In message <200012151551.eBFFpKCW23482@black-ice.cc.vt.edu>, Valdis.Kletnieks@v t.edu writes:

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On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 09:24:04 CST, "John R. Grant" said:

...

<cringe> that would be 9600 bit per inch GCR format 9-track tape, don't you think? </cringe>

At least in the IBM world, the options for 7-track were 200/556/800 bpi with even or odd parity, and mode=normal/data converter/translator. For 9-track the options are 800 NRZI, 1600 PE, and 6250 GCR.

I still have 21 9-track tapes in my office that I need to do something with, as our last system with 3420-style round tapes is being decomissioned in the next few months.

Let's see... 6250 bpi * 12 in/ft * 1600 ft == 120M, if I haven't miscounted decimal places. So you can fit 5 tapes per CD-ROM, and save a lot of space. --Steve Bellovin