TS03 DECmagtape Transport
| TS03 DECmagtape Transport | |
| Drive Controller(s): | TM11, TM8-E |
|---|---|
| Tape speed: | 12-1/2 ips (Forward/Reverse) 120 ips (Rewind) |
| Size: | 19"W x 17"D x 10-1/2"H |
| Weight: | 34 lbs |
The TS03 DECmagtape Transport was a low-cost, smallish, modest performance magnetic tape drive from DEC.
It is able to store 5 Mbytes on a 600' 0.5" wide tape, on a standard 7" (i.e. small) reel. It supported 9-track operation at 800 BPI only, using NRZI encoding. The tape transport utilized a single capstan, with linear-drive reel servos, and mechanical servo arms to control tape tension.
To connect to UNIBUS machine such as a PDP-11, one of the TM11 series of magtape device controllers was used; the TS03 usually shipped with a TMB11. (Details of the controller-drive interface are given here.) To connect to the OMNIBUS on a PDP-8, a TM8-E Controller was used.
A single controller could handle up to two TS03 drives; the first TS03 drive was a 'Master', and contained a hex-sized M8920 interface board to adapt the TM11 interface to the drive; the additional 'Slave' drive may be connected to the Master drive.
A TS03 drive can be mounted on slides in a standard 10-1/2" mounting space in a normal DEC rack such as an H960.
External links
- TMB11/TS03 DECmagtape system user's manual (TMB11-M system) (EK-TMB11-OP-001)
- TS03/TM8-E DECmagtape system maintenance manual (EK-T3TM8-MM-001)
- TS03-M Engineering Drawings
- TS03 tape drive
