What's the bulkiest removable storage media? Drums etc. don't count
because you don't often switch the drum (although they certainly could
be heavy judging by nothing but the size of the bearings). I worked
with RP06 packs and some funky optical tape reels in the past, but
those were pretty measly compared to some others I have seen or heard
about :

An IMAX 3-D reel can be 350 pounds and even the projector room even
has a dedicated forklift for helping load them:
http://www.architectureweek.com/200...ilding_1-2.html

An SSEC "paper tape" reel was punched-card-width stock not cut into
individual cards, sprocket holed and with 78 usable columns, and a
reel of it weighed 400 pounds:
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/ssec-tape.html

Any other bulkier examples I'm missing?

Tim.

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On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:32:49 -0700,  Tim Shoppa
<shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote:
>What's the bulkiest removable storage media? Drums etc. don't count
>because you don't often switch the drum (although they certainly could
>be heavy judging by nothing but the size of the bearings). I worked
>with RP06 packs and some funky optical tape reels in the past, but
>those were pretty measly compared to some others I have seen or heard
>about :
>
>An IMAX 3-D reel can be 350 pounds and even the projector room even
>has a dedicated forklift for helping load them:
>  http://www.architectureweek.com/200...ilding_1-2.html
>
>An SSEC "paper tape" reel was punched-card-width stock not cut into
>individual cards, sprocket holed and with 78 usable columns, and a
>reel of it weighed 400 pounds:
>  http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/ssec-tape.html
>
>Any other bulkier examples I'm missing?

The original BBC steel tape video recorders?  Huge reels of thin steel
tape, spliced by welding and grinding!

--
Cheers,
Stan Barr     stanb .at. dial .dot. pipex .dot. com
(Remove any digits from the addresses when mailing me.)

The future was never like this!

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Stan Barr wrote On 06/12/07 14:44,:
> On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:32:49 -0700,  Tim Shoppa
> <shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote:
> 
>
>
> The original BBC steel tape video recorders?  Huge reels of thin steel
> tape, spliced by welding and grinding!

Clay tablets?  Around 5 grams per bit, I'd guess,
plus or minus Finagle's Variable Constant.

--
Eric.Sosman@sun.com

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Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com> wrote:
>    Clay tablets?  Around 5 grams per bit, I'd guess,
>plus or minus Finagle's Variable Constant.

Probably a lot more than that, if you want adequate redundancy.

I have these 15! [Whoops! *crash*] ... 10! 10 distribution media!

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Bit Banger wrote:
> Eric Sosman <Eric.Sosman@sun.com> wrote: 
>
> Probably a lot more than that, if you want adequate redundancy.
>
> I have these 15! [Whoops! *crash*] ... 10! 10 distribution media!

.. and the other five get swept up and put in the





<... wait for it ...>





... bit bucket.

--
Eric Sosman
esosman@acm-dot-org.invalid

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

In alt.folklore.computers Eric Sosman <esosman@acm-dot-org.invalid>
wrote:

>Bit Banger wrote: 
>
>     ... and the other five get swept up and put in the
>
>
>
>
>
>                        <... wait for it ...>
>
>
>
>
>
>... bit bucket.

WOM.

--
_____
/  '               / â„¢
,-/-, __  __.  ____  /_
(_/   / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_

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Stan Barr wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:32:49 -0700,  Tim Shoppa
> <shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote: 
>
> The original BBC steel tape video recorders?  Huge reels of thin steel
> tape, spliced by welding and grinding!
>
I forwarded this to a friend who worked at the BBC: this is his reply:

= It sounds like VERA, can't remember whether or not it was steel tape.  One
= of these pages just says "magnetic tape"
=
= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VERA_videotape_format
=
= http://www.terramedia.co.uk/Chronom...rs/bbc_vera.htm
=
= http://www.vtoldboys.com/vera2.htm
=
= There was a steel tape audio recorder, Blattnerphone
=
= http://www.roger.beckwith.btinterne...es/blattner.htm
=
= Perhaps someone has confused the two?
=
The splicing by welding & grinding is explicitly mentioned on the
Blattnerphone site, so no doubt this is what was meant. But that was
audio, in the 1930's.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

On Jun 13, 6:01 am, David R Brooks <daveb...@iinet.net.au> wrote:
> Stan Barr wrote: 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
> I forwarded this to a friend who worked at the BBC: this is his reply:
>
> = It sounds like VERA, can't remember whether or not it was steel tape.  O
ne
> = of these pages just says "magnetic tape"
> =
> =http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VERA_videotape_format
> =
> =http://www.terramedia.co.uk/Chronomedia/years/bbc_vera.htm
> =
> =http://www.vtoldboys.com/vera2.htm

Working with the figures provided (20" diameter, 1/2" thick) and a
density of steel of 7.8g/cc,I get a weight of 20kg which is like 44
pounds. (Yes, this ignores the weight of the reel itself, but it also
overestimates the weight of the tape because the center of the reel is
not occupied). A bit of a pain to lift up to head-height, but not a
contender compared to 400 pounds!

Tim.

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"Tim Shoppa" <shoppa@trailing-edge.com> wrote in message
news:1181669569.093964.112030@d30g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> What's the bulkiest removable storage media? Drums etc. don't count
> because you don't often switch the drum (although they certainly could
> be heavy judging by nothing but the size of the bearings). I worked
> with RP06 packs and some funky optical tape reels in the past, but
> those were pretty measly compared to some others I have seen or heard
> about :
>
> An IMAX 3-D reel can be 350 pounds and even the projector room even
> has a dedicated forklift for helping load them:
>  http://www.architectureweek.com/200...ilding_1-2.html
>

Well if you count printed output (you could scan it in again)

http://www.rollsystems.com/1-RolltoRoll.html



> An SSEC "paper tape" reel was punched-card-width stock not cut into
> individual cards, sprocket holed and with 78 usable columns, and a
> reel of it weighed 400 pounds:
>  http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/ssec-tape.html
>
> Any other bulkier examples I'm missing?
>
> Tim.
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:48:43 -0700,  Tim Shoppa <shoppa@trailing-edge.com>
wrote:

[RE: BBC VERA]


>
>Working with the figures provided (20" diameter, 1/2" thick) and a
>density of steel of 7.8g/cc,I get a weight of 20kg which is like 44
>pounds. (Yes, this ignores the weight of the reel itself, but it also
>overestimates the weight of the tape because the center of the reel is
>not occupied). A bit of a pain to lift up to head-height, but not a
>contender compared to 400 pounds!

I'm glad someone reminded me of the name...
I've got an article about it in a magazine *somewhere*, which is where
I remembered it from.  Quite where that mag is in the hundreds I've got
here I don't know!

--
Cheers,
Stan Barr     stanb .at. dial .dot. pipex .dot. com
(Remove any digits from the addresses when mailing me.)

The future was never like this!

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]