cleaning Exabyte drive heads?

[Jim Hickstein]

I quote from the Exabyte EXB-8200 8mm Cartridge Tape Subsystem Product
Specification, p.59:

"12. Preventive Maintenance Procedures.

"The EXB-8200 tape head/path requires cleaning once a month or after 30
gigabytes [!] of data transfer, whichever occurs first.  For planning
purposes, 1 gigabyte of data is transferred for every hour of continuous
operation.

"12.1. Head/Path Cleaning Instructions.

"To clean the tape head/path, the EXABYTE 8mm Cartridge Tape Subsystem
Cleaning Kit (Part Number 727113-xxx) should be used.

"To use the cleaning kit, perform the following steps:

"1. Prepare the EXB-8200 to be cleaned by applying power to the unit.
    When the power-up cycle is complete, open the door and remove any data
    cartridges in the unit.  Leave the door open.

"2. Place the cleaning cartridge into the EXB-8200 and close the door.

"3. The remainder of the cleaning process is automatically performed by
    the EXB-8200.  When the cleaning process is complete, the cleaning
    cartridge is automatically unloaded and ejected from the EXB-8200.  The
    average [*] cleaning cycle is 15 seconds.

"4. On the cartridge label, record the date the cleaning was performed.

"5. Store the cleaning cartridge for future use.

"6. If the cleaning cartridge is ejected from the EXB-8200 without
    performing a cleaning cycle (before 15 seconds), the cleaning cartridge
    has reached the end of its useful life and should be discarded.

"Note: Do not rewind and re-use the cleaning cartridge.

"If you have any questions regarding this instruction or cleaning
procedure, contact the following:

	EXABYTE Corporation
	Attention: Technical Support
	Phone: (800) 445-7736 / (303) 442-4333"

There.  That ought to clear things up.  It seems to sense the cleaning
cartridge by a special hole (there are quite a few little holes over in
the corner on the bottom surface.  I called the dealer who sold me the
drive (Eakins Open Systems, Mtn. View CA) to order one, and discovered
that they come in a box of 5 at about $20 ea ($100 for the box).  Well, it
seems steep, but then my data is worth it.

* - I make that the _minimum_ cleaning cycle.  What shorter one is
acceptable when they tell you that it didn't work if it didn't run for 15
seconds? :-)

Jim Hickstein, Teradyne/Attain, San Jose CA, (408) 434-0822 FAX -0252
jxh%attain.teradyne.com at apple.com ...!{amdcad!teda,sun!teda,apple}!attain!jxh