Quantum Audio A-Series Manuel D’Utilisation

Cleaning the Tape Mechanism

Quantum A-Series Tape Drives User’s Guide

65

Cleaning the Tape Mechanism

This section discusses the tape drive cleaning tape, maintenance 

considerations, and important compatibility issues.

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A-Series Tape Drives occasionally require preventive cleaning. The 

amount of ambient pollution and particulates in the environment, to a 

large degree, dictates the cleaning frequency.
Clean your tape drive only when cleaning is necessary. The alert LED 

located on the front bezel of the tape drive will notify you when to clean 

the tape drive. The location of this LED (and other front bezel LEDs) is 

shown in 

Clean the SDLT 600A tape drive with the SDLT cleaning tape and the 

LTO-3A tape drive with the LTO cleaning tape.

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The SDLT 600A tape drive uses a built-in tape cleaning algorithm in 

conjunction with a cleaning tape. The SDLT CleaningTape is packaged in 

a plastic case, and is light gray in color.
A yellow LED located on the front bezel of the SDLT 600A tape drive 

indicates when cleaning is needed; 

 

shows the location of this LED (and other front bezel LEDs).

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Each SDLT Cleaning Tape is good for 20 uses. Use one of the labels that is 

supplied with the tape to track the number of uses. If the cleaning LED 

stays lit after you clean the drive, the tape life has expired. Acquire a new 

cleaning tape and repeat the cleaning process.

When the 

 LED is lit (see 

), use the appropriate cleaning tape (SDLT or 

LTO) to clean the unit. Do not clean the tape drive unless the 

tape drive specifically indicates cleaning is necessary.

Use only the SDLT or LTO Cleaning Tape. Other cleaning 

tapes are incompatible with the A-Series tape drive heads.