The documentation that comes with the diskette is a bit dispersed.
The table indicates what tape format will be written given the tape drive and descriptor used. A drive can READ any format it can WRITE. i.e. an 8205 can write LOW and MED density tapes, and can therefore read ONLY LOW and MED density tapes.
| mt00 | mt7c | mt7f | mt14 | mt15 | mt90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8200 | LOW | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| 8205 | LOW | NO | LAST | LOW | NO | MED |
| 8500 | LOW | NO | LAST | LOW | HIGH | NO |
| 8505 | LOW | VHIGH | LAST | LOW | HIGH | MED |
NO - causes 249 errors
LOW - low density 8200 format
MED - medium density 8205 or 8505 compressed format (also called 8200C) HIGH - high density 8500 format
VHIGH - very high density 8505 format
LAST - writes in whatever mode last set - dangerous!
Notes:
mt00 - forces LOW density 8200 readable format, IF tape is rewound. This is the SAFEST descriptor to use as it writes 8200 format tapes readable by all machines.