> On Nov 14, 2022, at 1:56 PM, Sellam Abraham via cctalk
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Point of order for the dummies: what is a tape seal?
A wrapper around the rim of a 1/2 inch tape reel, to protect it and allow for
storage. It's more compact than the alternative, a canister to hold the tape,
though both were used.
Tape seals come in two flavors.
One is just a seal -- it protects the tape and has a hook to hang it in a
storage rack. To use the tape, you remove the seal and load the tape reel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tapeprotection.jpg -- the white rim around
the reel, with the black hook at the top of the photo.
The other is a seal but also can be opened by the drive mechanism to allow the
tape end to escape through a slot in the seal. These were used for
auto-loading tape drives. You'd mount the reel, seal and all, hit "load" and
the drive would make the tape end come out of the seal slot, thread it through
the tape drive path and onto the take up reel, and get it ready for use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magnetic-tape_hg.jpg
The ones that fail are the first type, made of soft plastic that's either
deficient in strenght or in longevity, or perhaps both.
paul
