On Wed, 4 Jan 2017, Cory Heisterkamp wrote:
I'm far from an expert, but it certainly looks like an oxide coating to me. I'm reminded of the folklore when IBM was developing the RAMAC and
Yes, it is ferric oxide.
http://www.radar58.com/temp/drum.jpg http://www.radar58.com/temp/drum2.jpg
Hmm, your drum doesn't look to bad after all. In your case I would clean all the heads, and the surface with a soft cloth and give it a try. For basic testing you only need one data track plus the register and timing tracks.
Christian
