01-09-2023, 11:22 AM
(01-09-2023, 05:45 AM)ppppenguin Wrote: Mark, don't worry about it. We can come vaguely back to topic by wondering how much material there is out there on obsolete formats and whether there are enough machine hours available to recover it all.Certainly a problem. I found you can't trust the labels and also viewing just the start and thinking, content I don't care for, doesn't reveal anything about the rest of the tape.
I guess replacement heads for most drums are unavailable and I seem to remember someone breaking heads in the workshop. Some drums used a cunning optical tool/microscope that viewed both heads at the same time for alignment. Makers of later machines supplied a top half of the drum with heads pre-mounted. I'd imagine the special tools and expertise to fit bare heads to drums 40 to 60 years later is rare even if heads are found. Soon be the 70th Anniversary of Quadruplex (2026?) and Helical maybe 4 years later? Makes me feel old.
