Companies want to ensure they’re getting the most for their money. With the purchase of a hard shipping case, one piece of equipment can be safely and easily transported from site to site, thus doubling the effectiveness of that equipment and its role within the company. Everyone wants to get the most out of their data security investment, and this is one way to do it.

Not only is transportability a main concern, but product safe housing is also an issue. Equipment left in open areas can be used by unauthorized personnel for unintended activities, which might damage or compromise the machine’s performance. It can also attract dust and dirt – not to mention Starbucks coffee – when left on general working surfaces.

To help you avoid these calamities, Data Devices has introduced a complete line of storing, shipping, and carrying cases for your equipment. These heavy-duty, impact-resistant, water-resistant, and foam-cushioned cases permit equipment to be easily stored, moved, and shipped to the required locations in good condition and ready-to-use.

No longer do you have to move your hard disk drives to the computer room for degaussing. Simply wheel the degaussing case to your hard disk drive storage room and erase the media there. Would you like to store your degausser out of the way when not in use?  Simply put it in a damage- and coffee-resistant case and use the telescoping handle to wheel the case under a table or into a storage room.

These cases are even more useful for hard drive duplicators and erasers.  Many of these machines require a multitude of fragile accessories, including SATA adapters, data cables, laptop adapters, operator manuals, and power cords. These unique cases have special storage compartments for the users’ accessories required to process the variety of HDDs available.  This easy-to-use storage case keeps everything in one place so the unit is always ready to go.

Your branch location across town or across the country can easily receive your shared equipment in our reusable case. And the case is guaranteed for life.  We will replace any damaged case at no charge. You will not have to suffer the cost and inconvenience of freight damage, because these reusable cases prevent it. It will also reduce your stress level greatly.

Data Devices uses these cases for our fleet of rental equipment. Why? Because they ensure that the equipment will arrive undamaged and work properly for our customer. Shipping heavy equipment increases risk of damage – something with which we here at Data Devices are familiar. It eliminates delay from down equipment, eliminates freight cost to return the damaged equipment, and assures the customer can meet urgent time requirements without having to worry about whether the equipment will actually work. 

If you need a case for your equipment and don’t see it on our web site, call us.  We will find the right shipping and transportation hard case for you.

Our philosophy is, it’s always better safe than sorry. So, why not have a case… just in case?

In the past, we have sold the PF215 and PF250 units to customers looking to erase their digital video in the hopes that these units might work. In every case the units were returned because they did not erase the tape and the customer was unsatisfied.

The fact is that digital video is difficult to erase, and requires a powerful degausser. Powerful degaussers cost more.

Digital video is digital tape, and has a more concentrated magnetivity rating than analog tape. For example, VHS tape has an Oersted rating of 650, while DVCAM tape has an Oersted rating of 1320 – more than twice as much as VHS. DVPRO is even higher, with an Oersted rating of 2200 – almost four times that of VHS.

As a rule of thumb, the gauss rating on the machine should be at least twice that of the Oersted rating of the tape in order to erase the media. So, while a hand-held unit with a Gauss rating of 2300 will handle VHS tape, it will not erase media with a 1320 Oersted rating.

Thus, DVCAM requires a degausser with a gauss rating of no less than 2700, and DVPRO would require a unit with a gauss rating of no less than 4400.

We understand that oftentimes the light-volume user of digital video simply doesn’t have the money to spend to purchase a machine strong enough to erase their digital video tape.

To address this problem, Data Devices International has instituted several solutions.

We offer a very low cost but high power table-top degausser, the DV5 Digital Video Pro, which erases mini DV and DVCAM. This machine is available both for rental for $100 per week and as a remanufactured unit for $1199.00.

Additionally, we welcome customers with small volumes or DVPRO to post us their tape cartridges and we will erase them here at our facility for $5.00 per tape, with a minimum order of $50.00. You pay to ship them to us and we will pay for the return shipping via UPS.

Please contact Data Devices International if you have any questions about choosing the right solution for your digital video tape erasure needs. We’ll be happy to help find a solution that works for you.

As a general rule, if you wish to eliminate all information from your media and dispose of it, the best method is using a degausser of proper strength.

An alternating current (AC) bulk degausser will completely erase data and all other signals recorded on magnetic media. Degaussing is a process where magnetic media is exposed to a powerful, alternating magnetic field of sufficient intensity to completely saturate the media. Degaussing removes all previously written data, leaving the media in a magnetically blank state.

Certain types of tape do not have manufacturer-recorded servo tracks – including DLT, SDLT, 3480, 3490, 3490e, Digital Video – and these tapes can easily and safely be degaussed and then reused.

However, if you wish to reuse your media and it has factory prerecorded magnetic servo patterns, an eraser is the only solution. 

Several types of magnetic data cartridges and hard drives have manufacturer-recorded servo tracks, and if these servo tracks are erased, the tape or drive loses its ability to be read and thus cannot be reused. Some examples of media with servo tracks are computer hard drives, LTO, Travan (ADR, SLR), AIT, Magstar 3590, and StorageTek 9840 and 9940.

A cartridge or hard drive eraser will permit you to completely erase the data from the media and still reuse it, thus potentially saving your company thousands of dollars.

The process of erasing tape media entails deleting specific amounts and fields of stored data so that the data is rendered completely unreadable. However, the erasing process leaves the manufacturer-recorded information on the tape completely unaltered. This process is accomplished by modifying tape drives. An erase head is inserted into the tape path, which has erase gaps at the servo tracks. The erase head will then erase everything on the tape, except the servo tracks. The tape cartridge can then be reused.

A different process is used to erase hard disk drives. The drive eraser simply writes over every data location on the disk one time, so sector and servo information remains on the disk. The Department of Defense has rigorous requirements for security erasure, and the disk is overwritten eight times so no electronic pulse of any kind remains on the disk. This procedure has DoD and NSA approval.

Data Devices International, Inc. offers a complete line of both degaussing and erasing equipment. Visit our Web store at www.datadev.com for more specific information on products that can help you secure your magnetic media. If you have questions about how best to handle your media, please contact us and we will be happy to help you.

As a person, I don’t like to wait for anything. I don’t like waiting in lines. I don’t like waiting on the phone. We try to have a real person answer every call within business hours, so you don’t have to deal with voicemails and hold times. Furthermore, I certainly wouldn’t want to wait for 2 months or more to get a machine – and we wouldn’t want you to, either. That is why we carry in stock a majority of the machines we sell – they can be shipped the same day. We have a daily UPS pick-up at 4:30pm, so if we receive your order before 3:00pm Pacific Time, we can generally ship your unit that same day.  

Today’s consumer is savvy. Our customers demand the best value available. Our motto “We’ll Beat Any Quote!” is our commitment to you that we will work our hardest to offer you the lowest price available for that unit. With the introduction of our new Price Match feature, if you provide a written quote to us that is lower than our price, we will do our best to beat it – even in some cases if that means taking a financial loss on the product. That is how committed we are. Low overhead and very high turnover permit us to offer lower prices than the competition and we feel we provide better value.  

We pride ourselves on our after-sales support. We strive for excellence in this area, which is why we offer extended warranties, maintenance contracts, on-site maintenance and ongoing technical assistance. Our extended warranty is one of the best on the market. With our stocked items, if your machine fails, we ship you another unit immediately. You do not have to wait days - or weeks - to receive replacement shipping packaging, for the machine to reach the repair depot, for the repair, and then for the return shipment. Standard depot repair processes can take upwards of three weeks. With Data Devices International, you will have your replacement unit within 5 business days or less. Once you have the replacement unit up and running, simply use the packaging to ship the original unit back to us.  

Our goal is to provide you with the services you need – which is why Data Devices International, Inc. offers a very broad line of services: sales of new and remanufactured units, leases, rentals, degaussing and destruction services. We rent many of the machines we sell for both weekly and monthly periods. We remanufacture used equipment that can be purchased at a discount with a new machine warranty. We welcome trade-ins and are happy to apply part of all of your original unit purchase price to any future upgrade. As your business grows, we want to grow with you. If you would like a service from us that you don’t see on the store, please contact us and we’ll work something out together.  

These are a few of the reasons Data Devices International has been in business for 34 years and continues pushing strong into the twenty-first century.  

If we ever fall short on our promise to take care of you and your business, please call me. I would like to hear from you. Your comments and suggestions help us improve our ability to serve your needs. You can reach me direct anytime at 626-799-6545.

David Partridge

President

Data Devices International, Inc.