On 01/19/2017 09:59 AM, Nico de Jong wrote: > I have never had problems with reading 800 bpi tapes on a Qualster > 3412S. But writing is a completely different discipline. The M4 9914 > (?) can do it, according to the documentation, but I've never tried > it. The 3412 is a bit weak in reading stitching tapes, the 9914 is a > lot better (I have both)
I've run into sticky tapes that have had binder bleed so badly that they won't even make it through my tape cleaning machine--the sticky parts hit the first guide roller and bring everything to a halt. The only way out of that situation that has been successful for me is to coat the tape temporarily with a lubricant (which evaporates cleanly in a few minutes, leaving no residue). Some 3M tapes from the 70s are very bad in this respect. A streamer with big powerful reel servos makes me a bit nervous in those cases. After all, the design goal there is speed, not gentleness. And the tapes likely to be at 800 bpi are these selfsame 70s tapes. Another aspect of streamers, particularly the SCSI variety is the lack of control that some give. I want to keep the seesawing to a minimum--if there's a tape error, I don't want the drive to endlessly keep retrying the read--I note that Qualstar drives are particularly bad at this. If there's a tape error, notify the reading program and continue on--I can always return to the problem area later. --Chuck