DF32?

Right, the formatter was a piece of field service hardware. I think typically it had to be shipped up from Maynard, there wasn't enough call for them to have them at each field office. One oddity is that the timing track clock frequency on those writers is variable. The device would write the correct number of timing pulses and then read the timing track to verify the length of the gap at the end. Lights would indicate whether the gap was too small, correct, or too long, and you'd adjust the frequency knob accordingly until the "ok" light came on. It's documented in the maintenance manual. I read it long before I saw it done, and was amazed that yes, it actually work just as strangely as what the manual claims. Judging by the block diagram in the manual, you could build your own in an afternoon or two. It certainly is. It works wonderfully well. paul