🚀 go-pugleaf

Bill R. King wrote in response to a posting of mine:

> Michael,
> 
> The "old parallel port tape backup" probably has tape that has a
> coercivity of about 300 Oe as compared to more than 600 Oe for a floppy
> disk. That "old" tape will be much more susceptible to stray magnetic
> fields than will a floppy disk. 
> 
> However, all are more tolerant of magnetic fields than you might expect.
> As a experiment, I suggest that you try to erase or corrupt the data on
> a duplicate floppy disk by exposing the disk to a magnet held at various
> distances from the disk surface. I believe that you will be surprised at
> the results.

I know; I suggested the use of tape because of its large capacity, 
not as a solution to the magnetic field problem. The inverse cube law
of magnetostatic fields makes them not a serious problem; a few 
centimeters of distance make all the difference.

I wrote a book on tape recording and home computers a few years ago 
(when it was relevant!) in which these topics were covered.

Best wishes,
-- 
Michael Salem