[Info-vax] SDLT 1 tape cartridge longevity?

[Rich Jordan]

On Nov 2, 3:10 pm, glen herrmannsfeldt <g... at ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> Richard B. Gilbert <rgilber... at comcast.net> wrote:
> (snip on DLT1 tape problems)
>
> >  Methinks you are tilting at windmills!  Try a different brand of
> > tape or a whole different technology if you can find such.
>
> Personally, I like Ultrium (LTO) better than DLT.  For one, the tapes
> are more reasonably priced.  
>
> Though DLT tapes can be degaussed (no embedded servo), but Ultrium
> uses servo track that would be erased.
>
> I presume these aren't used tapes.  As I understand it, DLT1 uses
> the same tapes as DLT4000, but you can't reuse DLT4000 tapes without
> degaussing.  The DLT1 drive write current isn't high enough to fully
> overwrite the old data.  Even so, degaussing might help.
>
> -- glen

SDLT  !=  DLT

I've read that SDLT has an optical servo track or tape section.

The DLT IV tapes (used in 40/80GB drives) do have the split usage you
mentioned.  The cheaper half-height VS80 and VS160 drives can use new
DLT IV tapes unless they've been used by a "real" DLT drive; in that
case degaussing with a very powerful (read expensive) degausser is
needed.  I don't know if SDLT supports degaussing, though the optical
servo track mentioned might make this possible (but how powerful of a
degausser would it take?)

We've got a bucket full of nearly new DLT IV tapes from a closed
business (most used one time) and found out they wouldn't work in our
VS80 drives...  Bummer.  But soon we'll have a real DLT drive in use.
Either are a nice upgrade from DAT, but we would not purchase VS
(DLT-1) type drives again.