Data On An Audio Tape?
NumbersNotFound
Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7556Members
Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7556Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">I'm curious.</div> Well, seeing as how tape as a means for storage is slightly before my time, I have a simple question...
Would it be possible to store data to a normal audio tape? Maybe a program that records modem sounds through a minijack or somesuch.
I figure it's possible, at least, but how practical? How much data could be put on such an old medium?
Would it be possible to store data to a normal audio tape? Maybe a program that records modem sounds through a minijack or somesuch.
I figure it's possible, at least, but how practical? How much data could be put on such an old medium?
Comments
I think it'd be somewhere in the range of 0.2KB of data per second of tape.
It'd still be a cool "just because" project, being even more badass if it was built right into a computer drive bay. (No way i'm spending $150 for something like PlusDeck from thinkgeek.)
Yawr, I can remember when tapes were the main type of backups. But likewise, I cannot recall the capacity.
Yawr, I can remember when tapes were the main type of backups. But likewise, I cannot recall the capacity. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
There's a big difference between backup tapes and normal audio tapes though :/
IIRC, I used to backup my games collection on tapes that could hold like 100MB or so. Man, those were the days. I probably still have duke nukem 3d on one of those bastards.
Yawr, I can remember when tapes were the main type of backups. But likewise, I cannot recall the capacity. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
There's a big difference between backup tapes and normal audio tapes though :/
IIRC, I used to backup my games collection on tapes that could hold like 100MB or so. Man, those were the days. I probably still have duke nukem 3d on one of those bastards. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought they were at least similar, my bad.
The ones we use in RadioShack are around 700MB, of course these are much larger then normal audio tapes.
I would think that T h e m is probably correct, .2K/sec does sound about right since floppy disks (5 1/4 and 3.5) were meant to replace the tapes for data storage. Not for backups.
But if nothing else audio tapes stored the songs digitally, so they have to be writable, just at .2k/sec, its probably not worth it lol.
O_o
Uhm, say <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_audio_cassette' target='_blank'>what</a>? Mayhaps you were thinking of <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape' target='_blank'>this</a>?
Also, I hate the geek levels of you guys. You're calculations for the data storage capacity of audio tapes are pretty much <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_audio_cassette#Data_Recording' target='_blank'>spot on</a>.
\o/
...CRAP!
(<a href='http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/' target='_blank'>And on the same note...</a>)
Many home computers of the 1980s, notably the TRS-80, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro, used cassettes as a cheap alternative to floppy disks as a storage medium for programs and data. Data rates were typically 500 to 2000 bit/s, although some games used special faster loading routines, up to around 4000 bit/s. A rate of 2000 bit/s equates to a capacity of around 660 kilobytes per side of a 90 minute tape.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
For the link/browser impared.
0.66mb, not bad... I'm not happy about the extreme special loading routines though (4kb/s isn't my idea of fast <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ).
But nobody told me it would be.
Bearing in mind that I was probably 8 years old when I last played a game off of tape, it seemed ETERNAL. Winding and winding forever and ever and ever, and then FINALLY the happy start screen. And you had to do this every time you wanted to play a game off of tape. It had to load the whole thing into memory, because the access speed was so incredibly slow that there was no way it could load data on the fly.
...CRAP!
(<a href='http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/' target='_blank'>And on the same note...</a>) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hey, hey 16 k! I love that video <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->