Great responses. Thanks to all...
Thanks Al, that link is both informative and confirming.
Code:
Here's what is said about DLT2000XT vs TZ87-TAfrom the DLT FAQ; note that there is at least one
difference, that the DLT2000 will not read TK50's
or TK70's (though it will read your tapes written on a
TZ86.)
Tim. ([URL="https://groups.google.com/forum/"]sho...@altair.krl.caltech.edu[/URL])
Product Name Comp? Capacity (uncomp) User Data Rate (Uncomp)
+-------------+-------+-------------------+----------------------+
TZ85/THZ01 N 2.6 GB 800 KB/sec
TZ86/THZ02 N 6.0 GB 800 KB/sec
TZ87/DLT2000 Y 10.0 GB 1.25 MB/sec
Product Name Format R/W
+--------------+------------+--------------+
Tx85/THZ01 TK50 R only
TK70 R only
TZ85 R/W
Tx86/THZ02 TK50 R only
TK70 R only
TZ85 R/W
TZ86 R/W
TZ87/DLT2000 TK50 R only (not supported on TZ87N or
DLT2000)
TK70 R only (not supported on TZ87N or
DLT2000)
TZ85 R/W
TZ86 R/W
TZ87 R/W
I take it as confirmation that the TZ87 does READONLY access TK50 and TK70. (Despite some confusion in the text - I suspect the DLT2000 = TZ87 and the DLT2000XT = TZ87N)
Note: I am certain my TZ87 does access TK50 and TK70 because there are specific indicators on it's front panel for that very purpose. There is no reason to include this compatibility in READONLY mode,
except to read older media. Further - the TZ87N is missing these same indicators.
@
Chuck(G) - Yes, TZ87N is
not able to read the earlier CompacTape II. Fortunately I understood this and passed up the TZ87N for this unit. Thanks for the link - always helps to get more confirmation.
Frankly, I wouldn't even try a 'modern' drive with TK50 tapes. Find a TZ30 which is easy to disassemble to clean the head,
which you will be doing a lot if you try to read TK50 tapes. They have all gone sticky and you will have a limited success rate.
While I do not expect high success rate, this kind of misses the point. I have almost 100 TK50 tapes and I'm going to try. I'm doing the basic legwork to make the best of it that I can by amassing both early TK50 drives (which I already had) and last of the TK50 capable ones - which I take as the TZ87. (not TZ87N) Perhaps it's a bad strategy, but I am hoping one of these will have more delicate handling of tapes than the others.
TZ30? I was unaware of it. I'll add it to my information search... the knowledge may be useful even if I don't locate one.
Having the possibility of reading these on PC via SCSI may be very helpful. Time will tell, I've a lot of work yet to do. If all I need do is clean the drives a lot, (or modify one with a vacuum system for continuous cleaning) that will be little enough if it enables me to recover the data.
I'm doing this preparation so that I have the best chance of recovering data on the first try with each tape, as successive attempts will be increasing perilous. (As you note Al)
Ever heard of anyone dealing with the "stickyness" issue? I.E. - tape drying, preparation, etc?
Excellent help, thank you all for taking the trouble to look and to post. Still hoping for other TZ87 documentation. Thanks to Lou, I also have a TZK50 adapter that will be a part of this effort. I need more documentation on it too, but already have the maintenance prints - thanks to Bitsavers.
P.S. - For those who don't know - The TZ87 (and TZ87N) is native SCSI, while the TZK50 is a regular TK50 with an additional board that converts to SCSI. I suspect the TK70 SCSI unit is the same, though I haven't seen particulars .
