> The tape reels don't move together.  This suggests some kind of interesti=
ng
> tape handling inside the machine.  That would be fun to watch.

Vacuum loop - tape hangs in loop after passing over several rollers.
Tape is inside a  box that is just wider than the tape so it forms a
rough air seal at the edges. Vaccuum is pulled in space below tape so
it is pulled down by air pressure on air-side surface. Tape position
can be determined by vacuum detecttrs which are exposed to air or
vacuum depending on tape position.

So, you have a frictionless feed buffer which is fed into on one side
and has tape taken from on the other.

A 4 MHz MC6802 can *JUST* handle the data from a 2400 bpi tape. Just.
My first ever microprocessor project.
Very much "the deep end".
It worked.


                  Russell
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