Based on  testing  and the  experience  of our  customers  over the
years, IEM recommends cleaning 8mm tape drives after every 10 hours of
use.  All the cleaning in the world, however, cannot  compensate for a
poorly manufactured tape cartridge.  The vast majority of the problems
our customers  experience---including  head wear, read/write problems,
and  tape  jamming  problems---are  caused  by the use of  low-quality
media.  ONLY  Exabyte  data-grade  tapes  should be used.  Many people
consider this to be a "marketing myth," but we have had many customers
with persistent problems that immediately clear up when they change to
Exabyte  tapes.  We have  experienced  the same  phenomenon on our 4mm
tape drives with customers who use non-HP media.
 
   Also,  the  older   8mm   technology   using   Exabyte's   EXB-8500
drive---which most existing customers have---has an MTBF of only about
40,000  power-on  hours,  based on a duty cycle of 10% (the tape is in
motion  across the heads 2.4 hours per day, on average).  An increased
duty  cycle  will  adversely  affect  the life of the  drive,  as will
environmental  conditions such as fluctuating  temperature/humidity or
high levels of particulates in the air.
 
   The new  EXB-8505XL  drives  have an MTBF of  160,000  hours.  Even
though the EXB-8500 was the best  available a few years ago, it is now
outdated  and   outperformed   by  subsequent   improvements   in  the
technology.
 
   To get the  most  out of your 8mm  tape  drive:  use  only  Exabyte
tapes,  make sure your  environment  is stable  and  clean,  clean the
drives  after each 10 hours of use, and  upgrade to an  EXB-8505XL  if
possible.
 
--
Mike Peebles
Support Department
IEM, Inc.
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