SAGE@LL.ARPA (03/17/88)
Here is my third try at the following message. This time I took the brute force approach and added a space at the beginning of each line in the message file (a PMATE macro made that easy). So, at last in readable form, my advice on the SB180 with 96-tpi drives... ---------------- To Paul Birkel: I have never faced this question on my SB180 because I have at least one 48-tpi and one 96-tpi drive, and I have never tried to use the 96-tpi drive with 48-tpi formats. I know that the Ampro computer has special software for 'double tracking' on 96-tpi drives to handle, in a fashion, the 48-tpi formats, but I am not sure that the SB180 is supposed to do that. The SB180, especially with the XBIOS enhanced operating system and perhaps an ETS180IO+ add on board, is a very nice machine. I would recommend that you consider buying it and a 48-tpi drive. I don't know what the asking price is in your case. I paid $25 for mine (used) complete with a box and power supply. Then I paid $25 more for the official software. Of course, I got no drives in that package. The selling parties had bought the machine and the software at auction as part of larger lots, and neither party had any interest in the SB180.