Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!oddjob!ncar!gatech!emory!km
From: km@emory.uucp (Ken Mandelberg)
Newsgroups: comp.periphs
Subject: Streaming Tapes with Floppy Intefaces
Message-ID: <2922@emory.uucp>
Date: 17 May 88 02:07:47 GMT
Organization: Math & Computer Science, Emory University, Atlanta
Lines: 29

There are several companies which make 40 Meg streaming tape drives
with a form factor and interface compatible with a 5.25 inch floppy
disk. They are meant for an IBM PC and are meant to use the existing
floppy controller.  A device driver for the PC is provided.

Does anyone know the details of how these things really work? What does
the tape drive do when the controller pulses the drive line that is
meant to move the floppy head in a track? In general, how do the floppy
actions map into tape actions?

What I'm really wondering is how to use one of these to replace a
floppy on a Unix machine (the 3B1 particularly).  I'm wondering if its
possible to just plug in the tape instead of the floppy and use a
sequence of read/write/lseek on the "floppy" device file to manipulate
the tape.

If it helps the 3B1 uses a WD2797 to control the floppy.

I called "Archive" a maker of such drives for technical information.
The tech support person I talked to really couldn't tell me how it
worked or provide a theory of operation documentation.  All he really
seemed able to be able to address was issues in installing the drive in
an IBM PC. I susppose that is what his job is.

-- 
Ken Mandelberg      |  {decvax,sun!sunatl,gatech}!emory!km  UUCP
Emory University    |  km@emory                             BITNET
Dept of Math and CS |  km@emory.ARPA                        ARPA,CSNET
Atlanta, GA 30322   |  Phone: (404) 727-7963