18 Mar
2017
18 Mar
'17
7:28 p.m.
Hello,
I'm sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you might be able to help me with a problem
I'm having getting hold of some scientific data that's currently stored on DEC VAX
magnetic tape.
A colleague of mine carried out some ecological fieldwork ~30 years ago, and her results
are stored on eight magnetic tapes (two of 7" diameter, one 8.5", and five
10.25"). The data would be incredibly useful to look at, as the study was looking at
how restored mines changes over time (the study is somewhat described here;
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20038221?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents). If we could get these
original data, we could compare how the mine is now with how it was then, which would be
phenomenally useful to conservation biologists trying to conserve and restore damaged
ecosystems.
Do any of you have any ideas as to how I might get the data off this tape? I live and work
in Utah (USA), but I would be willing to travel a little ways if it meant getting the
things read off into a computer!
Thanks again for your time,
Will Pearse
---
Need a phylogeny? Try phyloGenerator:
original<http://willpearse.github.io/phyloGenerator/> or new
version<http://willpearse.github.io/phyloGenerator2/>
Measuring phylogenetic structure? Try install.packages('pez')
Will Pearse<http://www.willpearse.com/>
Assistant Professor of Biology, Utah State University
Office: +1-435-797-0831
Skype: will.pearse
19 Mar
19 Mar
2:01 p.m.
On 03/18/2017 06:28 PM, William Pearse via cctalk wrote:
Hello,
I'm sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you might be able to help me with a problem
I'm having getting hold of some scientific data that's currently stored on DEC VAX
magnetic tape.
A colleague of mine carried out some ecological fieldwork ~30 years ago, and her results
are stored on eight magnetic tapes (two of 7" diameter, one 8.5", and five
10.25"). The data would be incredibly useful to look at, as the study was looking at
how restored mines changes over time (the study is somewhat described here;
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20038221?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents). If we could get these
original data, we could compare how the mine is now with how it was then, which would be
phenomenally useful to conservation biologists trying to conserve and restore damaged
ecosystems.
Do any of you have any ideas as to how I might get the data off this tape? I live and
work in Utah (USA), but I would be willing to travel a little ways if it meant getting the
things read off into a computer!
I have a rather crude way of reading 9-track tapes in 1600
and 6250 BPI densities. I have worked out how to unpack VAX
BACKUP format tapes, if that is how they were written. I
have read some tapes that were about this old, but they have
been stored in excellent conditions, and they were
high-quality tapes. Some tapes that were of lesser quality
or stored in poor conditions may not be recoverable.
Some other people have a lot of experience with baking the
tapes at low temperature to improve the chances of good data
recovery, you you might see if they want to do it, first.
Jon
3:01 p.m.
I have a rather crude way of reading 9-track tapes in
1600 and 6250
BPI densities. I have worked out how to unpack VAX BACKUP format
tapes, if that is how they were written. I have read some tapes that
were about this old, but they have been stored in excellent
conditions, and they were high-quality tapes. Some tapes that were
of lesser quality or stored in poor conditions may not be
recoverable.
9-track tape is remarkably resilient. I've successfully read tapes that
were stored in an uncontrolled Michigan attic for 20+ years.
VMS Backup format isn't that hard to deal with: there are at least one
or two open source tools which can read most save sets, and feeding an
image to an actual VMS system in emulation is easy too.
The worst threat is the "sticky shed" issue, wherein the binder which
holds the coatings onto the tape backing absorbs moisture and gets
gooey. A number of approaches have been described in the literature,
from mechanically removing the back coating applied to
some media to
reduce static and other issues, to chemical applications, to baking
out
the moisture.
Some other people have a lot of experience with baking
the tapes at
low temperature to improve the chances of good data recovery, you you
might see if they want to do it, first.
I've had good luck with the lowest of tech solutions: a food dehydrator.
Many libraries have used convection ovens. Target temperature seems to
be in the neighborhood of 130-140 degrees. I've seen recommendations
for 2-4 hours, but I seem to have better luck with 24.
De
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drb＠msu.edu -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
will.pearse＠usu.edu