Cassette tapes, haven't head that for a while. The
tape format on Coleco ADAM was designed to be reliable
(inexpensive) as possible. We used fixed length data
blocks with each block having sync and header information
with dead space between blocks so that even with bad tapes
most of the data could be read.

Most of the modem technology will not work very well
with cassette tape recorders. The issue is the
amount of jitter induced in the data from the mechanics
of the recorder.

My guess is you can develop a floppy disk interface for
the 16C874 that would also give you portability,
reliability and a cost effective solution.

Walter Banks

Bob Ammerman wrote:
> I haven't seen a cassette tape interface since my Altair S100 bus days!
>
> There were actually standards for this, try "Kansas City Standard".

> > Can anyone point me to information on building or probably purchasing a
> > QPSK Modulator/Demodulator. I'll be using a 16C874 to collect data and
> > then dump it to a standard tape recorder. I was considering FSK but QPSK
> > offers better data density.
> >
> > Yes, I know, it can all be done with solid state memories, but consider
> > this , the data interface is RS232C, the proposed data format is TAR
> > (uncompressed) and the quantity of data is small. Tapes are very cheap
> > and tape recorders can be purchased for < $50.00 (AUS). The QPSK
> > interface will hopefully be very cheap to put together. This permits
> > connection to any PC, Laptop, PDA, UNIX, LINUX, Ultrix, SunOS, IRIX, you
> > name it work station and OS.
> > Nino.

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different
ways.  See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.