Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!nuchat!moray!siswat!buck From: buck@siswat.UUCP (A. Lester Buck) Newsgroups: comp.periphs Subject: Re: A standalone 1/4-inch SCSI tape drive? Message-ID: <452@siswat.UUCP> Date: 23 Sep 89 19:01:26 GMT References:<3686@blake.acs.washington.edu> Distribution: na Organization: Photon Graphics, Houston Lines: 35 In article <3686@blake.acs.washington.edu>, seymour@blake.acs.washington.edu (Richard Seymour) writes: > In article rsm@math.arizona.edu (Robert S. Maier) writes: > >I'm looking for a standalone 1/4-inch tape drive with a SCSI > >interface. I'm buying a Data General workstation with a 50-pin SCSI > > One of our people bought an "Archive Corp". (sold for use with IBM PC's) > so its input connector is a "QIC-02 format". > It usually comes with an IBM AT interface card. > But you throw that away and buy from Emulex an MT-02 interface card. > That will interface a QIC-02 to a SCSI system. > > Thewhole mess cost less than $1000. > > -- dick seymour@uwaphast I use the same system, except the Archive drive I have is QIC-36 and the MT-02 is definitely QIC-36 to SCSI. I bought an Archive FastTape 60 standalone unit for about $450 with PC interface card and was able to replace the internal 50 conductor ribbon cable with a longer version. I can now use the PC interface with its custom shielded cable OR a SCSI attachment from the MT-02 by way of the 50 pin QIC-36 cable. (The MT-02 does need power separately, of course.) But why not just buy one of the Archive or Wangtek SCSI units directly? The MT-02 is hardly state-of-the-art now, but still costs ~$400. Another solution is an integrated drive and controller, such as the (old) Cipher 540S, which I bought used for about $500 in Computer Hotline. The 540S uses a custom version of the MT-02 to Cipher proprietary interface, though the SCSI view is (virtually) identical. The 540S's problem is it only takes the DC300XL/P tapes at 40 MB. Using a DC600A leads to drastically reduced head life, according to Cipher. -- A. Lester Buck ...!texbell!moray!siswat!buck