Meridian Mail tape drives,
and tape compatibility
Meridian Mail uses standard quarter-inch cartridges (QIC). Data is recorded sequentially on multiple tracks. Each track runs from one end of the tape to the other. At the end of the tape, the tape head moves to the next track and the tape direction is reversed.
The following drives are supported:
- Tandberg 2500DSE (Meridian Mail 12)
- Tandberg TDC4220 (MM10 & MM11)
- Archive Viper (Prior to Release 10)
The Tandberg drives can read and write tapes with a capacity up to 2.5 Gbytes, and are backwards compatible with all existing Meridian Mail tapes. Recommended setup: a Tandberg drive, and Imation "Magnus" 2.5GB (SLR4) tape cartridges.
| Tape drives | Tape formats | Tape media | Tape capacities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tandberg 4220 and Tandberg 2500DSE | QIC-24 (Read) QIC-120 QIC-150/QIC-150 QIC-525 QIC-1000 QIC-2GB/QIC-2GB | DC300XL DC600 DC6150/DC6250 DC6525 DC9100 Magnus 2.0/Magnus 2.5 | 40 Mbytes 60 Mbytes 155 Mb/250 Mbytes 525 Mbytes 1 Gbytes 2 Gbytes/2.5 Gbytes |
| Archive 2150 | QIC-24 (Read) QIC-150 | DC300XL DC6150/DC6250 | 40 Mbytes 155 Mbytes/250 Mbytes |
- 6150 tapes may cause load errors, and are therefore no longer supported.
- All three drives can read the old QIC-24 format tapes, but none can write it.
- The Archive Viper drive has a max. capacity of 250 Mbytes: only use DC6250 tapes.
Drive, cable, and tape
Drive Front
Drive Rear
Install Tape
SCSI Cable
Set the tape drive to SCSI ID 1, and use the lower SCSI connector (marked IN). All drives employ internal terminating resistors.
And remember, tape tensioning, spooling, reading, writing, rewinding, etc, is slooowwwwwwww! Patience, grasshopper!
Drive/head Cleaning
It is recommended to clean the tape heads after a brand-new tape has been used for the first time, and after every eight hours of tape drive operation. If errors occur when reading or writing tapes, it is an indication of either a faulty tape or dirty tape heads.
- Press the drive door release button, and remove any tape in the drive.
- Carefully blow out any dust with an aerosol air spray (use short bursts).
- Load the cleaning cartridge, and close the drive door. The drive will start to spin.
- After a few minutes of spooling, press the release button and remove the cartridge.
- Wait a couple of minutes for the tape heads to dry before using the drive. Done!