[comp.misc] Camcorder head-cleaning tape ok for Exabyte?

ajayshah@alhena.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) (04/22/91)

Exabyte sells this for 30 bux, I think, and Fedco has a Sony
camcorder head-cleaning tape for 10 bux.

(Does one need it??)

	-ans.

-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ajay Shah, (213)734-3930, ajayshah@usc.edu
                             The more things change, the more they stay insane.
_______________________________________________________________________________

rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) (04/24/91)

In article <32147@usc> ajayshah@alhena.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) writes:
>
>Exabyte sells this for 30 bux, I think, and Fedco has a Sony
>camcorder head-cleaning tape for 10 bux.
>
>(Does one need it??)

Yes, you need it, and *NO*, you *CAN'T* use the camcorder cleaning tape on
your Exabyte drive. It's abrasive, and will void your warranty with Exabyte
(or whoever else sold you the drive). Read the fine print on the cleaning
tape; if it's abrasive it will say so.

Exabyte tape heads are not the same as the camcorder ones.

Use the proper cleaning tapes. The drives are supposed to be cleaned after
each 30GB of operation, and the tape can be used 10 times, so $30 goes a
long way for most people. Trust me, not cleaning them does degrade the
reliability.
-- 
Ruth Milner
Systems Manager                     NRAO/VLA                    Socorro NM
Computing Division Head      rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu

rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn) (04/26/91)

rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) writes:
  ajayshah@alhena.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) writes:
> >Exabyte sells this for 30 bux, I think, and Fedco has a Sony
> >camcorder head-cleaning tape for 10 bux.
...
> Yes, you need it, and *NO*, you *CAN'T* use the camcorder cleaning tape on
> your Exabyte drive. It's abrasive, and will void your warranty with Exabyte
> (or whoever else sold you the drive)...
...
> Exabyte tape heads are not the same as the camcorder ones.

Ruth is dead on target, and in fact there's even more to it than that:
	- the camcorder-cleaning tape will not only void the warranty; it
	  WILL ruin the head on the Exabyte drive.
	- the factory can tell, from examining the head, that an abrasive
	  camcorder-cleaning tape was used on it.
-- 
Dick Dunn     rcd@ico.isc.com -or- ico!rcd       Boulder, CO   (303)449-2870
   ...While you were reading this, Motif grew by another kilobyte.