Blank media shelf - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 02:39:54 am
content: This was an "IRC exclusive" but I figured I'd post here also.I've been re-evaluating my storage and sorting through a lot of stuff I had. Donating something components, testing and throwing away faulty stuff etc...Part of this exercise was to organise my blank media where I could easily find them, rather than being tucked away in boxes. So I set up some cheap garage shelving from the hardware store inside a spare wardrobe.I'd love to hear about and see what types of media you guys have laying around. The more obscure, the better!From top to bottom:3.5-inch double-sided, high-density disks3.5-inch double-sided, double-density disksBox of mixed 3.5-inch disks of various capacities, including some old Amiga software8-inch, double-sided, double-density disks5.25-inch double-sided, double-density disks5.25-inch double-sided, high-density disksBox of mixed 5.25-inch disksDVD-R in jewel casesBD-R (25 GB) discsDVD+R (8.5 GB) dual-layer discsCD-R (700 MB) discsCD-RW discsDVD-R (4.7 GB) single-layer discsDVD+R (4.7 GB) single-layer discsMiniDV cassettes in various lengthsCompact cassette tapesZIP disks (100 MB)ZIP disks (250 MB)Castlewood ORB (2.2 GB) disks130mm (2.6 GB) magneto-optical disksJaz disks (1 & 2 GB)90mm/3.5-inch (230 MB) magneto-optical disks9-track tape reels (600 feet long, 6250 bits/inch/trackVarious VHS tapesBoxes of LTO-2 tapes

author: cfbsoftware
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 05:56:38 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on January 11, 2023, 02:39:54 amI use the Quad-density 2S/4D, 96 TPI, 5 1/4" floppies on my Sage computers allowing up to 800 KB to be stored on a single floppy.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 08:24:43 am
content: You need some LS120 disksand maybe some DVD-RAM

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 09:34:08 am
content: Quote from: Psi on January 11, 2023, 08:24:43 amI plan on expanding my collection of both disks and drives. Currently I don't have anything that is LS-120. I would love it though.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 10:04:21 am
content: Yeah, quad density 5.25 floppies, with the SFD-1001 drive gets me 1 MB of storage.74 minute Minidisc.90 minute Sony NT digital microtape3.25" floppy disc

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 11:29:59 am
content: AFAIK the Commodore SFD1001 floppies were still 2D media, just a more efficient data format than normal MFM with a fixed number of sectors per track.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 12:39:43 pm
content: No DAT, or DDS tapes...?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 12:55:09 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on January 11, 2023, 12:39:43 pmActually now that you mention it, I do have some somewhere... I'm sure I'll come across them during my organisation. I have a DDS drive.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 02:08:26 pm
content: Used to have blank Betacam SP tapes around, used as a source of case parts in the instance a SP tape master needed to be repaired. Also had a few Umatic tapes around for the same reason.Also had a few 74188 32x8 fusible link proms, used as display decoders in some bespoke avionics, and also used as memory decoders as well elsewhere in the test benches.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 02:17:00 pm
content: QIC tapes are my favorite.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 06:04:26 pm
content: I also have a microcassette, like answering machine thingies.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2023, 11:21:00 pm
content: Quote from: Kleinstein on January 11, 2023, 11:29:59 amBoth the SFD-1001 manual and the spec of the mechanism say that double-density media will work, for some reason it is Commodore 8-bit lore that you need quad density disks for a SFD-1001. Maybe because of the 100 TPI thing. I don't know.

author: granzeier
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2023, 12:30:56 pm
content: Do you have Stringy Floppys, from Exatron (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exatron_Stringy_Floppy)? A friend had one for his TRS-80 Model I.I also seem to remember that there was an 8-Track system, but don't remember anything else about it.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2023, 02:59:00 pm
content: Oh, why yes I do. Forgot about that one, since I never opened it. It's the Entrepo version for the 64, called the Quick Data Drive.

author: cfbsoftware
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2023, 09:36:39 pm
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on January 11, 2023, 11:21:00 pmQuote

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2023, 01:24:23 am
content: "It turned out that you could format regular double density disks"So it turned out that you could use the media the manufacturer specified?You think the manufacturer of the mechanism and the drive somehow got it wrong that it just needs double-density media.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2023, 05:42:50 am
content: Quote from: gamalot on January 11, 2023, 02:17:00 pmThey certainly look heavy duty with the solid machined aluminum baseplate. But the situation with the decayed tension bands is a big hassle as there is no exact replacement available. Substitute bands made for ladies' brassieres or food packaging plants may work for data recovery, but their longevity when used for real backup purposes is a question mark. And changing them is certainly not easy for the inexperienced.

author: cfbsoftware
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 12:11:14 am
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on January 13, 2023, 01:24:23 am"regular double-density disks" are 48 TPI. Unfortunately the so-called "Quad-density" disks are also referred to as "Double-density" but they are 96 TPI. Refer to the section headed5.25" Floppy Disksin the following article:http://www.3480-3590-data-conversion.com/article-floppy-disks.html

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 02:17:54 am
content: The magnetic characteristics of the media does not determine the number of tracks; that is determined by the drive. The magnetic domains of the media have a characteristic B-H curve that set a limit on the number of flux transitions per length and the intensity of the field, but these are more relevant to the data rate (or bits/track) and not the number of tracks since the tracks are so far apart.Quote from: cfbsoftware on January 14, 2023, 12:11:14 amThey are referred to the same because theyarethe same in every parameter that matters, such as coercivity and flux transitions per inch.Quote from: cfbsoftware on January 14, 2023, 12:11:14 amYour cited article says:QuoteSo if the media is the exact same, by would it ever be labeled differently? Magnetic media carries defects, and the location of those defects can be important. Depending on the formatting scheme, defects may be impermissible on the first track, or even on all tracks. That requires that disks are formatted&verified with the same track layout as they will be used with. Even there you may come unstuck, since some sector sizes and sector gaps may contain defects that are not detected using other sizes.

author: retiredfeline
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 03:46:11 am
content: In your photo do you need to store the floppies in a lockable box? I suppose if a thief wanted to nab them to auction at Sotheby's they'd take the whole box.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 07:32:43 am
content: Lockable box was so they would not fall out when you inevitably dropped it

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 12:15:19 pm
content: Quote from: retiredfeline on January 14, 2023, 03:46:11 amThe lock is not important. I use it for storage so I can quickly flip through disks that have already been written to. It's a nice way to organise boot disks, programs etc...The lock box is more for nostalgia at this point.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2023, 05:06:55 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on January 11, 2023, 02:39:54 amPaper tape, both the 1" (8 bit) and 11/16" (5 bit Baudot) variant.Running low on these... If you know of a source selling them at a reasonable price, or have some rolls you would want to sell or trade, please get in touch!

author: marcopolo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2023, 12:26:54 pm
content: 90MB Bernouilli44 or 88 MB Syquest

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2023, 12:29:02 pm
content: OMG SyQuest, not seen one of them in many many years.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2023, 12:37:15 pm
content: I'm jealous @Marcopolo

author: marcopolo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2023, 12:58:15 pm
content: Photos are from Internet but I have the same at home.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2023, 02:04:13 pm
content: Yeah the only reason I have these 4D disks is because of that urban legend around the SFD-1001, I never looked into it because I only got a SFD-1001 in the last few years, never had one as a kid, so I had pretty much zero practical knowledge of the thing. So I did think you needed these special 4D disks.So that's why I have these disks. They can be used in a SFD-1001, but don't *have* to be.Like most of the other things in my "I am old" collection, it's mostly useless.