Tape cleaner on eBay

[Chuck Guzis]

On 10/06/2015 08:19 PM, Ali wrote:

> Well apparently you can still buy recertifiers for the low low price
> of $8K w/ warranty. I guess if you are the CHM or recovery outfit
> like yours Chuck it makes sense. You can also get a new cleaner w/
> warranty for $2K.
>
> Was this equipment ever cheap (i.e. when it was prevalent and in use
> daily)?

If you were running a data center with many thousands of tapes, a 
recertifier was probably a money saver.    Was it ever cheap?  I doubt 
it--but worth its weight in rhodium.

I picked my cleaner up govt. surplus--brand new; the only thing missing 
was the bottle of Freon TF.  Apparently you're not allowed to sell the 
stuff anymore.

It wouldn't surprise me if the government still has a few squirreled away.

In my case, the blade is a triangular silicon carbide affair, so 3 sharp 
edges available for use.   If I couldn't find a replacement, I could 
easily have one made up by any of the  machine tool refurbishers--but I 
doubt I'll ever get to that place.

As far as a recertifier--no need here; I'm about reading tapes, not 
writing them.  Once the data is retrieved, there's no need to read the 
tape again.

However, I am still looking for a an 800 BPI NRZI-capable drive.

--Chuck