[rescue] VS80 DLT tape drive question

[Mr Ian Primus]

--- Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:

> --- William Enestvedt <William.Enestvedt at jwu.edu>
> wrote:
> 
> > Ian wrote:
> > >
> > > I'd bulk erase the top, bottom, front, edges,
> > back,
> > > and the clear plastic case it came in. You need
> > all
> > > the help you can get with that little eraser :)
> > >
> >    Can't you overclock it, or put another one
> > side-by-side with it?
> > "SNMP degaussing, baby!"
> 
> Well, you could try running it on 240 volts. At
> least,
> for about four seconds, when the wiring melts and
> the
> eraser catches fire.
> 
> Might erase the tape though.
> 
> Or, at least make it so that erasing the tape is no
> longer your primary concern.
> 
> Two erasers might help. Other things can be used
> like
> bulk erasers - big soldering guns and the like,
> although I don't think they would be even as
> powerful
> as the Rat Shack eraser. Another thing would be the
> degaussing coil from a television set. Wrap it
> around
> the cartridge and hook the coil up to the mains.
> Only
> leave it on for a few seconds though, those coils
> weren't meant to be on for more than a pulse, and
> they're not particularly powerful either. Once
> again,
> it may not be any better than the proper eraser you
> already have. Fun though.
> 

I should have also mentioned that when bulk erasing
media, you really want to start with the media as
close to the magnetic field as possible, and slowly
move it away (preferably rotating as you do), then
turn off the field. You want to randomize the magnetic
particles (which an AC field does well), not align
them (which a collapsing field does pretty well.)

-Ian