21 Aug
2016
21 Aug
'16
10:46 a.m.
On 08/21/2016 10:12 AM, js at cimmeri.com wrote:
The final matter is that I'd still like to get the
Teac to function
with some software, just to watch it operate (you have to really
like mechanical things to understand this strange fascination).
Having put some time and $ into the Teac, it'd be nice to get some
reward, even if only then it gets placed on the shelf afterwards.
Back in the day, I wondered if the DDS drives being as complex as they
were, with the skinny less-than-4mm wide tape could even have the
possibility of any longevity.
But the old DDS-1 tapes I recorded more than 20 years ago are still
quite readable as are the DDS-4 tapes I wrote over a decade ago. One
advantage that DDS (and DLT...) has over most of the "QIC" tapes is that
they use a read-after-write system like the big 1/2" tape drives, making
a separate verification pass unnecessary. They also tend to follow the
ANSI sequantial-access SCSI standard more carefully.
You may want to consider DDS or DLT for your DEC gear.
--Chuck