7-track tape question

[Chris Muller]

Hi everybody.

This is something a computer geezer like me should know. But I don't.

I've read some things that seem to imply that *some* of the oldest
drive/formatters did NOT write a longitudinal parity frame at the end of a
block. (They did have horizontal parity, of course.)

If it's true then a drive reading such tapes would not have an easy way of
telling whether frames had been dropped during a read. Does this ring true
to anybody out there?  Any observations welcome.

best regards,

Chris Muller
Muller Media Conversions
32 Broadway, suite 1214
New York, NY 10004
 http://www.mullermedia.com
212-344-0474 or 800-OLD2NEW