Patent ID: 7813070

Claim:
A method for encoding a longitudinal position (LPOS) word L(n) with error correction capability, the LPOS word having a plurality of LPOS symbols L 0 ( n ) through Lk(n) calculated as L ⁡ ( n ) = ∑ i = 0 5 ⁢ L i ⁡ ( n ) ⁢ 14 i and representing a longitudinal position of a magnetic tape relative to a tape head in a tape storage system, the method comprising: determining a word type in response to at least one of the plurality of LPOS symbols; in response to the determined word type, generating at least one formatted symbol F(n) from the plurality of LPOS symbols L(n); generating at least one parity symbol P(n) from the formatted symbol F(n); and communicating LPOS data to a servo channel of the tape storage system to be recorded onto a servo track of the magnetic tape, the LPOS data comprising the at least one formatted symbol F(n) and the at least one parity symbol P(n).