Overland L490E 36 / 18 track autoloader

The 18-track tapes written by the L490E can be read by any IBM
3480/3490-compatible 18-track drive. This capability comes at no additional cost.

Advancing the State of the Art

The L490E MiniLibrary incorporate many significant improvements in half-inch tape drive design. Both drives feature the very latest technology in read/write electronics, tape guidance, cartridge loading, serviceability and reliability.

L490E’s Exclusive 18-track Write with a 36-Track Head

The L490E only needs one tape head to write both 18-track and 36-track tapes. To ensure the highest possible data integrity when writing 18-track data with the tape head’s narrower tracks, the drive uses an AC erase bar located in front of the tape head. Old data on a tape is magnetically erased by the bar before new data is written. Extraneous signal is eliminated, improving the signal-to-noise ratio when the data is written and later read by any IBM 3480/3490-compatible drive.

Innovative Tape Path Protects Tape and Data
Gentle, Reliable Tape Guidance System

The L490E’s tape guidance system minimizes tape wear and offers improved reliability by employing hydrodynamic tape chutes in the tape path.

As tape is accelerated to full speed, it draws in air underneath it,
lifting it from the tape chute surface and allowing it to stream freely.
Nothing touches the moving tape but the edge guides, ensuring precise
alignment for accurate reading and writing. Tape wear is substantially
reduced, and long term data integrity is preserved.

Because the L490E use hydrodynamic tape chutes, no air bearings are required. This eliminates the need for one of the most failure-prone tape drive components, the air compressor.

The surface of the tape chutes is made of an advanced ceramic-blend
material. This material is very hard and low-friction, providing superior
protection from tape wear over time. This has been proven by extensive tape life testing.

In fact, the L490E’s hydrodynamic tape chutes have been proven to protect tapes well beyond ANSI requirements. The L490E offer this superior tape handling without requiring the complex arrangement of parts used by other designs.

Advanced Tape Loading System
10-Cartridge Autoloader is Already Built-In

The L490E’s 10-cartridge automatic cartridge loader (ACL) is
integrated inside the drive enclosure, not an external add-on. Instead of using a cartridge stacker that moves a magazine, the L490 and L490E use a robotic loader to select, load and replace cartridges in stationary slots.

This design offers two important benefits over external stacker loaders.
First, since the auto-loading system is completely integrated with the
drive, the total assembly fits into a 24 inch (61 cm) deep cabinet. No
extra space is required outside the cabinet for a moving magazine.

Second, the robotic ACL sets a new standard for loading system reliability. Its design is a model of simplicity and durability. All movement of the loader is accomplished with two sturdy lead screws.

Radial-Arm Reduces Tape Threading to a Simple Operation

While other cartridge drives accomplish tape threading with complex
mechanisms, the L490E thread tape in one sweeping motion, with only a radial swinging arm and one small motor. This elegant design is more dependable than other tape threading systems.

Built-In Cleaning Cartridge

The L490E feature a built-in cleaning cartridge hidden away in an 11th slot. No more trying to find the mis-placed cleaning cartridge. It’s always available. Just initiate a cleaning cycle from the front panel
controls and the drive will automatically retrieve the cleaning cartridge,
clean the heads and return the cartridge to it’s hidden slot.

Designed for Ease of Use and Integration

The L490E were designed from the beginning to be user-friendly and easy to integrate into the workplace.

Drive Status is Instantly Available at a Glance

The L490E’s clear, bright 16-character LCD displays current drive status at all times, showing which cartridge is loaded and its format, when the drive is unloaded, and when the drive door is open.

See-Through, Locking Drive Door

The drive door is made of grey-tinted polycarbonate, letting the user see the cartridges inside. As an added convenience, the drive door features a locking latch should the user wish to restrict access to the cartridges.

Easy-To-Use Control Panel

Three large, clearly-marked buttons handle all tape functions. Two LED
indicator lights and the 16- character LCD display guide the user through all operations. The LED’s are bright enough to be read from across a room for quick status verification.

Quiet Operation

Because the L490E don’t require an air compressor, the drives runs very quietly, making them ideally suited for the office as well as the computer room.

Three Configurations to Choose From

The L490E comes in either a floor-standing tower, a horizontal
desktop, or a standard 19-inch rackmount configuration, allowing them to be used in all types of work environments and applications.

Low Power

The L490E is economical to operate, consuming only 150 Watts. It’s autoranging power supply adjusts to all standard line voltages, allowing them to be operated anywhere in the world without modification.

Fast Performance on Numerous Computing Platforms

The  L490E comes with a single-ended Fast SCSI-3 or differential Fast SCSI-3 interface. With Fast SCSI-3, the L490E burst data at up to 10 MB per second. The SCSI interface, coupled with the L490E’s standard 4 MB buffer, offers the user excellent data transfer performance in a variety of applications.

Compatible with Popular Hardware and Software

The L490E connect to numerous hardware platforms. Both drives are also supported by many popular backup and Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) software packages. Contact Overland Data for the most current compatibility listing.

No Drive Has Ever Been Easier to Service

All of the L490E’s parts and assemblies are easy to access,
service, and replace. In most cases, a simple screwdriver is all that’s
needed to perform service.

The side access panel can be detached from the drive by removing just two screws. Two thumb screws then release the three hinged main circuit boards, which swing out of the drive for easy access to both sides of each board. Rotating all three boards forward exposes the cooling fan and power supply. Remove three more screws, and a protective plate slides out to reveal the deckplate and tape path, including the tape guides, tape head and take-up reel.

A New Standard for Reliability

The L490E is designed to deliver years of trouble-free service at an unrestricted duty cycle. Modern electro-mechanical design is used throughout. The tape path and loading system feature simplified designs, and all mechanical assemblies boast significantly reduced parts counts. In addition, loading and transport power electronics are integrated into one board, as are read and write electronics, reducing the number of interconnects required.

All of these measures contribute to making the L490 and L490E two of the most reliable IBM-compatible half-inch cartridge drives available..