Cory, Its only recorded at around 25BPI so I don't thing it would be too hard to decode. Given its a character at a time, I suspect some iron filings or similar would reveal the codes and track spacing and with a bit of luck you could find a head that would read the data... I am sure we used to have some when we had real tapes.
Dave > -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Cory > Heisterkamp via cctalk > Sent: 29 July 2021 00:37 > To: General Discussion: On-Topic Posts <[email protected]> > Subject: Reading MT/ST Tapes > > This is a bit of a long shot, but is anyone aware of a successful method to > read > IBM Selectric MT/ST tapes? A museum in Australia has a box of them and are > interested in the contents. > > I'm fairly involved in the global Selectric community and while 1 or 2 MT/ST’s > exist, they’re non-functional. I know IBM offered a 2495 Tape Reader for the > IBM 360, which could be a starting point with modification, but I suspect > those are even scarcer than the MT/ST itself. > > Even the encoding format appears to be a bit of a secret. Recording is > character-by-character, tape spacing controlled by sprocket holes along one > edge. > > https://obsoletemedia.org/ibm-mtst/ <https://obsoletemedia.org/ibm- > mtst/?fbclid=IwAR28c5ej69AlF0os1PcykpHCh0Q_yz5BXbnUSi9UID- > 4pY6GU3wLxZXFhDI> > > Thanks- Cory
