tu58 - reading off end of reel?

From: Brad Parker <brad_at_heeltoe.com>
Date: Mon Feb 16 14:10:51 2004

Anyone seen a TU58 read off the end of the reel?

I replaced the capstan rollers in my TU58 today and tried to boot an VAX
730. It buzzed in reverse for about 5 seconds and then stopped. So
naturally I tried again. And again. And again. (hey, if one aspirin is
good, then 15 must be *really* good :-)

Needless to say, it eventually read past EOF and the tape came off the
takeup reel. Heh. There seems to be no EOT detection on these little
drives.

My guess is something is bad in my TU58 or it's not reading the tape
properly (no doubt it can read backwards and is looking for some sort of
block marker - yes?)

Any hints? I've never booted a 730 before.

(long ago I booted a 750 many times but I don't recall how it went - it
"just worked" :-) And well, 780's - that was much more fun with all that
clicking of the floppy drive :-)

-brad
Received on Mon Feb 16 2004 - 14:10:51 GMT