SUMMARY

Now that you've finished chapter 7, you should be able to describe (1) the characteristics of digital magnetic tape recording, (2) the three formats for digital magnetic tape recording, (3) the eight methods for encoding digital data onto magnetic tape, and (4) the characteristics and uses of the three types of digital magnetic tape recorders. The following is a summary of important points in this chapter:

Digital magnetic tape recorders record a SERIES OF DIGITAL PULSES called binary ones and zeros. These digital pulses can represent (1) data used by digital computers, (2) pulsed square-wave signals, or (3) digitized analog waveforms.

Three FORMATS FOR DIGITAL MAGNETIC TAPE RECORDING are serial, parallel, and serial-parallel.

There are EIGHT COMMONLY USED METHODS FOR ENCODING digital data onto magnetic tape. The non-return-to-zero (NRZ) method and the four variations of the NRZ method are most commonly used.

THREE CATEGORIES OF DIGITAL MAGNETIC TAPE RECORDERS are (1) computer-compatible, (2) telemetry, and (3) instrumentation.