WTD: 9 track open reel for PDP-11

[Chuck Guzis]

On 12/28/18 2:57 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote:

> But, not quite as much bandwidth as a station wagon full of tapes
> hurtling down the highway.

I once rode on an USAF general's jet with a load of 844 packs.  That
probably was pretty good bandwidth for the time...

One thing that escapes many who have never "been there" is that tape is
*cheap* compared to other forms of storage for the same time.
Government, institutions and corporations didn't just buy them by the
pallet-load; they bought them by the truckload.

Another thing often not considered is that open-reel tape is extremely
durable.  Use a reel for a year or two, have it cleaned and recertified,
and you're off and running.   Usually, during the process, the tapes got
shorter, as they tended to wear more at the beginning of the reel.
Discard the dicey section, put on a new BOT marker and you're good for
another year or two.  A five-to-ten year working life on a reel of tape
was not unusual at all.

Let's see you do that with your LTO carts!

--Chuck