Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!rice!uw-beaver!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!nosun!tessi!joey
From: joey@tessi.UUCP (Joe Pruett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re:  tar cartrige from SUN
Message-ID: <604@balthmus.tessi.UUCP>
Date: 24 Aug 90 00:52:10 GMT
References: <9008211316.AA15689@richter.mit.edu>
Organization: TSSI, Beaverton, Oregon
Lines: 17

There is a lot of confusion about tape formats, so now I'll add
to the confusion :-)

The newer sun systems can read/write QIC-150 onto DC-6150 tapes
which gives 150 megabytes, and they can read QIC-24 on any flavor
of DC tape (15-60 meg).

Most other suns can read/write QIC-24 and QIC-11 on any DC tape.
Both formats are the same density, but QIC-11 isn't as likely to
read on foreign systems because of alignment differences.

Extremely old sun-2 systems could only read/write QIC-11 and only
4 tracks (QIC-24 is 9 track).  Max capacity is around 20meg.

I've never had a problem switching tapes between suns and apollos
as long as i use QIC-24 format.  I've used DC-150 through DC-600
without any problems.