>From: Johnny Billquist <bqt@Update.UU.SE>

>Autothreading is often more pain than gain though. But using the TU7x and
>let it semi-automatically thread the tape is really nice. Absolutely
>easiest to thread, use and evrything else. Never fails, and it's *fast*.
>Once you've run a backup over four tapes you appreciate a TU77 instead of
>a TU80. :-)

Sure I enjoyed the speed (once I got over my fear of that pinging sound,
it really sounds like the drive is hurting itself), but I got to see it so
rarely that it wasn't worth it.  When the autothreader acts up you're just
*hosed*, the takeup reel is mounted flush into the panel so you can't get
your fingers in there to help, so you have to pop the panels off just to get
it started.  Then, at least with our drive, it would wind ahead a little,
suddenly get afraid again, panic, and drop vacuum.  I'd waste my time trying
to coddle the thing along, but by the time I gave up it would add up to being
hundreds of feet into the tape and I'd have to rewind it by hand.  Screw that!
And sometimes it would get farther, I'd be in the second reel of a backup
by the time it had a tantrum and dropped vacuum.

Of course, maybe ours was just a lemon.  But most of the things that were
wrong with it, *couldn't* go wrong with a crappy non-autothreading streamer
drive.  I'll take dog slow over broken any day of the week...

John Wilson
D Bit