Pertec interface tape drive

On 03/21/2012 10:30 PM, Adrian Stoness wrote: No worries...Tape like this is generally pretty simple to deal with; we'll help you out. What make/model drive is it? Can you get some pics of the back, especially the cabling? There are two most common types of tape interfaces, three-connector ("unformatted") and two-connector ("formatted") Pertec interfaces. It's likely your drive has one of those two types. Next...9-track drives' recording density is specified in "BPI", or Bits Per Inch. Common densities are 800, 1600, and 6250BPI. Also seen from time to time is 3200BPI, but that's much less common. There are three main sizes of reels; 600', 1200' and 2400'. I've seen farm more 600' and 2400' than 1200', but you'll see all three floating around. There may be other sizes but they're not very common. There are three main types of tape handling mechanisms. Going from least desirable to most desirable, and also the easiest to the hardest to maintain, they are tension arm, air bearing, and vacuum column. Tension arm uses one or two long (4-8") arms with a roller on one end and a pivot on the other, and it moves back and forth to essentially "hold" a length of tape off the reel. Air bearing mechanisms have smooth curved surfaces with lots of little holes punched in them that are pressurized from behind by a blower. The tape rarely if ever touches the surfaces of these curved pieces, reducing friction (and therefore tape wear) considerably. Vacuum column drives are more complex; they use a vacuum pump and (usually) two vertical columns that hold a dangling "loop" of tape and have a servomechanism to rotate the reels just the right amounts to keep the loop position constant, while a roller moves the tape across the head to the desired position. There's very little friction in this type of system. They can be, however, pretty tough to maintain. Let's find out what you've got first. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA