4 Nov
2025
4 Nov
'25
9:36 a.m.
On Nov 4, 2025, at 10:53 AM, Bob Vines via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
I know of oxide rubbing off, I cleaned it off DECtape drive heads and tape guides often
enough. But the spec is quite clear, the stuff is indeed laminated. The upper layer is
very thin, though; spec is 0.04 mil. So one would expect heavily-used tapes to have that
layer wear off at least in spots. I expect that's what we were seeing.
paul
...
P.S. I thought that I read here or in
a PDP-8-specific forum/mail-list
that DECtape wasn't actually laminated on both sides, which apparently
explained the visible red oxide material removed from dirty DECtapes while
cleaning them (per whoever posted their observations)?