View source for TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive

{{Infobox Tape drive
| name = TA78
| controller = any [[Hierarchical Storage Controller]]
| interface = [[Standard Tape Interconnect]]
| tape speed = 125 inch/sec
| tape density = 1600 bpi, 6250 bpi
| transfer rate = 781 Kbytes/sec
| rewind speed = 440 ips
| rewind time = 65 secs (2,400 feet)
| power = 3.7 kVA (max)
| size = 60.5"H x 27.5"W x 30"D
| weight = 630 lbs
| media = standard half-inch 9-track tape
| manufacturer = [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]
| year introduced = 1984
}}
The '''TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive''' was an advanced big [[magnetic tape drive]] from [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]. It was a [[TU78 Magnetic Tape Transport]] fitted with a [[TS78 tape formatter]] (instead of a [[TM78 Magnetic Tape Formatter|TM78]] formatter), which is a [[Standard Tape Interconnect]] (STI) controller. The TS78 can be mounted in a TU78 to produce a 'TA78 master'; a master can control three additional TU78 drives, 'TU78 slaves'. The TS78 is dual-ported, and can be connected to two different [[Hierarchical Storage Controller]]s.

It used 2400' 0.5" wide [[magnetic tape]] on a standard 10-1/2" reel, and supported 9-track operation at 1600 and 6250 BPI. The TA78 supports two data formats: [[Phase Encoding]] (PE) or [[Group Coded Recording]] (GCR). Bit density is 1600 bits per inch for the PE format and 6250 bits per inch for the GCR format. The drive can read data in forward as well as reverse direction. It provides pneumatic (vacuum) tape loading.

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==Further reading==

* ''TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive User Guide'' (EK-0TA78-UG)
* ''TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive Technical Description Manual'' (EK-0TA78-TD) - superseded by EK-OTA79-TM-001 (below)
* ''TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive Maintenance Guide'' (AA-P673A-TK)
* ''TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive IPB'' (EK-OTA78-IP)

''None online, apparently''
 
==External links==

* [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/magtape/ta78/ TA78] - documentation at [[Bitsavers]]
** [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/magtape/ta78/EK-0TA78-SV-001_TA78service.pdf TA78 Magnetic Tape Drive Service Manual] (EK-0TA78-SV-001)
** [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/magtape/ta78/MP01614_TA78schem_Jul84.pdf TA78 Maintenance Print Set] (MP-01614)
* [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/magtape/ta79/EK-OTA79-TM-001_Mar88.pdf TA79, TU79, TA78, TU78 Magnetic Tape Subsystem Technical Manual] (EK-OTA79-TM-001)
* [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/brochures/DEC-TA79+TA81-MagneticTapeSubsystems-1986.pdf TA78 and TA81 Magnetic Tape Subsystems] - brochure

[[Category: STI Tape Drives]]