TCW Podcast Episode 211 - Ramtek

Ramtek was an unlikely entrant into the video game space. Starting off as employees of Data Disc Corporation, Charles McEwan and John Metzler aimed to use technology to positively impact society. With a focus on high-end displays, money was slow to come in. A local bar, Andy Capp's Tavern, frequented by company's engineers, served as a test site for the new Atari Pong arcade game. Fascinated by Pong, Ramtek's engineers decided to create their own version, marking the beginning of their foray into video games and later electro-mechanical games. One of their top engineers, Pete Kauffman, left to found Exidy to focus solely on video games. For many years, Ramtek's coin-op division sustained the company, ensuring cash flow and becoming the core of their business. Despite setbacks, including a poorly designed baseball game, a failed pinball transition, and a devastating fire at their uninsured Sunnyvale facility, Ramtek recovered and went public in 1978. By then, their high-end display busines had succeeded, reducing the coin-op division's importance. The coin-op business was eventually sold to Charles's brother, Mel McEwan, and continued as Meltec until its sale in 2003.

How do Hard Drives Work?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wteUW2sL7bc

Systtem 370 & 3330 Hard Drive: https://youtu.be/oLnvvOoWnzU?t=430

Fujitsu 14" Winchester HDD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCtlcmzGCTk

IBM 350 RAMAC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTkL4FQL2FI

VHS Tapes - Were they as bad as we remember?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00QS3lXJeI

How X-Rays see through your skin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsV7SJDDCY4

Gama Camera Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q8MPBrGRqs

Gamma (or Scintillation) Cameras Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEtYQaEwNwk

Pong Prototype: https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=891

More Pong Prototype: https://www.flickr.com/photos/naotoj/15391150690

TCW 051 - Sons of Pong: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/sons-of-pong/

Ramtek Volly: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/volly

Ramtek Soccer: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/soccer

Ramtek Hockey: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/hockey

Ramtek Wipeout Cabinet: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/wipe-out

Ramtek Wipeout Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_TmOD0IHFM

Ramtek Clean Sweep Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRzbgzKSdeo

Ramtek Clean Sweep Cabinet: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/clean-sweep

TCW 201 - Advanced Balls and Paddles Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/advanced-balls-and-paddles-part-1/

TCW 202 - Advanced Balls and Paddles Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/advanced-balls-and-paddles-part-2/

Ramtek's Baseball: https://x.com/GameResearch_E/status/1276734082240729088

Ramtek Trivia: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/trivia

Ramtek Horoscope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibBFg4GQvSQ

Ramtek Dark Invader: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Arcade/dark-invader

Star Cruiser Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-NycOXE7pA

Star Cruiser Flyer: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/star-cruiser

Ramtek Sea Battle Flyer: https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/sea-battle

M79 Ambush Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFqubJx7wig

M79 Ambush Flyer and Promotion: https://imgur.com/gallery/m-79-m79-ambush-videogames-advert-late-70s-ramtek-pLhiWGL

Classic Boom Ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UJ10Vuifdw

Boom Ball Clowns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsCwIYv6o5g

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/