Pertec 9-track tape drive interface

[Chuck(G)]

I realize that half-inch reel-to-reel tape is a bit outside what folks here deal with, but in process of getting my own controller together, I decided to write up what I've been able to garner in an online form that's easy to understand.

Pertec 9-track drive interface

This same interface is sometimes also called a "Cipher" interface.

Enjoy!

 

[NeXT]

The presence of ITAD0 and ITAD1 is VERY interesting. If I read that right it means that I could in theory control up to two tape drives using one common data cable and controller card.
Did anybody ever actually impliment this in a way that could be used with software that used the drives (like a backup program) and how exactly did you tell the system which drive was 0 or 1? Did you just not connect ITAD0 to drive drive 1 and connect it to drive 0 for example?