On 03/05/2017 12:18 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > > Mention above about the vacuum capstans. Some really old drives had > two continuously counterrotating capstans with slots in them. Valves > applied either air pressure, to make the tape float over the capstan, > or vacuum, to make the capstan grab the tape.
Doesn't feel "really old" to me, at least. :) In the CDC drives, there was a voice-coil type valve for switching the vacuum around. I understood that the 65x units had a "cost reduced" version of the valve, from the 60x units. All in all, I much preferred the big orange 60x drives to the gray metal and blue glass of the 65x one--the 60x drives just felt more sturdy. --Chuck
