TK50 Image Archive

The TK50 specification lists a design lifetime of 30 years for TK50 tapes. Some of the older tapes in my collection are starting to approach this age, so I think it's important to create a digital archive of these tapes before they become unreadable.

After some searching, I found some code to create tape images compatible with the SIMH emulator. This code successfully compiles on a CentOS 5.4 system, and works with an external SCSI TK50 drive, using the /dev/nst0 device. Using this code, I made the following images of my TK50 tape library. Several of these images have been tested with SIMH.

After the destruction of a tape, the TK50 became unreliable. Some searching turned up a TZ875-TA 5-slot tape changer, which is able to read TK50 tapes. This drive has proved much more reliable in making tape images.

DEC Tapes

Part Number	Tape Label	File
AQ-A9690-JS	Interleaf TPS 4 Slim TPS for DECstations	Aq-a9690-js_interleaf_tps_4_slim_tps_for_decstations.tap.gz
AQ-FP58C-BN	VMS LIC KEY BIN TK50	Aq-fp58c-bn_vms_lic_key_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-FP86M-BN	VAX FORTRAN V5.5 BIN TK50	Aq-fp86m-bn_vax_fortran_v5.5_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-FP86N-BN	VAX FORTRAN V5.6 BIN TK50	Aq-fp86n-bn_vax_fortran_v5.6_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-FT37L-BE	VMS/WS/SW V4.4 BIN TK50	Aq-ft37l-be_vms_ws_sw_v4.4_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-FT73J-BN	WPS-PLUS/VMS V4.1 BIN TK50	Aq-ft73j-bn_wps-plus_vms_v4.1_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-HY27F-BE	DEC GKS RTO V4.2 BIN TK50	Aq-hy27f-be_dec_gks_rto_v4.2_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-JP22E-BE	VMS V5.3 BIN TK50 1/2 VMS BINARY	Aq-jp22e-be_vms_v5.3_bin_tk50_1_2_vms_binary.tap.gz
AQ-KX71A-BN	MICROVMS V4.7 BIN TK50	Aq-kx71a-bn_microvms_v4.7_bin_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-NF65A-BE	DEC PHIGS FOR RISC V2.1 tK50	Aq-nf65a-be_dec_phigs_for_risc_v2.1_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-NJ58A-BE	VMS V5.2 BIN TK50 WARRANTY MANDATORY UPDATE	Aq-nj58a-be_vms_v5.2_bin_tk50_warranty_mandatory_update.tap.gz
AQ-NZ22D-XH	PWRKS V4.1 DOS FOR VMS TK50	Aq-nz22d-xh_pwrks_v4.1_dos_for_vms_tk50.tap.gz
AQ-PBJRB-BE	ULTRIX/UWS V4.0 (RISC) SUPPORTED SUBSETS VOLUME 2	Aq-pbjrb-be_ultrix_uws_v4.0_(risc)_supported_subsets_volume_2.tap.gz
AQ-PG7SA-BE	VMS V5.4-2 BIN TK50 1/1	Aq-pg7sa-be_vms_v5.4-2_bin_tk50_1_1.tap.gz
AQ-PU1B0-R1.B01	CSCPAT_1049 TPU V3.1/MOTIF INT/EVE TK 1/1	Aq-pu1b0-r1.b01_cscpat_1049_tpu_v3.1_motif_int_eve_tk_1_1.tap.gz
AQ-PXKZ0-R1.A01	VMS V5.52H4 RMST TK50 1/2	Aq-pxkzo-r1.a01_vms_v5.52h4_rmst_tk50_1_2.tap.gz
AQ-PXL00-R1.A01	VMS 5.52H4 RMST TK50 2/2	Aq-pxl00-r1.a01_vms_5.52h4_rmst_tk50_2_2.tap.gz
AQ-PXL20-R1.A01	VMS V5.52H4 UPD TK50 1/1	Aq-pxl20-r1.a01_vms_v5.52h4_upd_tk50_1_1.tap.gz
AQ-PXNQ0-01.C01	VMS V6.2 BIN TK50 2/2	Aq-pxnq0-01.c01_vms_v6.2_bin_tk50_2_2.tap.gz

Other Tapes

Part Number	Tape Label	File
014350	COGNOS PowerHouse PART NO. 014350 VERSION: 710E1 -- VAX -- SERIAL NO. 162304 CREATED: 1994/DEC/19 Product of CANADA	014350_cognos_powerhouse_version_710e1_vax_serial_162304.tap.gz