DECtape reliability?

[Ian S. King]

PIP10 will let you read (and ISTR, write) PDP-10 formatted tapes on a
PDP-8/TC08.  Been there, done that.  I don't know if there would be a
problem on a TD8E setup.  -- Ian

On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 1:42 PM, Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net> wrote:

>
> > On Nov 12, 2015, at 4:29 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at Update.UU.SE> wrote:
> >
> > On 2015-11-12 19:49, Al Kossow wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> On 11/12/15 7:27 AM, Jon Elson wrote:
> >>
> >>> LINCtape is essentially identical to DECtape.  I think the directory
> >>> format is different, but I think the block format is the same.  I think
> >>> the tapes are wound in reverse order and the order of increasing block
> >>> numbers is reversed.
> >>>
> >>
> >> Actually the block format is different. "Obverse Compliment" encoding
> >> was created for DECtape. LINCtape blocks aren't bidirectional.
> >
> > Aha. Interesting. I didn't know that the bit patterns of the control
> channel was different.
> >
> > Curious question then - could most DECtape controllers even read
> LINCtpae?
> >
> > I know the TD8E can. The most stupid controller on the planet, but it
> enables you to deal with just about any DECtape format you could possibly
> ever invent.
> >
> > But other DECtape controllers might not be able to deal with tapes that
> use other codes to indicate what is being read...?
>
> I believe you can do this on the TC11 with the READ-ALL operation, but my
> memory is vague and the manuals I have handy aren't detailed enough.
>
>         paul
>
>
>


-- 
Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate
The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu>
Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical
Narrative Through a Design Lens

Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org>
Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org>

University of Washington

There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could go to China."