Installation and Operating Guide

28 Operation and Maintenance
The VLS unit is composed of one or two DAT drives and the robotics that control the
drive(s), magazine and media. The drive(s) are unmodified. The drive status LEDs
function per the manufacturer’s specifications.
No routine maintenance is required – apart from cleaning the heads after
approximately each 8 to 10 hours of tape motion or when the Media Caution
indication is displayed on the drive LEDs (see
Cleaning the Drive Head
later in this
manual).
Note
DDS Media
Use only industry-standard 4mm DAT cassettes with the VLS. These data-grade
cassettes are manufactured under more stringent environmental, reliability and
durability specifications than audio-grade cassettes, producing superior data
reliability. The 125-meter cassettes, used only in DDS-3 drives, and the 120-meter
cassettes, which can be used in both DDS-3 and DDS-2 drives, are marked with the
DDS-3 and DDS-2 logos, respectively.
A write-protect switch is used to prevent recording over existing data. To prevent
recording or deleting, place the write-protect switch to the open position. The drive
senses the position of the switch and will not allow writing in this position. When
inserting cassettes in the magazine, place the switch in the closed position (unless you
do not wish to record on a specific cassette).