8 Mar
2023
8 Mar
'23
4:34 a.m.
On Mar 7, 2023, at 5:32 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
I'm a bit puzzled by "6250 700'" because the reel size has no bearing
on the format. 10 inch reels (1200 feet) were by far the most common but occasionallly
the smaller 600 foot ones would be seen. and in rare cases (the infamous DEC TS05 comes to
mind) 600' was all that they could handle.
I’ll be the first to admit my question is a bit strange. Basically I’m trying to use the
date that various media types were first introduced to show the oldest possible date for a
bunch of media I’m trying to date. The 9-Track tapes have been inventoried as “700 6250
BPI”, and I know they’re the smaller reels. Doing some digging, it looks like 6250BPI
tapes date back at least as far as 1971 with the IBM 3400 series drives, I’d thought that
6250 came about in the 80’s.
Zane