QIC-02 Questions

[new_castle_j]

I've got some QIC tapes that I want to read, I have a system that will run the software that wrote the tapes and the same software should be able to read them back. My question is about tape drives, the tapes I have are DC 600A labeled "For use in Tandberg drive". In addition to having the software that wrote the tapes, do I also need to have a Tandberg drive to read them back, or should any DC 600A media compatible drive do the job?

The drive I have is an Archive corp 5945C which also brings up another question. The 5945C has a QIC-36 interface, Archive corp had their own stand alone controller that converted the QIC-36 to a QIC-02 interface, I don't have that controller board, but I do have a Wangtek QIC-36 to QIC-02 controller board, might it be possible that I could use this Wangtek board with the Archive drive?

 

[Chuck(G)]

It all depends.

Not all QIC drives support the same formats, so you need that information. A drive with a QIC-36 interface might work with the Wangtek converter, but alas, those also came in various flavors.

My best advice is "try it". I suppose the best place to start is to identify what format the original software was using to write the tapes.

 

[new_castle_j]

Follow up:

Using the Archive corp 5945C with a WangTek 30425 QIC-36 to QIC-02 converter board does work.

 

[firebirdta84]

new_castle_j,

Thanks for asking this here. Glad that you found a solution to this.

I've done some recent work between these QIC hardware interfaces, and have documented my progress on them between my http://MightyFrame.com website and my YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChgmV6dcV4LFCj94iiEsmJA/videos

This information may be only trivial since you've found a solution, but I mention it in case you find it interesting.

Thanks,
-AJ

 

[albr]

Hello,

Could you, please, clarify me some nubs questions about QIC-02. Is it hardware interface the same as SCSI? Looking for specs for old tape drives I've faced with some mix-ups there.
Recently I've got TecMar QT-150e external tape drive.

Somewhere it named as SCSI, but others says that it is QIC-02? I see not specific connector on it, can it be connected to SCSI controller using some adapter?

Another example is Wangtek 5150EQ. I've found that it is QIC-02 as well, so I suppose that QIC-02 means some hardware interface, but QIC-24, QIC-120, QIC-150 are cartridge types (brr...) Also I have Wangtek 5150ES specified as SCSI device and this one successfully works connected to SCSI controller (but cannot write and read probably during hardware failure or bad cartridge).

Probably this post is quite foggy but my head is like steam engine already So any help will be very helpful
Thank you!

 

[new_castle_j]

QIC-02 is a drive interface standard (hardware), it is not compatible with SCSI. The Tecmar QT-150e interfaces with a QIC-02 controller card and a DB37MF cable. You may be interested in this auction:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/QT-60e-90-1...-10-DISKETTES-W-MANUAL-LAST-ONE-/262075778063

QIC-24, QIC-120, QIC-150 are recording formats, not cartridge types. Cartridge types will be prefaced with the initals "DC", DC600A, DC6150, DC6250, etc.

I am not aware of an adapter that converts SCSI to QIC-02, hope this information helps.

 

[Chuck(G)]

I am not aware of an adapter that converts SCSI to QIC-02, hope this information helps.

DEI may have made one, and I wouldn't put it past OMTI.. ADES produced a widely-used QIC-36-to-SCSI unit.

Whoever designed QIC deserves to be shot. What a terrible idea--that an elastic belt, running over the oxide side of a tape could take the place of a real 2-motor drive system. Add to that, serial, usually, self-clocked streaming data. Has "cheap" written all over it.

 

[Al Kossow]

I am not aware of an adapter that converts SCSI to QIC-02

Sysgen SC4000, used in early Sun 2 systems that had Cipher QIC02 drives.

 

[paul]

...
Whoever designed QIC deserves to be shot. What a terrible idea--that ... elastic belt...

It's a surprisingly-poor choice given the rugged appearance of the cartridge. That, and the half-baked capstan arrangement makes it look like whomever designed it learned nothing from the previous decades of tape transport evolution.