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Hardware Detail

Item Reference:
HW0752    
Machine Type:
3480
Serial Number:
  IBM 3480 Tape Cartridge
  The 3480 tape drive was the first to employ thin-film heads and the first to use chromium dioxide tapes.The 1/2" wide tape is held on a single reel within the cartridge, takeup was onside the tape drive itself.

The cartridge could store 200MB compared to the 140MB on a 10.5" diameter, 2400 foot reel of 1/2" tape.

Transfer rate was 3MB per second, writing and reading linear data across 18 tracks simultaneously, or 38KBytes per inch of tape. Previous technology used 9 tracks with a data density of 6250 bytes per inch. Many other manufacturers adopted the 3480 product family specification.
Date of Origin:
1984
Donor:

3480

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Location:
On Display - Corridor Commissioned By: Museum Until: