On Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 5:56 PM, Jason T <silent...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm tossing this out here as a conversation-starter more than a > request for help, although I may end up putting the knowledge to use. > Today I received a set of original HP paper tapes for the 2115a > machine. I don't know if they've been archived or not - there are > dozens of HP tapes on bitsavers and I'll have to make a P/N list and > compare them. The real problem is they're in horrible shape. Decades > of basement moisture and likely a few critters have turned them > blackened, moldy and stuck together. > > So, what to do? How to get to the data without a bio-hazardous > payload along for the ride? My thoughts go toward sunlight and/or U/V > light (like a hair salon sanitizer,) rubber gloves and a mask, > isopropyl alcohol, careful picking apart of layers, etc. I'd think > one thing in our favor is that holes in paper are going to be easier > to read than ink on paper. So Part 1 is getting them into readable > condition, with part 2 being the actual reading. > > For part 2, personally, I would take movies of the paper tape moving and doing image analysis to recover that data; this occurs to me because I've done a fair bit of image recognition software, so this solution may not be feasible for all. If you sent me a sample movie, I would make a stab at writing some data recovery software. -- Charles
