DECtape or LINCtape?

[NF6X]

Oh, by the way: That same eBay seller had a couple more of the blue-cased presumably-LINCtapes as of this morning, if somebody else wants to join in on the fun. They sent me a discounted offer when I re-watched the listing today, but I figure I should leave them for somebody else unless there’s a pressing reason to reunite them with the three that I have. I think they may have had some other tapes from the batch go out to other folks in the few months since I bought mine.

 

[cjs]

On that topic, I would really like to learn how to design multi-track tape heads with geometries suitable for at least DECtape, if not 1/2” 9-track tape. Also how to fabricate prototypes, and how they would typically be mass-produced. How were they made with 1960s technology, and how might we make them with readily accessible technology in 2024?

I would so love to know more about this. I think it deserves its own thread, so I started one.

 

[pbirkel@gmail.com]

I purchased all three tapes from eBay seller jcrecycling_2020 in February, 2024.

Oh, by the way: That same eBay seller had a couple more of the blue-cased presumably-LINCtapes as of this morning, if somebody else wants to join in on the fun. They sent me a discounted offer when I re-watched the listing today, but I figure I should leave them for somebody else unless there’s a pressing reason to reunite them with the three that I have. I think they may have had some other tapes from the batch go out to other folks in the few months since I bought mine.

I notice that their current listing (https://www.ebay.com/itm/226014959589) shows a "certification label" that I guess is pre-11 era. Interestingly it's not actually marked as to which certification applies. How should the marked, or unmarked, presence of this label be understood? What about use of this tape (if non-LINC) with a PDP-11 controller, rather than an 8? What about that unmarked, unopened box of DECtapes - potluck?

 

[djg]

Do y'all see anything interesting in these filenames?

6 letters make it tough figuring out what they are. A couple are normal system files that exist elsewhere. The rest didn't hit anything in my archive. They are source files so better chance you can figure out what they do though frequently comments are sparse to non existent. Nothing says need to rush and archive them. Toothy and epinus are interesting names. Many of the other names look like math routines.

 

[Roland Huisman]

If you only want the dectapes, maybe someone can swap these with your tapes? I have at least 75 dectapes and I think others might have also a pile of these... To be honest, I only use a few...

 

[NF6X]

I would like to hang on to these LINCtapes for now. I still dream (probably in vain) of getting a matching computer for them.

Dang, somebody just paid a silly amount of money for that “games” DECtape on eBay.

Ok, it was me. I’m not a smart man.

 

[NeXT]

The handwriting and the teletype-printed label folded inside the can strike me as very familiar to a half dozen DEC and LINCtapes I bought from a large lot about a decade ago. I wonder if these are all from the same source.

 

[DougIngraham]

The handwriting and the teletype-printed label folded inside the can strike me as very familiar to a half dozen DEC and LINCtapes I bought from a large lot about a decade ago.

Teletype printed labels don't mean much since almost every family of 8 machine with DECtapes probably had a Teletype as its console printer. It was fairly standard practice at my site to do a directory listing and stick that in with the tape.