[USS Alaska]

I didn’t even know that they still used tape, much less making new products!

I sold the first key to tape devise back in the 60s, the Mohawk Data Sciences, data recorder.

Instead of punching holes 80 column cards the data was written directly to tape.

Management of the large key punch shops {most were union} loved me because it increase productivity 3-4 times.

The unions hated us because the operator positions were cut by a factor of 60-75%.

Even back then, unions were luddites.

Back then, Pittsburgh was my sales area and the unions were first formed in the city and were {and still are} very strong.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See link at #14.

[texas booster]

My father spent years at Graham Magnetics designing tape systems and tape test equipment.

Much of their tape went to NASA and CERN to hold raw data from synchrotrons, satellites, weapons testing etc, and had to be certified to hold data a minimum of 25 years with no degradation of signal.

They could measure the effects of Earth's magnetic field as it moved, on the tapes’ magnetic domains.

Saw GMI’s very first floppy media from design stage thru production. I bet there are still thousands of 8” and 5 1/4” test floppies in their garage.

Fascinating!