Tapedeck

*This article is about tapedecks and their oporation. For further information on the tapes themselves, see Ancient tapes.*

Tapedecks are a vital peice of equipment for any tape operator, as they allow the user to unlock the hidden potential within their tape. Any tape requires a tapedeck to utilize it, and a tapedeck is useless without tapes to run. A tapedeck often requires auxiliary hardware such as Retrolithic projectors or Prismatic actuators, in order to fully realize the magic contained in a particular tape. Most tapedecks are produced commercially, using components adapted from Utho era and Jethro era relics, the properties of which are not fully understood. The combination of technological expertise, and expensive components can make a good tapedeck more expensive than any single tape, and for this reason they are usually not owned by individuals. They are used primarily for industrial, military and academic applications.

Most tapedecks fit into one of a number of categories depending on the tapes they are designed to run.

## Appearance

Tapedecks vary wildly in design and purpose, as such no two models of tapedeck look the same, and some are even handmade to user specifications. This section will therefore detail the common design conventions for the main categories of tapedeck.

They are normally roughly cuboidal, with the outer layer being composed of wood or thin sheet metal. They often have decorative effects, these are usually simple but some tapedecks can be very ornate. They will have either a door that opens by extending away from one face that is usually transparent to reveal the tape-feed mechanism, or a slot protected by a flap in one edge into which tapes may be inserted. This second type is less common than the first, and is seen more often on decks designed to run type 2 tapes. They will normally have one or two rows of controls for normal tape operation, and some may have readouts for various peices of information. Sockets are normally present, for installing auxiliary hardware, but some models may have inbuilt actuators for ease of use.

Decks designed to run type 1 tapes are normally quite small, little bigger than the tapes themselves, and are designed to be portable. Some may have inbuilt prismatic actuators but normally they will require external hardware to be attached. The type 1 mechanism usually consists of a tray, with two conical spurs which would line up with the sprockets on a type 1 tape. Visible on some models are the capstans, small silvery rollers responsible for traversing the tape at a constant rate, and the tremor head which on a type 1 mechanism is very simple, looking simply like a smoothed crystal wound with various wires.

Decks designed to run type 2 tapes are normally large, bulky and heavy, and usually require equally heavy-duty external hardware to work properly. The have large, complex sockets, for advanced or high-load actuators. The type 2 mechanism is much more complex than the type 1 mechanism, but is similar in many ways. It consists of a tray that has several pins and locking-bolts to hold the tape in place and thus prevent damage to the tape, the machine and the surrounding environment. Once the shell is secure, other parts of the mechanism begin to open it up and wind the tape through the mechanism. A type 2 tremor head is a complex affair, it takes the form of a metal drum that spins vigorously during operation. Usually this part of the mechanism is not visible unless under maintainance. These decks commonly have anbaric readouts to indicate the duration of a tape.

Auger decks are designed to perform the complex operation of manifesting a person's soul from on a tape. They are normally designed to run multiple tapes at once, and depending on the deconstruction algorithm used, often require different combinations of type 1, type 2 and even type 3 tapes. They are fairly large, around the size of a small wadrobe, and are the most complex to operate, usually posessing the full range of controls available to a tapedeck (see usage section). Being designed to run augers they frequently have inbuilt short-range retrolithic projectors, but these are normally of mediocre quality.

## Usage

The following functions cover the majority of functions found on even the most advanced tapedecks.

### Rewind

Tapes should generally not be run from any point other than their beginning. Attempting to do so may result in unexpected behaviour or damage to the tape, in the best case the tape will simply produce no effect, whilst still continuing to degrade as though it were being run normally. The rewind operation can be performed by hand, by turning the exposed sprockets on a tape, but this process is slow and risky and may damage the tape. It is simple enough that it is standard on modern tapedecks. The deck simply rotates the left spool of the tape anticlockwise, until it takes up all of the tape.

If there are multiple layers of controls, the rewind key is usually on the top row and is usually the leftmost key. It is generally marked with a triangle with one corner pointed to the left.

### Run

The run function, is what allows the tapedeck to begin working with the tape itself. With a fully rewound tape in the tray, pressing the run function will cause the tape to carry out whatever its function is. This is done by feeding the tape through the capstan, and taking up the loose tape by turning the right-hand sprocket clockwise. This action passes the tape over the tremor head, which also begins cycling once the run button is pressed. A signal is passed to any adjoining hardware, putting it into an active state.

If there are multiple layers of controls, the run key is usually on the top rown and is the third from the left. It is usually marked with a triangle with one corner pointed to the right

### Stop

Sometimes it is necessary to terminate the process of a tape earier than its full duration. The stop function is a quick and safe way to do this. When pressed the tape will stop running and return to its dormant state immedeately. This is acheived by stopping the feed of the tape, and halting the tremor head. When this occurs, a signal is sent to all adjoined hardware to cease its operation. Sometimes this takes a brief moment to arrive, resulting in harmless 'static' behaviour as the actuators attempt to make sense of the nonsense produced by a tremor head as as it shuts off in the presence of a stationary tape.

The stop key is usually located between the run and rewind keys, and is denoted by a square

### Eject

Tapedecks are useful because of their versatility to run multiple tapes, however only one tape can be loaded into the mechanism at a time. To change tapes, the one that is already in the mechanism must be removed, or ejected from it. This can be acheived by utilising the eject function. The eject function on a type 1 mechanism is a simple afair, it merely releases the locking bolts that keep the spring-loaded tray secured, allowing it to pop out and give access to the tape. On a type 2 tape it is more complex, if the tremor head is still running it is first stopped. Then the tape is wound back into its casing, and then the locking bolts are disengaged, finally the tape tray is actuated out of the device to allow the tape to be removed.

The eject key is normally located at the far right of the top row of controls (if there are multiple) and is denoted by a triangle with one corner at the top, resting atop a rectangle.

### Pause

The pause function only works for type 2 tapes, as they rely on a spinning tremor head. It can be used to better manage tape wear and deploy a limited tape duration to greater effect. If used irresponsibly however it can lead to uneven wear and for this reason many tapedecks will disengage pause automatically after a time to prevent tape damage. It works by stopping the tape feed, while keeping the tremor head spinning, this creates a temporary cessation in the tape's effects, while allowing it to be reactivated at a moment's notice without being rewound.

The pause key is normally located on the second row of controls, usually second from the left. It is denoted by two rectangles side by side.