The 3480 tape format is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM. The tape is one-half inch (13 mm) wide and is packaged in a 4 in × 5 in × 1 in (102 mm × 127 mm × 25 mm) cartridge. The cartridge contains a single reel; the takeup reel is inside the tape drive.

The IBM 3480 was the first tape drive to employ thin-film heads, as well as the first to use chromium dioxide tape. It was also distinguished by a relatively high data transfer rate: 3 megabytes per second. This was because it was able to read and write linear data across 18 recording tracks simultaneously, or 38,000 bytes per inch of tape.

At about 25% of the size of a standard 10.5-inch reel of tape, the IBM 3480 magnetic tape subsystem employed a new, easier to handle, 200 MB capacity 4 x 5 x 1 inch rectangular cartridge that addressed the demand for smaller size while delivering faster data rates, improved reliability, and reduced maintenance costs.

2013年3月29日 · 3480 tapes are intended by IBM to be a replacement for 9-track tape, and as such are usually found on similar computer equipment, and are recorded in similar ways as 9-track. 3480 drives do not compress the data before writing it to tape. 3490 is 3480 with IDRC (Improved Data Recording Capability) compression.

Abstract: The IBM 3480 Magnetic Tape Subsystem has achieved significant improvements over its predecessor, the 3420, in speed, data density, and floor-space requirements. The 3-megabyte-per-second data rate of the 3480, which is 2.4 times that of the 3420, was accomplished through the use of chromium-dioxide tape stored in a compact, single ...

2018年9月11日 · IBM introduced the 3480 tape cartridge format in 1984 for use on the IBM System/370 computers to replace the existing 9-track tape reel format. The 3480 cartridge consisted of a 4-inch by 5-inch rectangular protective shell containing a single reel of half-inch chromium dioxide tape.

IBM 3480是首款采用“薄膜”技术的磁带驱动器（薄膜最先在1980年由IBM独创）。 此前，行业标准一直是10.5英寸的圆形盘磁带只能存储160MB的数据，而且传输速率仅为1.25MB/秒（未压缩数率）。 新推出的IBM 3480则采用了5.5英寸的方形 硬盘 盒，可以储存高达200MB的数据，并且传输速率可实现3MB/秒。 此外，IBM 3480磁带子系统所占用的面积不足十多年前3420磁带单元等效安装面积的一半。 IBM 3480标准硬盘磁带. IBM 3480产品家族发展史. 1984年IBM推出 …

View and Download IBM 3480 user reference online. Magnetic tape subsystem. 3480 storage pdf manual download.

1985: IBM 3480 Model A22 Control Unit & Model B22 Tape Unit Multiple data stream fault tolerance – two out of 18 heads could fail. Why it’s important The 3480 new error correction code significantly improved reliability over previous drives. The level of redundancy is equivalent to what later was named RAID-6. Discussion

The IBM 3480/3490 cartridge tape established a new format for digital data recording. Increased data rate and capacity compared to reel-to-reel digital tape tec