Thursday July 29, 2010
9 Track Tape
What you need to know
Born in the 60’s, and still alive today, 9 track is one of the longest running standards in the tape industry. At the time of introduction the average 50MB capacity was more than most computers could store and therefore made a nice backup option, as well as a reliable way to move data from one computer to the next.
In 2001, due to lack of demand, the last new reels of tape were produced and shipped by Graham Magnetics. Qualstar, the last to manufacture the 9 track drives, stopped making their new 9 track units at about the same time, for the same reason, lack of demand. However the units are still used throughout the world and millions of tapes are still stored for future use.
Pinetree still provides remanufactured 9-track drives as well as parts, repairs, and support for manufacturers like StorageTek (STK) (Sun StorEdge), M4 Data, Kennedy and Overland Data.
Pinetree also provides 9-track tape drive media that has been reformatted, tested and ready for you to use.
| Densities (BPI-bits per inch) |
800 NRZI (non return to zero, inverted) |
| 1600 PE (phase encoded) | |
| 3200 PE (phase encoded) | |
| 6250 GCR (group code recording) | |
| Capacities | At 1600 bpi, a 2400-foot 9-track tape could hold about 50MB, depending on blocking. |
| Interfaces | Pertec, STK, SCSI |
| Reel sizes (inches) | 6, 7, 8.5 and 10.5 |
| Tape speeds (IPS – inches per second) |
25, 50 and 100 |
| Transfer rates | 40KB/sec – 1500KB/sec |
| Recording modes | Start/Stop and Streaming |
Florida Office | 4451-B Enterprise Ct. | Melbourne, FL 32934 | Phone: 1(321) 255-0666 | Fax: 1(231) 253-0970