<![CDATA[a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter).]]>a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). the third photo particularly fascinated me: it shows the flux transitions with a Magnaviewer! is it possible to decode? 🧵

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/72c97580-9b77-46eb-927a-c16ada99d783/a-friend-of-mine-sent-me-these-photos-of-an-ibm-mt-st-tape-magnetic-tape-selectric-typewriter-.RSS for NodeMon, 24 Aug 2026 23:36:09 GMTTue, 18 Aug 2026 13:31:33 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:08:40 GMT]]>@RueNahcMohr like

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117119262406141820https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117119262406141820Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:08:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:43:34 GMT]]>@tubetime

As intended, old codes from book.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117119163706555304https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117119163706555304Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:43:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:38:42 GMT]]>@tubetime oh yea, thanks for the like.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117119144612547697https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117119144612547697Tue, 18 Aug 2026 23:38:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:33:15 GMT]]>@tubetime oh I found a set of code tables on a crazy old book I meant to post, this reply is actually just to remind me to POST IT RUE.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117118179467785324https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RueNahcMohr/statuses/117118179467785324Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:33:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:33:38 GMT]]>@tubetime fun fact: Len Deighton’s historical fiction book “Bomber” was written on an MT/ST.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodo.neoliber.al/users/petes_bread_eqn_xls/statuses/117117945047528194https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodo.neoliber.al/users/petes_bread_eqn_xls/statuses/117117945047528194Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:33:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:59:14 GMT]]>@tubetime ​ wie geil ist magnaviewer

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bsd.network/users/pesco/statuses/117117809780475838https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bsd.network/users/pesco/statuses/117117809780475838Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:59:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:27:21 GMT]]>@acsawdey @tubetime I snagged a Magcard Selectric from a govt auction, back in the '80s. The giant magcard unit became a small side table to the desk, while the Selectric became our home typewriter. I loved typing on those beasts.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/DukeDuke/statuses/117117448481187687https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/DukeDuke/statuses/117117448481187687Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:27:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:26:09 GMT]]>@tubetime holy shit this is so cool

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/SomeVeganCheeseIsOk/statuses/117117443739428502https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/SomeVeganCheeseIsOk/statuses/117117443739428502Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:26:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:23:46 GMT]]>@vathpela @tubetime I don’t know what “search” is exactly and Internet Archive is down, but if it’s something like beginning of a new section, I can see the value of a separate hole – it could potentially allow to find sections faster (random access)?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mwichary/statuses/117117434370831164https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mwichary/statuses/117117434370831164Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:23:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:14:11 GMT]]>@tubetime So is the MT/ST before or after the "Magcard Composer" which was basically a Selectric that could key in text and store it on what looked like a punch card but was covered with magnetic media. Then you'd put in the expensive mineral-coat paper and play it back to get a nice error-free galley that you could paste up into book form. Low end typesetting in the late 1970's ...

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/acsawdey/statuses/117117396662338527https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/acsawdey/statuses/117117396662338527Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:14:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:52:16 GMT]]>@tubetime Interesting bit numbers. 1, 2, 2a(?), 5, 10, 20; maybe it was originally for a decimal system?

The * on the 2's Ck/Sft suggests it supports both uppercase and lowercase (lining/text?) digits which is interesting since there's no separate 1, so no way to encode "lowercase" 1.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/snowfox/statuses/117117310490087644https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/snowfox/statuses/117117310490087644Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:52:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:50:44 GMT]]>@tubetime @mwichary making that a dedicated bit instead of a symbol sure seems weird.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117304467630021https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117304467630021Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:50:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:45:43 GMT]]>@bitsavers @tubetime

💯 that is what doin' it means in this context 👍️

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/carpetbomberz/statuses/117117284770073970https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/carpetbomberz/statuses/117117284770073970Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:45:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:44:27 GMT]]>@carpetbomberz @tubetime

and thanks to @tubetime someone will have figured it out for them, assuming "doin' it" means reading old magtape selectric cartridges

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/bitsavers/statuses/117117279739951742https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/bitsavers/statuses/117117279739951742Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:44:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:44:26 GMT]]>@mwichary @vathpela possible but also the documentation refers to a search bit, so presumably you could set a marker bit there.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117117279668955987https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117117279668955987Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:44:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:37:36 GMT]]>@tubetime @bitsavers

All the *kewl kids are doin' it 😎

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/carpetbomberz/statuses/117117252800147961https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/carpetbomberz/statuses/117117252800147961Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:37:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:31:04 GMT]]>@tubetime @ShaulaEvans what?!?!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/deborahh/statuses/117117227164685724https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/deborahh/statuses/117117227164685724Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:31:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:17:38 GMT]]>@vathpela @tubetime That’s exactly what I was thinking of, too!!!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mwichary/statuses/117117174317556725https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.online/users/mwichary/statuses/117117174317556725Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:17:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:16:46 GMT]]>@mwichary @tubetime I wonder if it's intended to be fit for mechanical transcription to some form of paper tape, without translation, and so it actually has to represent the tracking sprocket holes.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117170883166845https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117170883166845Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:16:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:08:52 GMT]]>@penguin42 @tubetime seems like the blank in the middle also makes sense if it's transcribed from (or merely some design bits are borrowed from) paper tape with a center tracking sprocket.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117139856388462https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/vathpela/statuses/117117139856388462Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:08:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:38:36 GMT]]>@tubetime you need to both bring the carriage back *and* move the paper one line 😅

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/sverx/statuses/117117020818119237https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/sverx/statuses/117117020818119237Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:38:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:17:11 GMT]]>@tubetime I will have to try and get a magnetic viewer someday, but they're not cheap

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Tapewolf/statuses/117116936609098419https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://meow.social/users/Tapewolf/statuses/117116936609098419Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:17:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:11:29 GMT]]>@philcowans probably 1970s.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117116914185778816https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117116914185778816Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:11:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to a friend of mine sent me these photos of an IBM MT/ST tape (magnetic tape / selectric typewriter). on Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:10:56 GMT]]>@bitsavers their logo is clever and looks just like the magnaview image.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117116912014105744https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/117116912014105744Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:10:56 GMT