On 10/19/2017 05:00 PM, Jon Elson wrote: > Well, you might have to turn it back down for newly recorded tapes. But, > if you are using it only for recovery of old data, maybe no downside at > all. > > But, there are so many defects in old tapes. There's print-through, > wrinkles from the tape pack scrunching, weave, oxide flaking, dirt > buildup, and maybe some others.
Each batch of tapes goes through a bake, then cleaning, so I don't worry too much about dirt and oxide. A lot of these tapes though, have been through several cycles of re-use (going by the verification stickers on the back of each reel), many have had tape removed (I assume because tape tends to wear more at the beginning of the reel and a new BOT sticker was applied to salvage the remainder). In other words, they weren't virgin when last recorded. So, the results are variable--but it's surprising how many 50-year old tapes read without any error. --Chuck
