New Tapes Available for the 85, 9815, 9825

[Katie]

DC1000 tapes work as well as the DC100A tapes in the HP85, HP9815A and HP9825A/B. I use them myself and have sold many of them previously; they are somewhat longer and therefore allow for somewhat more storage space. 8 boxes (5 tapes per box) of them on ebay now in a Dutch auction. I thought that I post a link to them here in case anyone needs some (this is quite a deal unless the price gets bid way up):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5120222892&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

-Katie

[John]

Hi,

I would question the statement theat DC1000 tapes work well in HP-85s. I think it depends! These tapes have a higher oersted rating than DC100As. As you can see from your picture DC1000As use 550 oersted tape and DC100As use 310 oersted tape. Take a look at:

http://www.vintagecomputers.freeserve.co.uk/hp80/tips.htm#tapes

I think the small modification to increase the write current would be needed in most cases.

Anyway, I have 1 DC1000A and it don't work. :-(

Regards,
John

[Katie]

While I don't have first-hand experience using the DC1000 tapes in the 85, I do have a lot of experience using them in the 9815 and 9825. My experience is that they have never had any failures at all. I've used dozens of these tapes over the years and they've all been good. I haven't even had so much as a one-time mis-verify.

I agree that the coercivity rating on the DC1000 tapes is higher than the DC100A tapes, but my guess is that the 9815 and 9825 (at least) use a lot more current than was necessary to write the DC100A tapes with.

Aside from my direct experience with these tapes, I've sold many to other calculator users and have had only good reports on their use in all three machines.

Edited: 23 Sept 2004, 11:23 p.m.

[John]

Thanks Katie,

Perhaps I just had a duff tape or tape drive, I'm certainly interested in trying new tapes!

Regards,
John