DECtape reliability?

[Rich Alderson]

From: Ian S. King
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2015 3:27 PM

> 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

PIP10 explicitly includes code to use the TD8E instead of the TC01/TC08;
it checks to find out what kind of controller is in the machine and sets
up the dispatch tables appropriately.  I know this, because when I had
to create a new mode in PDP10 to read in and decode ASCII-encoded 36 bit
binaries[1], my code and the TD8E code got in each other's way.[2]

                                                                Rich

[1] Specifically, diagnostics for the KI-10 to be read from DECtape after
    being compiled on the Toad-1.  The only way to get them to the KI was
    to ftp the encoded files to my laptop, use Kermit from the laptop to
    the 8/e, and PIP10 to scribble them onto a PDP-10 format DECtape.  It
    was an experience.

[2] Fields, yeah?