Tape Head Cleaning
This following information applies directly to the Archive Python and
Viper tape drives currently obtainable from Apricot, but indirectly to most tape drives.
If excessive magnetic dust or debris collects at one or more of the
heads, magnetic media may become unreadable or unwritable. This situation may occur
infrequently, or not at all, depending on the media used.
As routine maintenance, the drive heads should be cleaned after every 50
hours of operation, and after use of new tapes.
Archive Viper (150/525MB)
Preventative maintenance consists of cleaning the head assemblies and
the tape hole sensor openings. Observe the following precautions.
| * |
Maintain a clean, dust-free environment with the temperature and
humidity limits listed in the specifications. |
| * |
Keep all liquids away from drive and tapes to prevent spills into the
equipment. |
| * |
Exercise reasonable care when using and storing cartridges. Do not
place them on the computer, monitor, or any other peripheral device. When not in use,
store them in their protective case, away from heat sources and electromagnetic fields. |
| * |
When a stored tape is moved to an environment with a greatly different
temperature, allow the tape to slowly achieve ambient temperature before using it. |
| * |
A tape stored for extended periods should always be re-tensioned before
re-use. Re-tension a new tape before attempting to record onto it. |
Archive Python (1.3GB DDS)
Whenever the Cassette In Place status LED (green) flashes, you should
clean the drive heads with a cleaning cassette.
| NB: |
The slowly flashing green LED may also refer to a damaged tape or a
tape nearing the end of its life. If cleaning the head does not correct the flashing LED
condition, replace the cassette. The slowly flashing LED does not indicate a loss of data,
nor does it affect SCSI operation. (A slowly flashing green LED in conjunction with the
amber LED indicates the presence of a pre-recorded audio tape.) |
To clean the heads, use only an Archive-qualified DDS DAT cleaning
cassette designed for DDS drives.
The DDS cleaning cassette contains the correct recognition holes to
allow the Python drive to recognise that it is a cleaning cassette.
Insert the cleaning cassette. The drive will immediately detect the
cassette and load and run the cleaning operation for approx. 10 seconds, after which the
tape will be ejected.
Each time the cassette is used, the tape advances to an unused portion.
Eventually, the entire tape is used, and a new cleaning cassette is required. (A cleaning
cassette provides approx. 100 uses.) The drive will not rewind the cassette.
Do not use an audio DAT cleaning cassette. It will not be properly
recognized by the drive. |
