On 4/5/19 5:31 PM, Paul Koning via cctalk wrote: > If this works, which is most of the time, it's a great time saver. As an > operator you just hang the reel on the spindle, hit "load" and walk away to > the next task. > > I think IBM may have originated this magic; several of the later DEC tape > drives supported it as well (TU77 and TU/TA78, if memory serves).
Univac had an interesting setup for Uniservo tape drives--I see a lot of reels with a short (maybe 6") "leader" with a hole spliced onto tapes. I'm not sure how that worked--but on many, if not most of the reels I've seen, the splicing tape has dried out and the little leader just falls right off. --Chuck
