#TAPE DRIVE..I WANT ONE!
18 messages in this thread
i would like to purchase an AMI-BACK special……..
abt-250r tape drive $350 (refurbished) i think it's an ARCHIVE drive
…but i'm not sure…
if you happen to have this tape drive or a better tape drive
let me in on the inside scoop ….. price , drawbacks , suggestions?
also i might be in the market for a used tape drive….. send me a message
on what you have … and we can talk turkey!
THANKS
SR
SR:
I just purchased a used Archive Viper tape drive (privately, for $350) and
AmiBack 2.0 from MoonLighter. I think it's a great system. I would have
purchased the drive from MoonLighter but they didn't have any in stock at
the time.
I installed the drive externally and it works as expected.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
thanks mike
…..does that mean you have an old one you replaced???
also mike do you think the tape drive you have will read and write 150 meg
tapes….or is it compatible with any other drive??
sr
SR:
Nope… no old one lying around. Sorry.
I don't know much about the 'specs' of the Archive Viper, but I believe
that you can use 150 meg tapes in it.
"…or is it compatible with any other drive??"
I'm not sure what you mean by that… maybe someone else can jump in and
answer your question.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
…..yaa know michael i cant belive how fast you answer your messages
autopilot must be a breeze to operate!!
do you think it will be out intime for me to take it to Russia??
i would love to spread the best program available for the amiga on
compuserve ( it's the best right??) to some people in Moscow.
if it's not ready …. then i will spread the word about it!
would it be advisable to consider a syquest 44meg drive for backup of my
100 meg internal drive?? i wonder if the cartridges are fragile (i wonder
if syquest cartridges or tape's are more durable for transportatio thanks
for the input,
sr
SR:
Again, I am going to have to ask others here to give you some informed
answers to your questions about tape drives vs removable hard drives. I
don't use the later (although I have considered getting one. I would have
to say that for my system, it makes sense to use a tape drive for archival
purposes, as I can back up all of my system to a single tape (costing
about $30), whereas if I had a removable hardrive, I would need several
disks (costing something like $70 each). The advantage to removable hard
drives is that they can are formatted by AmigaDos with a filesystem (just
like a hard drive), and allow you to read data in a random fashion, while
a tape backup system requires the use of software to both read and write
data sequentially.
———————
Yes, AutoPilot is wonderful. On my system, I hit one key to start the
program, press another key to set the program to 'GET' messages from the
preselected forums and one more key to send it online. But I am curious
about what makes you think AutoPilot (or _any_ Amiga program for that
matter) will have any value to Moscovites! As far as I can tell, there are
no Amigas to speak of in Russia (or MACS really), and computer
telecommunications is very limited. The phone service in Moscow is not
what we in the west take for granted… many, many homes have no telephone
service at all. Even Internet access is not available at many
Universities. To reliably communicate with a close friend, I have to send
FAX messages to him, through special phone lines routed through specially
controlled telephone lines where the hard copy is placed in a 'mailbox'
for him to retreive at his convenience.
Have you been told otherwise, or know differently from personal
experience? I'd really like to know if there is an easy, inexpensive way
for someone in Moscow to get online with CIS. I am aware of a several
people in St. Petersburg who have access to CIS, but only a few (who can
<continued>
afford it) in Moscow.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
well … i dont know much about Russia … but when i go there i will
access and search every possible avenue for data or message transfer method
available!
of course thier will be many hurdles i will have to leap and bound over but
i have faith in the old american spirit and basic personal drive of every
determined person …..wishing to access that gigantic message base in the
sky….this might sound a little like i'm rattling off but i just can't
help myself ….i have an oportunity to see people and things …first
hand… that other people just read about or see on tv ….. (as you can
see i really can't wait to get there!)
i will give a full report on my return ….. well.. after i come back from
Amsterdam(i hope) …also i could be in Russia for a while depending on how
much i like it and what kind of possibilitys i run into!
you know someone in Russia …. what computer do they use??
sr
"you know someone in Russia …. what computer do they use??"
I have a good friend who is a professor of computer science at the Moscow
Instititute of Light Industry. He visited with me here in Ohio for about a
month earlier this year. Later this month he will be returning to Ohio to
teach and dwork on his PHd at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
In Russia, MSDOS isn't just the rule… it's the only game in town.
He told us of how even as a professor, he had to get permission from the
department head to use the PC (AT) at the University.. as it was kept
behind the locked doors of the Dep't Heads office. Computer
telecommunications are non-existent at the Institute.
If you really do decide to travel with a computer (Amiga or otherwise) and
are counting on Telecommunications, be sure to have an error correcting
modem with you. It would be well worth your time to visit the USSRForum
(GO USSR) and ask a few questions there. Some folks from Moscow and many
that have visited frequent that forum and would be hapy to fill you in.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
well, with all the developments in Russia i hope they give access
(telecomunication access that is) as soon as possible i leave in about 10
days!!
p.s. if there is something i can bring your friend …as long as he lives
in moscow … i would be happy to take it to him…(a modem??)
Thanks for the offer! He is actually sending ME stuff (like all of his
books!) so that he has what he needs when he arrives in a few short
weeks.
I'm jealous… sure wouild like to make a trip like that.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
I, too, have the Moonlighter Special — I've had it since early January.
It works great! And the tape drive WILL take 150MB tapes (as well as
250MB's).
Any questions — just ask away!
Pete
i guess you have the new amiback software?? how do you like it?? or mabey
you use another backup program??
here's a little tidbit i just read in radio electronics:
jumbo 250 : a 250 megabyte tape drive 3 1/2 inch drive internal
it will also fit into 5 1/4 slot also
it includes special cable adapter that runs from the drive to the floppy
controler… it also has an external case available also.
colorado memory sytems sells it 303-669-8000 the magazine says "you can
find it in mail order for about $250!"
is this to good to be true (for amigas i would guess so????) this
connection to the floppy drive plug kills any compatibility??
i hope not … mabey someone else knows where the amiga stands on
interfacing to this tape drive?
via -nada! sr
I have a Colorado Jumbo 250 tape drive on my IBM. I highly doubt it will
work with the Amiga because of the connection to the floppy drive.
Yes, I have the current AmiBack. It's working great. I particularly like
the background program (called AmiSched) which comes with AmiBack, and runs
a backup at whatever time(s) you want.
My system backs itself up every morning at 4:00am.
As to the Colorado offer, I'm afraid you're probably out of luck. I doubt
very much it's compatible with the Amiga's controller — and in any case,
you'd need driver software for it.
Pete
Pete –
> I, too, have the Moonlighter Special
I've had some trouble getting going with mine, using my ICD controller.
What SCSI controller are you working with?
. . . . . JimDoc
Jim,
I originally ran it off an A2091, but now it's running on a GVP G-Force
combo board. Haven't had any troubles with it yet (it was installed in
January).
One thing you may need to make sure of is that reselection is turned OFF
for the tape drive; presumably ICD should provide a utility to do this…
Pete
The drive is an Archive Viper, I believe. I have one which I purchased
long ago from another vendor. They can read up to 250 meg and can
read/write formats of 60, 80, 120, 150, 250, etc. depending upon mount list
and the tape driver software you use. Although I use mine with the Nexus
SCSI card and Flashback, it works fine with Ami-Back. The drive is 5 1/4"
size and requires about 25 watts of power (5 and 12 volt). The $350 price
is good. New they go for around $550 or so.