5 Mar
2017
5 Mar
'17
3:37 p.m.
On 03/05/2017 12:18 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote:
Mention above about the vacuum capstans. Some really old drives had
two continuously counterrotating capstans with slots in them. Valves
applied either air pressure, to make the tape float over the capstan,
or vacuum, to make the capstan grab the tape.
Doesn't feel "really old" to me, at least. :)
In the CDC drives, there was a voice-coil type valve for switching the
vacuum around. I understood that the 65x units had a "cost reduced"
version of the valve, from the 60x units. All in all, I much preferred
the big orange 60x drives to the gray metal and blue glass of the 65x
one--the 60x drives just felt more sturdy.
--Chuck