30 Dec
2022
30 Dec
'22
6:04 p.m.
On 12/30/22 17:37, Bill Degnan via cctalk wrote:
THere were certain tape manufacturers and
plastic/metal clip marks and wear
patters that were typical of certain types of drives reading certain types
of tapes. Maybe high resolution photos of a few used tapes will reveal
clues. A tape ejected 30 times will have certain patterns of wear in
certain places. I have lots of different types of tapes, I am happy to
compare your used tape photos with anything I might have that would be
similar.
Not a guaranteed solution, but it might help narrow down candidate systems.
Bill
Heck, I'd just unspool a bit of the stuff, drop some Kyread on it and
have a gander with the old microscope. That can at least tell me how
many tracks are involved.
But being a quarter-inch cartridge leaves a lot of ground open. For
instance, what if these tapes are Iotaamat-formatted? A regular QIC
drive will have nothing to do with them. There were other manufacturers
(Cipher 525) comes to mind that do not use standard formatting
techniques. On some of the later 8mm Travan carts, the tape is
will-o'-the-wisp thin.
FWIW,
Chuck