TX-2 Tape System

The TX-2 Tape System was a magnetic tape data storage technology from the late 1950s. It is the direct ancestor of LINCtape, used on the LINC laboratory computer.

The tape transports used in the system were made as simple and fool-proof as possible, consisting of a read-write headassembly, two reel drive motors, and a tape guide. The tape system used 10 tracks across a 1/2 inch tape on 10 inch reels.Maximum reel speed was 920 ips. The system used digital speed control based on a clock track on the tape.

The 10-track head assembly contains five channels; three information, one timing, and one block mark. Each channelconsists of two redundantly paired tracks, and the paired tracks are nonadjacent to minimize the effect of contaminationon the tape surface.

This redundant track scheme was previously used on the MIT Whirlwind tape system.

References

* The TX-2 tape library system is described in Best and Stockebrand's 1958 paper "A Computer-Integrated Rapid-Access Magnetic Tape System with Fixed Address" in the proceedings of the May, 1958 West Coast Joint Computer Conference.