1/2" tape cleaner?

[Zane H. Healy]

> > I'd also be curious to hear from Ashley (or others) how reading old
> > DECtapes goes - do you ever have "sticktion" problems? or see stick-shed
> > syndrom?
> > 
> > (ah, I remember watching os/8 load off a dectape unit connected to an 8/i
> > running tss/8...  It had 4 8/l's slaved off it and 'served' the dectape drive
> > up to which ever asked for it)
> > 
> > -brad
> 
> I think that Al Kossow has lots of experience reading old DECtapes based on
> the good DecTape archives that he has on bitsavers.  Al,  can you share a 
> little of your experience and insight with the rest of us?  How well do these 
> things hold up 30-35 years later when they are actually being read and
> written to on a TU56?

IIRC, DECtapes are a really cool design, the magnetic surface is sandwitched
between two layers of plastic (or is it mylar), and as a result don't have
the issues normally associated with tapes.

Hmmm, this reminds me, I've a fair sized box of DECtapes I should find and
see if Al wants to read.

		Zane