#SCSI Tape Streamers
13 messages in this thread
Greetings all,
Does anbody out there know of a supplier of a tape backup unit which will
connect to the external SCSI port of an Amiga 3000 ? I need a unit which uses
standard DC series tapes, notably DC6150's. I have contacted various people in
the Amiga magazines and so far i've got nowhere, except some weird offering
using a domestic VCR as the storage unit. Hmmmm…. If anyone can suggest a
supplier (preferably in the United Kingdom…) and perhaps a rough idea of
price I would be most grateful.
Cheers,
Robin.
This isn't an Amiga specific perhiperal. Just about any old standard SCSI
QIC tape drive will work. Just specify that you want a SCSI tape drive
that uses 6150s (you can leave out the Amiga part altogether). If it's an
internal drive, stick it in a case with power supply to make it external.
I'm afraid I don't know where you might try in the UK, but some place that
sells a wide variety of HD and RAM might be a good place to start.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
Cheers Dale,
I thought that the SCSI port was standard, but the people in my company ( who
at present have the only streamer and aren't willing to share it !) that i've
spoken to said that they had difficulty getting a streamer to work with the
Amiga. Maybe they hadn't got the device terminated properly ?
CU
Robin.
Robin,
A streaming device needs the data to be pumped to it quickly enough to
keep it in streaming mode. Maybe this is part of your problem. Can you
be more specific as to your operating environment?
DJ
Hello DJ,
What I want to do is to simply be able to backup the entire 105Mb drive in an
Amiga 3000. We're just using workbench, nothing special, so i'd be using the
HDBackup utility. If I remember correctly there is also something called BRU
isn't there ? Is this the same thing or does it have some advantage over
HDBackup ? I'm defininitely no expert when it comes to workbench as i'm more
used to umm… msdos < sorry…>. What you say about getting the data flow fast
enough does ring true though because on the rare occasions that i've been able
to use the streamer it has been stressed that there needs to be an adequate
buffer space set aside on the Amiga. I think this was set on the options screen
of the BRU program at 2000K if I remember correctly.
As a result of Dale Larsons' answer to my query i've made some enquiries today
and have been assured <in writing> by a local supplier that the Conner 2150ES
tape drive will work fine with a 3000. I can get it for L446 approx. so if I
can get my boss interested then i'm in business.
Cheers,
Robin.
Robin, you probably want to use HD Backup, not BRU, which was released as
a stopgap 'til HD Backup was ready, if I recall correctly.
Sounds like you're on your way – good luck!
DJ
HD Backup is a disgusting front end for BRU. If you can't afford to go by
something like AmiBack, you might as well use BRU directly rather than
trying to figure out the magic gadget presses required to get HD Backup
working right.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
Live and learn … I never used either.
I'm actually waiting for Martin K. to release Diavolo. I liked the demo.
In the meantime I'm using QuarterBack.
DJ
Dale:
I've seen versions of BRU being sold for Unix systems. Is this the same BRU as
used on the Amiga? If so, are backup tapes made on the Amiga readable by the
Unix program? Also, if these are all the same is there an MS-DOS version as
well?
-Mike Schiller
I think so.
I think so.
I don't know.
Dale L. Larson Intangible Assets Manufacturing (info@iam.com)
"That's the best part about being crazy. You see things no one else can see."
Interesting side note: BRU was done by Fred Fish.
I'm not sure what DC series tapes are
I bought an older style (use's audio cassette sized tapes, CT-600N) tape
drive a couple of years ago from Club Mac here in the US. It works well,
has a standard SCSI connector on the back. I just plugged it in and it
worked fine from day 1. It's a TEAC MT-2ST/N50 Rev. E.
Anyway, the point is, your best bet might be to shop around the Macintosh
dealers. Macs use standard SCSI, so they will plug right into a 3000 and
work correctly.
#include <disclaimer.h>
A drive that I've seen on Internet being sold as refurbished units is the
Tandberg 3600. It's a SCSI tape backup and will take either DC6250's or
6150's. I have one myself and does a good job of backing up my HD,
although eventually I'll probably go to a DAT drive.
// John – (TechnoJunkie at heart)
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