On Fri Feb 9 18:38:27 1996 
    formail.TCPBRIDGE.FS3.FAA1.STEVENG%smte@formail.formation.com wrote:
   
   >   I have a SPARCstation 1 with an HP C2490A hard drive (SCSI
   > ID 1) and an Archive Viper 150 QIC drive (SCSI ID 4).  I was
   > able to install the NetBSD-1.1 SPARC binaries using the Sun
   > mini-root.  The system boots fine and runs NetBSD ok.
   > 
   > I now want to install the rest of the system (source files,
   > X11, etc.) from QIC tape but I keep getting errors accessing
   > the tape drive.  This is the same tape drive from which I
   > originally installed.  Note:  putting the original tape back
   > in the drive also failed so it's not the tape.
   > 
   Forget it. I can't get a tape drive to work reliably on the sparc port.
   DAT dies miserably, an old Sun Viper dies, an Exabtye dies too.
   
   I can get the viper to work but it is very delicate and I'm not about
    to use it for reliable backups...

i've been using my tape drive on my sparc's for about 2 months now:

esp0 targ 5 lun 0: <WANGTEK, 6130-HS, 4.13> SCSI2 1/sequential removable
st0 at scsibus0: drive empty

it's never 'failed' on me, except when i've not put a tape in, or
something equally as stupid  :-)