RECORDER PARAMETERS AFFECTING BIT ERROR RATE

Abstract

Instrumentation magnetic tape is the primary storage medium employed to store PCM telemetry data representing billions of dollars of expended effort. Considerable data are lost in the recording and playback processes which could be retrieved through proper equipment alignments. The major contributors to the data losses are discussed, and the test methods used to determine the resultant loss for each factor are explained. It is shown that equipment alignment becomes critical as PCM bit rates approach one megabit.