On 4 Feb, 2007, at 18:15, cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote: The machine in question was I understand 1959/60. I don't know the official release dates for the digital Ampex drives but ICT used them on the ICT1301 which was released in 1962, though the tape drives were not immediately available. These were one inch tape drives (Ampex TM1 I think) and half inch drives (Ampex TM4). These used the aluminium spools with three notches in the hub not the later industry standard expanding hub type spools. The one inch tapes were 16 track and the half inch tapes were 10 track. They used thyrotron valves to fire the pinch rollers. The TM4s also had a version used on the Lyons Leo computers of that era, these used the same tape spools but with a small expanding hub, like a scaled down version of the 7 track and 9 track ones. Professional reel to reel audio equipment used a quarter inch version of the same spools until recently, or maybe they still do for all I know about audio recorders. By the way, as Dr Who has been deemed to be on topic: ICT 1301 consoles appeared on Dr Who and Blakes 7. I think I saw one in a James Bond film too, but I have been trying to find which one but have so far drawn a blank. In the villains HQ there was a big round room on two floors and in the middle were some control panels, the whole place got blown up as is normal in a 007 film. Must have been filmed about the time 1301s were being scrapped 1965 to the early 70s. Roger Holmes (owner of an ICT 1301 for over 30 years)