Bought DLT 8000 - what do I need to hook it up?

[sdsumike619]

I just bought a new Quantum DLT 8000 on Ebay. I can't find anything in the online manual about system requirements. I just know that it's SCSI which I have zero experience with. What do I need to hook this machine up to my computer? I think I'm just supposed to get a PCI card for the motherboard, correct? Are there some cards I should avoid? Number of pins? I can't find any specifics and it looks like there's a ton of scsi stuff available out there...

Is there anyone that has experience with this tape drive (it's external)? What card do you use?

Also, what are the best tapes to buy for it?

[Cornucopia]

Go to the Quantam site and get the manual for the drive. It'll tell you what kind it is (Fast/Slow, Wide/Narrow, Ultra, etc) and what pin/connector types.

Then go to the Adaptec site (best scsi cards by far, although Atto and Promise are pretty good too) and find a PCI card that has an external connector that will work with that. You may alos need to get an adapter cable to match the pinouts.

Scott

[sdsumike619]

I went on the Quantum site for the DLT 8000 and all it says is:

Interfaces available SCSI-2 Fast / Wide, SE / LVD or HVD

So now I'm writing to the seller on Ebay to ask him which interface the one I bought is

The manual for this thing is over 400 pages, geez!

[filmboss80]

Hello again sdsumike619. What Cornucopia said is right on the mark. My SCSI card for my DLT 4000 is from Adaptec. I goes right into the PCI slot, and a SCSI cable came with mine. There should be a SCSI termination plug for the back of the DLT drive, since you will not daisychain it with other SCSI devices. It is likely already on the DLT 8000 you'll be receiving. (I'm still envious that you only paid $70 for it.) Your only other concern is your DVD authoring software. Make sure it is capable of writing to a DLT drive.

[redwudz]

It looks like the DLT 8000 commonly uses a 68pin Centronics type connector with a Ultra2 SCSI interface. But that drive can use several different SCSI interfaces, SCSI-2 Fast / Wide, SE / LVD or HVD. Which model it is would likely determine the PCI card type and cabling. That should be the designation following the DLT8000 part number.

Here's a link to the Quantum site that may help to identify the exact model:

http://www.quantum.com/ServiceandSupport/SoftwareandDocumentationDownloads/DLT8000/index.aspx

I think this is the SCSI card I have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816103076

If I remember correctly, the last device on the SCSI chain needs to be terminated. The device may have a built in terminator or you can plug one into the second socket on the device. Devices can be daisy-chained. I have several SCSI devices and cards, but they are all boxed up for storage at present. I used a SCSI scanner, optical drive and even a Zip drive with the SCSI interface. Mostly on a Mac, but I also have a SCSI MS PC card buried somewhere.

Hopefully someone with up to date SCSI experience can give you some better help.

EDIT: It looks like the troops showed up as I was typing.

[sdsumike619]

Yep that is the page where I got the "interfaces available" info from. I wrote to the guy on Ebay to ask him if he could check to see which interface it is so I could buy the appropriate card ahead of time.

this is a picture of the back of the unit:

[filmboss80]

One of those ports will receive the SCSI cable, and the other will either go out to another SCSI device (daisychained), or will need to be terminated. The other question is what are you authoring DVDs with? It needs to be able to write to DLT, because you cannot simply drag and drop TS folders and DDP reports into the drive using Windows Explorer or My Computer.

[sdsumike619]

filmboss, it's Adobe Encore DVD CS3.
Also, check your private messages, I sent you one yesterday...
That was another question I was going to ask. I have all these older .iso images. Is there no way to write those to DLT?

[filmboss80]

I am so unaccustomed to getting PM'd that I didn't even notice. Adobe Encore should work well, but I'm not so sure about those older .iso images. I haven't any experience with that. If you did not back up the original elements to previously authored DVD projects, you might have to redo a few things. Maybe someone else can help out.

[sdsumike619]

aa

[sdsumike619]

I just got this from the seller:

The type number is TH8BF, SCSI Fast Wide-DIFF
It's a 68-pin connector

Based on that, can anyone recommend (from your experience) the card I need for the Quantum DLT 8000 (external)

Thanks!