A magnetic tape wear simulator

This paper covers the design of magnetic tape wear simulators for high-resolution (wide-band) tape and general instrumentation type tape. Validation was performed by comparing tape wear on each simulator to tape wear on tape transports of each type (wide-band and general purpose). Tape wear on the simulators as well as on transports was judged by the degradation in the dropout characteristics. Recommendations were presented for specification tape wear requirements based upon simulator use.