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From: rupp@cod.UUCP (William L. Rupp)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Should we reuse mag tapes? - really bit banging
Message-ID: <550@cod.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Mar-87 13:31:02 EST
Article-I.D.: cod.550
Posted: Fri Mar  6 13:31:02 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Mar-87 07:10:55 EST
References: <1058@megatest.UUCP> <484@apple.UUCP> <1861@ihlpl.ATT.COM> <4276@utcsri.UUCP> <14551@sun.uucp> <9918@sri-spam.istc.sri.com>
Reply-To: rupp@cod.nosc.mil.UUCP (William L. Rupp)
Organization: Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego
Lines: 9
Keywords: old tapes, reuse, possible deterioration of same
Xref: mnetor comp.unix.questions:1332 comp.misc:314

I am no expert on the issue of reuse of magtapes, but it seems to me
that a great amount of use would cause such tapes to be stretched.  This
would probably be a more likely effect with computer tapes than with
audio because of the more frequent starts and stops.  I have also been
lead to believe that old tapes which have not been used in a long time
loose their elasticity.  I was afraid some reel-reel audio tapes
recorded by me in the early 1970s might have suffered that fate, but
I recently played some of them and they seem okay.  Of course, those
were audio and not computer tapes.