HP Colorado T1000 vs Connor Jumbo 250/FC-20 Controler

[KLund1]

Hi,
Not sure if this is the right sub-forum to post but seem close.
I got a 486 DX2/66 with a HP Colorado T1000 tape backup. (No software as the drives were wiped before i got it)
My PIII has a Conner Jumbo 250 connected to a Conner FC-20 controller. I have not used it much, just enough to see that it seems work with conner backup software.
I just read this HP unit is a 400/800Mb backup unit. This is more then the Jumbo's 250Mb
Is the HP a better unit? Can the FC-20 controller recognize and use the HP unit? Do they use the same tape? The Sony & 3M 2160, and 2060 I have on hand seem to fit, but the labels say only 120mb,and 60mb. Will the HP format these tapes for high capacity? If not what tapes do i need? What win 98se software would work best with this drive?
Sorry for all the questions. I do not know much about tape back up other then I think it is kind of cool to have in a system.
Thanks

[Chuck(G)]

Both are made by the Colorado facility (HP bought Colorado). There's also a Jumbo 1400 in the middle between the Travan T1000 and QIC Jumbo. The T1000 should read QIC carts.

Travan comes in many varieties; I believe that the T1000 works with the smaller ones (T1).

Most Travan and mini-QIC drives for the consumer market were utter garbage (plastic parts) and short-lived. I'd steer clear of this mess if I were you. There were some SCSI-interface drives made for the commercial market and they're a bit better.

Mini-QIC and Travan were overtaken DDS, DLT and 8 mm tapes, which used read-after-write recording. Removable hard drives soon overtook those in terms of cost and reliability.

[WBST]

I have not used it much, just enough to see that it seems work with conner backup software.
I just read this HP unit is a 400/800Mb backup unit. This is more then the Jumbo's 250Mb.

Is the HP a better unit? Can the FC-20 controller recognize and use the HP unit? Do they use the same tape? The Sony & 3M 2160, and 2060 I have on hand seem to fit, but the labels say only 120mb,and 60mb.

Will the HP format these tapes for high capacity? If not what tapes do i need? What win 98se software would work best with this drive?

Back in the dim and distant, I started out with an IBM PS/2 ITBU (Internal Tape Backup Unit). This was basically an Irwin drive using 3M DC2000 (80MB) or DC2000XL (120MB) unformatted QICs, these are 3M DC2080 and DC2120 formatted tapes . The Irwin drive writes a servo track, unlike most QIC-80 drives.

The later replacement was the Travan-based DualStor 400/800, which we probably have the software for somewhere. Also, PC Tools DOS and Windows software should work. This was distributed along with PC-DOS 6.1 and up.

[Chuck(G)]

You can probably use the FC-20 on both--it's basically a floppy controller (usually Intel 82078, IIRC) with a faster high-end transfer speed. Bear in mind that all of this stuff is basically floppy-tape interface--done that way to keep the things cheap.

Also, be aware that both drives and tapes have not aged well. Gummy capstans and broken or loose cartridge tension belts are rampant.

[KLund1]

Thanks everyone.
I have a better understanding.
I have checked the capstans on these drives and they seem in good condition. Not to hard not to soft. The belts are also in seemingly good condition. How can I tell if the belts are tight enough? They are about 3-4 inches long on the spindles, and deflect about 1/3 to 3/8 of an inch when I push them while on the spindles.
QIC is seems to be a proprietary version of Travis technology. Looks like neither do and auto data verification. Write then read just after to compare. That needs to be done by the software and/or user.
So what would be a good vintage internal tape backup system be for the PIII time frame?
Again thanks everyone for all the input!

[Chuck(G)]

QIC has its roots in 3M. Travan is just a wider version (i.e. not quarter inch/6.3mm, but 8mm).

Use a cartridge with bad belts and you'll get your confirmation soon enough. (i.e. the belt will break or, worse, slip and the tape will tangle or stretch inside the cartridge). Drive belts are polyurethane; they start out as an annulus punched from a sheet and then stretched and twisted by machine to form a cylindrical shape.

I've done data recovery on enough of these things to hate them.

[WBST]

Thanks everyone.
I have a better understanding.
Looks like neither do an auto data verification. Write then read just after to compare. That needs to be done by the software and/or user.

By the user, but it's usually a selectable option for the "set", IIRC. Floppy streamer tape drives being cheap didn't run to the expense of dual heads and comparator circuitry.

So what would be a good vintage internal tape backup system be for the PIII time frame?
Again thanks everyone for all the input!

That would depend upon intended OS, memory capacity, hard drive partition sizes etc. etc.

[KLund1]

Thanks again everyone.
I am looking for a win98se ear solution with that ear capacity.
I see that consumer solutions are not the best. But of that time, or some forward what would be good.

[Chuck(G)]

DLT would be a period-appropriate choice for tape. Get a decent SCSI controller (an Adaptec 2940 should be fine). By the time of the P3, floppytape was on its way out.

One big advantage of SCSI tape backup (if you want to use tape) is that the basic command set is standardized across vendors (there's an ANSI X3T10 standard for it).

DLT used to be expensive, but should be fairly reasonable now. The carts themselves are half-inch and don't have the failings of the QIC stuff--they're pretty rugged.

There's also DDS (DAT in the audio area), but those tapes are 4mm and slowly sinking into the sunset now that they're not much used for audio today.

8mm tape used to be common, but it was pretty much the sole domain of Exabyte (based on the 8 mm videocam cart).

There are more advanced technologies, but probably not contemporaneous with the P3 (1999). Of course, you could simply archive to CF or SD card or even USB pen drive. The media are cheap enough.

[WBST]

What Chuck(G) said is spot on. I have early DLT hardware (<= 30GB / tape) and DAT DDS2 autoloader drives to play with. Even my Multiprise 3000 (mini-sized mainframe) has a DDS3 drive, but the recommendation for serious tape backup for that is an external 3480/3490 cartridge drive (3490-F01 Differential SCSI drive), not usual for "personal" users. There are many ways to skin a cat.