9 Track Tape
What you need to know…

Monday, January 5, 2009

Born in the 60’s, and still alive today, 9 track is one of the longest running standards in the tape industry. At the time of introduction the average 50MB capacity was more than most computers could store and therefore made a nice backup option, as well as a reliable way to move data from one computer to the next.

In 2001, due to lack of demand, the last new reels of tape were produced and shipped by Graham Magnetics. Qualstar, the last to manufacture the 9 track drives, stopped making their new 9 track units at about the same time, for the same reason, lack of demand. However the units are still used throughout the world and millions of tapes are still stored for future use.

Pinetree still provides remanufactured 9-track drives as well as parts, repairs, and support for manufacturers like StorageTek (Sun Systems StorEdge), M4 Data, Kennedy and Overland Data.
Pinetree also provides 9-track tape drive media that has been reformatted, tested and ready for you to use.

9 Track Drive Specifications
Densities
(BPI-bits per inch)		 800 NRZI (non return to zero, inverted)
1600 PE (phase encoded)
3200 PE (phase encoded)
6250 GCR (group code recording)
Capacities At 1600 bpi, a 2400-foot 9-track tape could hold about 50MB, depending on blocking.
Interfaces Pertec, STK, SCSI
Reel sizes (inches) 6, 7, 8.5 and 10.5
Tape speeds
(IPS – inches per second)		 25, 50 and 100
Transfer rates 40KB/sec – 1500KB/sec
Recording modes Start/Stop and Streaming

For more information on how Pinetree can assist you in your consideration of a 9 Track Tape Product:

Contact us for more information about sales, support, repairs or maintenance at:

Corporate Office - 950 S Sherman St | Longmont, CO 80501
Voice: 303-776-5066 | Fax: 303-776-2130
Florida Office - 4451B Enterprise Ct | Melbourne, FL 32934
Voice: 321-255-0666 | Fax: 321-253-0970
Central Europe Office - Berner Strasse |  52 | Frankfurt, Germany | D-60437
Voice: 49-69-509 299 752 | Fax: 49-69-509 299 759