On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 9:38 AM,  <shumaker at att.net> wrote:
  ?Item #1476519348 on Ventura Craigslist
 info from ad:
 Pertec Tape Drive - Vintage 10" Reel to Reel Data Recorder - $100 (Oxnard)
 This is a vintage Pertec data recorder tape drive.
 M/N T8840A-9-37.5
 P/N 902857-01 C2
 S/N 351524781 
http://ventura.craigslist.org/sys/1476519348.html
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/pertec/103380M_T8x40A-T8x60A_Aug82.pdf
M/N T8840A-9-37.5
T = Tape Product
8 = 8000 Series (Tension Arm)
8 = Highest Data Density Handled 32c/mm (800 cpi)
40 = Head Type Read After Write (Dual Stack)
9 = 9-track
37.5 = Tape Speed 0.953 m/s (37.5 ips)
No idea what the formatter is that is attached to the transport.