Forces from such drops cannot modify the magnetic particles. This inaccurate and unverified rumor is echoed by Cade Metz in a hard drive article on page 133 of the February 7, 2005 issue of PC Magazine, where he also incorrectly states that "1" and "0" bits are represented by specific magnetic orientations (channel bits, not data bits, are recorded, and "ones" are represented by transitions, not the polarization direction). Beware of "experts".
Drops can damage the cassette, or can induce dropouts on the tape itself if the pancake shifts and interlayer trapped particles abrade the coating. Other effects may also occur, but changing the magnetization of high coercivity magnetic particles requires intense magnetic fields.
Jerry Media Sciences, Inc.
-----Original Message----- From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Konrad Strauss Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 10:14 PM To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Risk assessment tool Q3--DAT
on 1/10/06 7:02 PM, Tom Fine at tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 1. drop a tape and watch out for data dropouts. Just like a U-Matic and to a > lesser extent a VHS video cassette. Dropping a DAT can and usually does > scramble the magnetic particles in one or more parts of the tape. Digital > dropouts are about as graceful as video dropouts.
This is news to me. I used DAT regularly for at least 12 years and must have dropped and otherwise abused a hundreds of them. I cannot ever recall a dropout which I attributed to a dropped DAT. What is your source for this information?
> 2. magnetic media, with actually quite dense storage-per-square-inch, subject > to all the erasure and deterioration problems of other magnetic media. I'm not > sure what happens to DATs as the signal fades -- has anyone had any experience > with this?
Do you have any more information on this? I have never heard of a signal fading on magnetic tape.
-- Konrad Strauss Director of Recording Arts Associate Professor of Music Jacobs School of Music Indiana University http://php.indiana.edu/~kstrauss http://www.music.indiana.edu/department/audio/