IBM 7 Track
IBM's first magnetic tape data storage devices, introduced in 1952, use what is now generally known as 7 track tape. The magnetic tape is 1/2" wide and there are 6 data tracks plus 1 parity track for a total of 7 parallel tracks that span the length of the tape. Data is stored as 6-bit characters, with each bit of the character and the additional parity bit stored in a different track.
These tape drives were mechanically sophisticated floor-standing drives that used vacuum columns to buffer long U-shaped loops of tape. Between active control of powerful reel motors and vacuum control of these U-shaped tape loops, extremely rapid start and stop of the tape at the tape-to-head interface could be achieved. When active, the two tape reels thus fed tape into or pulled tape out of the vacuum columns, intermittently spinning in rapid, unsynchronized bursts resulting in visually striking action. Stock shots of such vacuum-column tape drives in motion were widely used to represent "the computer" in movies and television.
As of 2009, the Computer History Museum has working IBM 729 tape drives attached to their working IBM 1401 system and is interested in reading 7-track tapes from the public.
Read more about IBM 7 Track: Technical Details, Generations
Famous quotes containing the word track:
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)