29 Jul
2021
29 Jul
'21
1:58 a.m.
Cory,
Its only recorded at around 25BPI so I don't thing it would be too hard to decode.
Given its a character at a time, I suspect some iron filings or similar would reveal the
codes and track spacing and with a bit of luck you could find a head that would read the
data...
I am sure we used to have some when we had real tapes.
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> On Behalf Of Cory
Heisterkamp via cctalk
Sent: 29 July 2021 00:37
To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts <cctech at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Reading MT/ST Tapes
This is a bit of a long shot, but is anyone aware of a successful method to read
IBM Selectric MT/ST tapes? A museum in Australia has a box of them and are
interested in the contents.
I'm fairly involved in the global Selectric community and while 1 or 2 MT/ST?s
exist, they?re non-functional. I know IBM offered a 2495 Tape Reader for the
IBM 360, which could be a starting point with modification, but I suspect
those are even scarcer than the MT/ST itself.
Even the encoding format appears to be a bit of a secret. Recording is
character-by-character, tape spacing controlled by sprocket holes along one
edge.
https://obsoletemedia.org/ibm-mtst/ <https://obsoletemedia.org/ibm-
mtst/?fbclid=IwAR28c5ej69AlF0os1PcykpHCh0Q_yz5BXbnUSi9UID-
4pY6GU3wLxZXFhDI>
Thanks- Cory