember two faults. After a decade or so, unit 1 developed a fault which I narrowed down to a specific card. I replaced it and away we went again. Would you believe it but a fortnight later the second unit developed the identical fault and identical cure! I didn't 'tut' or anything, I thought it was a tribute to the design that firstly it took so very long for a fault to develop in the first instance, and second that the units were so well manufactured that the second unit failed in the same way at almost the same time 10 years or more down the line.

My only criticism was that the user software on these units was hopeless, and quite out of character with Quantel. I wonder if you remember the intercart and interplay hardware and software developed by Graham Roberts? You can see some of his stuff here (http://www.flashtcs.demon.co.uk/). It made the Studio Clipboxes into something usable, without it - it would have been a dead duck really. Graham had an official tie-up with Quantel, he even used to have a official place on their exihibition stands. One of the cleverest chaps I've ever met, and one of the very nicest too.

Yes that's the one. Looks like I should have kept the lead after all!

Turns out I corrected the creator of this wonder ident

Speaking of 3D television animation from the 1980s, I stumbled upon this compilation of U.S. and Canadian computer animations shown at an awards show in 1986: