Hi, John, I have been approached several times for these formats but the huge quantity of data and the cost of doing the digitization scared off everyone. Often the contents are secret. 10.5-inch reels of tape (typically "long play," 3600 feet) will record a bit over 24 hours on one reel. The recorders were generally installed in pairs with a changeover at some point, typically midnight, with some overlap on both machines. Users included broadcast networks (often with fewer tracks) and government/public safety organizations. One recorder I bought in this format came with a state police agency 9-1-1 tape still mounted. I no longer have this format. To me, this is a different branch of tape recording: My model of the tape world sees it starting with audio and then further branches spinning off, with the alphabetical and chronological order loosely parallel, ending with Video in 1956, about a decade after the introduction of plastic (not steel/wire) audio tape recording outside Germany. ---Audio ---Data ---Dictation ---Instrumentation ---Logging ---Video I think of these as different categories because each field developed its own set of standards (or, in the case of logging and perhaps dictation, each company developed their own standards). While one can operate cross-branch to some extent, it isn't easy. I have decided to focus on analog Audio and Instrumentation with some capabilities in digital audio (Sony 2-channel DASH, DAT, Minidisc, and PCM F1), and limited capabilities in dictation such as micro- and mini-cassettes and other analog formats using 0.150-inch or 0.25-inch wide tape. Cheers, Richard On 2017-07-09 12:13 PM, John Haley wrote: > Shai, I am curious--what on earth is recorded in such lo-fi with 40 > channels? > > Best, > John Haley > -- Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask] Aurora, Ontario, Canada 647 479 2800 http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.