The H-8455 was an open reel magnetic tape unit, shipped in November 1971, which used the first Japanese made auto threading mechanism. With conventional magnetic tape units, the operator had to first mount the magnetic tape, and then connect the tape with a tape connector, or wind it by hand onto the take-up reel. With this unit, the operator just mounted the magnetic tape, placed the tape end at the specified position, and pressed a button. The tape was automatically wound onto the left side reel, and set to a state enabling writing and reading by the unit. This dramatically reduced the work load of the operator. Information processing speed was also 240,000 byte/s—the highest performance of any Japanese made equipment at the time.
Notable features of this unit were:
- 1) High-speed start/stop and high-speed rewind were achieved with a single capstan system employing an optic tachometer for detecting rotation speed with light in the capstan control system.
- 2) It employed a flat head, different from the conventional type, for the magnetic head.
- 3) Standalone maintainability was improved by building the power supply into the unit.
| Model name | H-8455 |
|---|---|
| Magnetic tape used | Width 1/2inch,Length 2400feet |
| Number of tracks | 9 |
| Recording density(BPI) | 1600 |
| Tape speed(inch/s) | 150 |
| Data transfer speed(KB/s) | 240 |
| Tape drive system | Single capstan,vacuum column system |
| Rewind time | 1min |
