The Digital Audio Taperecorder

Novembe There is as yet no standard for the DAT or the tape cassettes, although proposals have been submitted to the International Electrotechnical Commission. Data, standards, and specifi- cations referred to in this article are as contained in those pro- posals. Cassette The information carrier is a magnetic tape of 3.81 mm width rolled on flangeless hubs in- stalled in a cassette with a slider and a lid protecting the tape from accidental damages. The tape is a metal powder type or its equivalent. Information is recorded on oblique tracks formed by heli- cally scanning magnetic heads and can be erased by over- writing. Information is read by magnetic heads that follow the tracks with the aid of Automatic Track Finding-ATF. The external dimensions of the cassette are 73 x 54 x 10.5 mm: it is thus somewhat smaller than the compact audio cassette. Recorder mechanism The mechanism of the recorder resembles that of a video cassette recorder-VCR-but it is somewhat smaller (roug...