[Coco] Tape emulation

[Gene Heskett]

On Wednesday 16 March 2016 01:35:52 Michael Brant wrote:

> I know we can use various media players to play tape audio to be read
> by the CoCo.
> In my original CoCo days I never used the tape functions.  When not
> using real tapes how are people saving files using what the cooc
> thinks is a tape but using modern hardware?
> My main reason is for saving data while using program paks that don't
> allow for use of a disk drive via an MPI.

Generally, you save the file to tape  just as if it was a tape recorder, 
but the cable with the audio doesn't go to a tape drive, but to the 
audio input of an audio system on a PC, and a utility that records what 
ever comes in on that port records it as an audio file on the PC. A 
properly made cable then works for re-loading.

Because the audio facilities in even the cheapest PC are capable of at 
least a 50db improvement in signal to noise ratio compared to a $25 tape 
recorder, the recovered audio when that file is played back is generally 
totally error free, and as long as the PC's line output level is 
adequate, it Just Works(TM). 100's of times fewer errors than a real but 
cheap tape recorder can do.

Biggest problem is the speed diff between a real disk drive, and 
the "tape drive" by whatever means.

Note too, that if you already have commercially produced tapes you would 
like to preserve, they were probably made on tape drives that actually 
had a bias drive circuit for the record head, and recording those 
directly from a good cassette deck to the PC, will likely make a better, 
cleaner file than playing them on a "computer tape recorder" they sold 
us for $30 back in the day can ever dream of doing.  

Cheers, Gene Heskett
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