Instrumentation Tape Recorders Using DAT Technology

Abstract

Instrumentation tape recorders have been known since the fifties. However, their requirements have undergone complete changes. More and more, the large “dinosaur type recorders” are superseded by new technologies, but when it comes to recording large data volumes over a long time the magnetic tape cannot be replaced by alternative recording methods. The following presentation will introduce magnetic tape units based on the 4 mm digital audio tape. This family of units has achieved large importance during recent years, since the DAT tape units have very small dimensions and can be used for all purposes. Depending on the application, analog and digital magnetic tapes are used. Thanks to the use of digital signal processors the system specifications could be improved to a considerable extent. Multi-channel analog recorders operate with digital signal processing. The transmission characteristics concerning amplitude and phase errors were improved such that the residual error can be neglected during daily metrology work. Furthermore, automatic calibration improves system accuracy and simplifies the units’ maintenance.