Chapter 5: Media
Handling Cartridges
QuantumLTO-8 HH SAS User’s Guide 79
• Place the cartridge in polyethylene plastic wrap or bags to
protect it from dust, moisture, and other contaminants.
• Double-box the cartridge (place it inside a box, then place that
box inside the shipping box) and add padding between the two
boxes.
Provide Proper
Acclimation and
Environmental
Conditions
• Before using a cartridge, let it acclimate to the normal operating
environment for 1 hour. If condensation is visible on the cartridge,
wait an additional hour.
• Ensure that all surfaces of a cartridge are
dry before inserting it.
• Do not expose the cartridge to moisture or direct sunlight.
• Do not expose recorded or blank cartridg
es to stray magnetic fields
of greater than 100 oersteds (for example, terminals, motors, video
equipment, X-ray equipment, or fields that exist near high-current
cables or power supplies). Such exposure can cause the loss of
recorded data or make the blank cartridge unusable.
• Maintain the conditions that are described in
Environmental and
Shipping Specifications for Tape Cartridges on page 81.
Perform a Thorough
Inspection
After purchasing a cartridge and before using it, perform the following
steps:
• Inspect the cartridge's packaging to determine potential rough
hand
ling.
• When inspecting a cartridge, open only the cartridge door
. Do not
open any other part of the cartridge case. The upper and lower
parts of the case are held together with screws; separating them
destroys the usefulness of the cartridge.
• Inspect the cartridge for damage before using or storing it.
• Inspect the rear of the cartridge (the part that loads first into the
tape lo
ad compartment) and ensure that there are no gaps in the
seam of the cartridge case (see 1 in Figure
11 on page 77 and 4
Figure
12 on page 80). If there are gaps in the seam (see Figure 11
on page 77), the leader pin may be dislodged.