Destructive Imaging of DECTAPE II Media

[Peter Coghlan]

Mark J. Blair wrote:
>
>> On Jan 31, 2015, at 10:47, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
>> 
>> On 01/31/2015 10:39 AM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
>>> Poking around on eBay, I see that there were other brands (Teac,
>>> Wangtek, Everex...) of streaming tape backup drives that look like
>>> they may have used those audio-cassette-like tapes with the notch on
>>> the back edge, much like the TU60. Maybe one of those transports
>>> could be adapted for this wacky scheme? I might buy one of the
>>> cheaper ones and some matching tapes to experiment with.
>> 
>> Are you thinking of the DC2000/2100 type drives?  I think that they're a bit
>> too large.  How about, say, an Irwin drive using DC1000 minicarts?
>
>No, I'm thinking of things like Teac MT-2ST drives, using audio-cassette-like
>CT-600H cartridges. Some random googling suggests that those sorts of drives
>may move the tape at around 90 ips, so hopefully they don't use capstan and
>pinch roller drive that's designed for slow audio tape movement. 
>
>I just ordered the cheapest one of those drives listed, and some matching
>tapes, to experiment with. Maybe it'll provide a better transport than the
>data logger tape transport that I also have on the way? And either of them
>might be easier to hack for this project than a regular audio cassette
>transport that's designed for much slower tape speed.
>

I've got three Verbatim ST-600 "High Density Streamer Cassette" and five
Maxell CS-600HD "High density data cassette back coated 183m/600ft"
audio-cassette-like tapes with the notch on the back edge.  Most have data
written on them from around 1994 but one of each type is unused and still in
plastic wrapping.  Another of the Verbatim tapes is missing the box.

If they are of any use, they are available for postage from Ireland.

Regards,
Peter Coghlan.