The H-8488-A10 was a compact, energy-saving open reel magnetic tape unit with the highest speed at the time. It was shipped in May 1985.
This was Hitachi's final open reel magnetic tape unit for main frames, and many of these systems were used both inside and outside Japan as magnetic tape units for exchanging data.
Notable features were as follows:
- 1) Space and energy saving
- Both setup area and power requirements were reduced about 40% by integrating the magnetic tape unit and its controller, and using LSI together with high-density mounting.
- 2) Additional features (Data compression)
- By equipping the system with Hitachi's unique data compression function, the memory capacity of a single magnetic tape was roughly doubled (3000MB), and the max.imum data transfer speed was improved to 3MB/s.
- 3) Improved operability and maintainability
- The operation panel of the tape unit was provided with a "message panel" to display advice to the operator depending on the type of error, and to display error codes so the operator could obtain a description of the problem and information on isolating the cause.
- 4) Enhancement of installation specifications
- Channel interface cable length could be extended to a max.imum of 120m.
| Model name | H-8488-A10 | H-8488-1 (reference) |
|---|---|---|
| Magnetic tape used | Width 1/2inch,Length 2400feet | |
| Number of tracks | 9 | |
| Recording density(BPI) (Recording system) |
6250/1600 (GCR/PE) |
|
| IBG (inch) | 0.3/0.6 | |
| Tape speed (inch/s) | 200 | |
| Data transfer speed(KB/s) | 1250[3000*1]/320 | 1250/320 |
| Tape drive system | Single capstan,vacuum column system | |
| Rewind time(s) | 50 | 45 |
| Power consumption (KVA) | 2.7 | 4.8 |
| External dimensions Height×Width×Depth(mm) |
1524×570×750 *2 |
1680×1560×750 *2 |
| Weight (kg) | 310 *2 | 790 *2 |
*1: With data compression
*2: Includes controller
