DECTape head problem

[Wayne S]

So it sermsdectape heads are special. I don’t think Dec would have the desire to make them internally so they probably contractef with a company already set up to do that. Who were the big tape head manufacturers at that time? Does anyone know?

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> On Feb 8, 2022, at 12:07, Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net> wrote:
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> 
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>> On Feb 8, 2022, at 2:53 PM, Wayne S via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote:
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>> Since so many audio tape players and computer magtape units were made it would stand to reason that there has to be a stash somewhere of tape heads and it’s just a matter of finding where they are.
>> Are there any part numbers on the dectape heads?
> 
> The schematics are bound to show DEC part numbers, but how those translate into supplier part numbers is anyone's guess.  Or perhaps they were made internaly by DEC?
> 
> In any case, DECtape heads are unusual.  Computer tapes are normally 1/2 inch wide (a few old tape drives had different widths, like the 14 track 1 inch CDC tape).  But DECtape and LINCtape are 3/4 inches wide, with 10 head positions.
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> Audio tapes are unlikely to be helpful; consumer reel to reel tape is 2 tracks (interleaved for when you flip over the reel?) 1/4 inch; professional decks might have 8 tracks or more on 1/2 or 1 or 2 inch wide tape, but I don't remember ever seeing 3/4 inch wide audio or instrumentation heads.
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>    paul
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>