CompacTape was a magnetic tape storage format for data introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1984 for use with its MicroVAX II and PDP-11 minicomputers, replacing DECtape. It is similar in concept to the IBM 3480 cartridge launched the same year, and like that cartridge, the CompacTape cartridge contained a single reel of ½-inch tape where the tape is pulled out of the cartridge by means of a leader tape attached to the take-up reel inside the drive.
The original CompacTape (also known as TK50) was for use in a Digital TZ50 drive, and the cartridge offered 94 MB capacity. Serpentine recording is used and CompacTape initially used 22 tracks.
In 1987, CompacTape II was introduced, offering storage of 294 MB across 48 tracks.
In 1989, CompacTape III was introduced, initially offering 2.6 GB over 128 tracks, but this increased to 10 GB by 1993. Around 1993, the tape was renamed by Digital as Digital Linear Tape and CompacTape III became DLTtape III. In 1994, Quantum bought the Digital Linear Tape line and continued development of DLT and Super DLT (SDLT) until 2007 when they switched to Linear Tape-Open (LTO). DLT-V and DLT-S drives and tapes were still available until 2018.
Figures
Dimensions: 105.5 mm × 105.3 mm × 25.2 mm