【Fujitsu】 FACOM 401A Magazine File

The FACOM 401A Magazine File was a magnetic tape unit from Fujitsu, completed in 1967. It was the first Japanese made unit to employ tape cartridge media. At the time, there was a need for compact input/output devices, priced similar to paper tape devices, and featuring the high-density recording of a magnetic tape unit together with the reusability of data media. The FACOM 401A Magazine File employed magnetic tape cartridges, and was developed for small systems such as the FACOM 230-10. This unit had the following features:

(1) The recording media was extremely easy to handle due to the use of the first Japanese made magnetic tape cartridge. (Cartridges could be loaded or ejected instantly, and recording media did not require much storage space.)

(2) Compared with paper tape, the unit had the advantage that the same unit could be used for both reading and writing, and the media was reusable.

(3) Reliability of recording (The magnetic head track width was twice that of an ordinary magnetic tape unit, so the system was extremely resilient to bit drop-out. And the recording format was provided with redundancy.)

(4) Speed was low, but the unit was compact, inexpensive and easy to operate and maintain.