root@uwspan.UUCP (Sue Peru Sr.) (03/28/88)
I'm thinking of buying a 60Mb cartrage tape backup system
and the dealer I talked to has an Everex QIC [02 or 36] system
for the following prices: (rounded to nearest $50)
Archive drive 650
Wangtec drive 800
Anyway, the question is
"What is the difference between the Archive drive
and the Wangtec drive that justifies a $150 price difference?"
PS - the dealer is Southern California Computer Systems, Inc
--
Comp.Unix.Microport is now unmoderated! Use at your own risk :-)karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger) (03/30/88)
In article <2892@uwspan.UUCP> plocher@uwspan.UUCP (John Plocher) writes: > >I'm thinking of buying a 60Mb cartrage tape backup system >and the dealer I talked to has an Everex QIC [02 or 36] system >for the following prices: (rounded to nearest $50) > > Archive drive 650 > Wangtec drive 800 > >Anyway, the question is > "What is the difference between the Archive drive > and the Wangtec drive that justifies a $150 price difference?" The main difference is in the mechanical construction. Take a look at both units (if you can; I have). With the Archive you insert a tape, which then moves to the right on a baseplate (slides over) and "locks" in place. The lever on the front is only for releasing the tape once it has been inserted. The head is loaded by virtue of the tape being pressed against them. It is possible to improperly insert a tape (ie: not lock it properly) or have one mis-register in these drives; I've had it happen. The Wangtek drive takes a cartridge and locks it in place without any lateral slop; that is, you push it in (the entire tray slides in an inch or so) and when it returns outward on spring pressure the cartridge is locked by a tang that comes around the front of the cartridge. The head assembly loads during this operation as well. These are nearly impossible to incorrectly load (unless you insert the tape upside down!); when the carriage returns outward it locks solidly, positively engaging the tape. The Wangtek seems like a much nicer and more solid mechanism... whether it's worth $150.00 more is another matter entirely. If it was going to be used heavily I'd probably spring for it. WARNING: Make *sure* you can mount the drive successfully. Wangtek drives have only the lower set of holes for rails; the Televideo 386 systems require a special bracket. Other systems may have the same problem with mounting. No info on whether the Archive has both sets of holes available for rail mounting. ----- Karl Denninger | Data: +1 312 566-8912 Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. | Voice: +1 312 566-8910 ...ihnp4!ddsw1!karl | "Quality solutions for work or play"
hlison@bbn.com (Herb Lison) (03/30/88)
This information may be a little out of date, since it's about a year old, but here goes anyway. I found that I could get a half-height Wangtek tape for under $500 through a local electronics supplier, Lionex, which has nationwide representation. The Wangtek drive replaced one of the two floppies, and connected directly to the floppy controller. It came with a very nice menu driven software interface and was reasonably speedy. At the time I investigated this drive, the Archive was not available in half-height, nor was its software particularly attractive. I admit that you can make a lot of changes and improvements in one year. Wangtek also makes a SCSI interface tape, with a higher capacity, 120Mb, I think, for about the same price as the floppy bus tape. You may want to check directly with Wangtek to find out the best place to get their products in your area. Herb Lison