If your data is on 9 track, 8 mm or 4 mm DAT tape then use the programs MIL, MVL or MSH directly. QIC2DSK is only required if your data is on QIC streamer tape.
If you have a Quarter Inch Cartridge INPE Fast Format tape then use program MIIFF rather than QIC2DSK.
NOTE: this program has only been checked on a single INPE tape set and a limited number of computer systems.
See Also: MIL, MVL, MSH, MIIFF, MAGCOPY
Name Prompt Count Type MT0: Tape Drive Device Name (0) 0-64 Char FILO Database Output File Name 1-64 Char
EASI>FILI="device_id"On PC's running Windows 3.1, Windows NT or OS/2 this can be left blank and the QIC2DSK program will automatically scan the system and locate the QIC tape drive. If there is more than one tape device attached to the system then use the SCSI id number (between 1 and 7) of the device to use. Examples:
EASI>MT0:="" | Automatically locate QIC drive EASI>MT0:="SCSI5" | Use device 5 on SCSI busOn UNIX systems the name of the QIC device depends on the variety of UNIX being used (the system manager will know the proper device name). Some typical names are shown below:
EASI> MT0: = "/dev/rst0" | SUNOS 4.1.x
EASI>FILO = "filename.ext"for example:
EASI>FILO = "brazil.qic"
PCI tape programs MIL and MVL, fortunately, not only have the ability to directly read data from 9 track, 8mm and 4mm DAT tapes but ALSO have the ability to use special disk files which emulate a tape drive. Typically these special disk files contain an exact copy of information held on a tape.
The QIC2DSK program reads the INPE LGSOWG format QIC tapes, restores the proper LGSOWG structure, and writes to a disk a special file which emulates the contents of a LGSOWG 9 track tape. Programs MIL and MVL can then be used to read from this special disk file rather than the QIC tape drive.
Ensure that enought disk space is available for the generated special disk file. For a LANDSAT TM quarter scene provided on two QIC tapes this would be about 80 Mbytes.
The first step is to transfer the contents of the two QIC tapes to a special disk file, in this case inpe.qic, using the QIC2DSK program. Put the first QIC tape into the drive and wait until it finished loading then setup and run QIC2DSK:
EASI> FILO = "inpe.qic"
EASI> MT0: = "" |for PC Windows 3.1, NT, or OS/2 if
|there are no other tape devices
EASI> MT0: = "device_id" |for UNIX, VMS,... (e.g., /dev/rst0)
EASI> RUN QIC2DSK
The QIC2DSK program will execute. To give you some indication of the
progress of the program QIC2DSK will print out the number of Mbytes
of data that have been transferred to disk using the standard
monitor print out. For example (MBYTES 3%) would indicate that 3
Mbytes of data has been transferred rather than the program being 3%
finished.When QIC2DSK has reached the end of the first QIC tape it will be rewound and you will be prompted for the second tape:
Remove the current tape and load tape 2 in the set if there is one. Enter 'c' to continue reading next tape or 'x' if tape set is done:Remove the first tape and put the second tape into the drive and wait until it is finished loading then enter the character c on the keyboard to start reading the second tape. When the second tape is done QIC2DSK will prompt you for the third:
Remove the current tape and load tape 3 in the set if there is one. Enter c to continue reading next tape or x if tape set is done:Since there is no third tape enter x to finish the QIC2DSK program.
The file inpe.qic now contains an exact copy of the data on the two QIC tapes and this file can now be used as input to the MSH, MIL, and MVL programs. For example, to read the data into a PCIDSK file using MIL the following steps can be used:
EASI> MT00 = "MT0:" |Assign tape input to inpe.qic file EASI> MT0: = "inpe.qic"Read the data into a PCIDSK format file. This example assumes the file tmscene.pix does not exist and the program MIL will automatically create it with proper dimensions to hold the TM quarter scene. This will be 80Mbytes so ensure there is sufficient disk space available.
EASI> FILE = "tmscene.pix" EASI> MTIC = 1,2,3,4,5,6 |Read all channels EASI> DBOC = EASI> MTIW = |Read entire scene EASI> DBOW = EASI> STARTFIL = 1 EASI> SPFILE = EASI> RUN MILAt this point the original file inpe.qic can now be deleted and the file tmscene.pix used. Extra working channels can be added to file tmscene.pix using the program PCIMOD. You may also wish to restore the MT0: parameter to point to the tape drive again:
EASI> MT0: = "" |for PC Windows 3.1, NT, or OS/2 EASI> MT0: = "device_id" |for UNIX, VMS,... (e.g., /dev/rst0)