Christoph's Tape Pages - Tape lengths

Christoph's Tape Pages
- Runtime table -

Runtime table

This table shows the minimum running times for different spool sizes depending on the tape types and tape speeds.
In practice, these values are often slightly exceeded, as tape manufacturers often “add” a few meters of tape.
Furthermore, the playing time specified by the manufacturers never matches the calculated playing time (based on the specified tape length). The playing time specified by the manufacturers is always slightly exceeded.
Example:
Tape consumption at 9.525 cm/s = 5.715 meters per minute
For a 1080-meter band, this results in a (calculated) running time (1080 / 5.715) of 188.98 minutes.
However, manufacturers always specify a playing time of 180 minutes for this tape length.

Long-playing tape

Spool diameter		Length		Playing time 4,75 cm/s	Playing time 9,5 cm/s	Playing time 19 cm/s	Playing time 38 cm/s
6 cm	2,35 inch	45 m		15 min	7:30 min	3:45 min	1:50 min
8 cm	3 inch	65 m	210 feet	22 min	11 min	5:30 min	2:45 min
10 cm	4 inch	135 m	450 feet	45 min.	22 min	11 min	5:30 min
11 cm	4,5 inch	180 m	600 feet	60 min.	30 min	15 min	7:30 min
13 cm	5 inch	270 m	900 feet	90 min.	45 min	22:30 min	11 min
15 cm	5,75 inch	360 m	1200 feet	120 min.	60 min	30 min	15 min
18 cm	7 inch	540 m	1800 feet	180 min.	90 min	45 min	22:30 min
22 cm	8,5 inch	730 m	2400 feet	240 min.	120 min	60 min	30 min
25 cm	10 inch	1000 m	3300 feet	340 min.	170 min	85 min	42:30 min
26,5 cm	10,5 inch	1280 m	4200 feet	440 min.	220 min	110 min	55 min

Double-playing tape

Spool diameter		Length		Playing time 4,75 cm/s	Playing time 9,5 cm/s	Playing time 19 cm/s	Playing time 38 cm/s
6 cm	2,35 inch	65 m		22 min	11 min	5:30 min	2:45 min
8 cm	3 inch	90 m	300 feet	30 min	15 min	7:30 min	3:45 min
9 cm	3,5 inch	135 m	450 feet	45 min.	22 min	11 min	5:30 min
10 cm	4 inch	180 m	600 feet	60 min.	30 min	15 min	7:30 min
11 cm	4,5 inch	270 m	900 feet	90 min.	45 min	22 min	11 min
13 cm	5 inch	360 m	1200 feet	120 min.	60 min	30 min	15 min
15 cm	5,75 inch	540 m	1800 feet	180 min.	90 min	45 min	22 min
18 cm	7 inch	730 m	2400 feet	240 min.	120 min	60 min	30 min
22 cm	8,5 inch	1000 m	3300 feet	340 min.	170 min	85 min	22:30 min
25 cm	10 inch	1440 m		480 min.	240 min	120 min	60 min

Triple playing tape

Spool diameter		Length		Playing time 4,75 cm/s	Playing time 9,5 cm/s	Playing time 19 cm/s	Playing time 38 cm/s
6 cm	2,35 inch	90 m		30 min	15 min	7:30 min	3:45 min
8 cm	3 inch	135 m	450 feet	45 min	22 min	11 min	5:30 min
10 cm	4 inch	270 m	900 feet	90 min.	45 min	22 min	11 min
11 cm	4,5 inch	360 m	1200 feet	120 min.	60 min	30 min	15 min
13 cm	5 inch	540 m	1800 feet	180 min.	90 min	45 min	22 min
15 cm	5,75 inch	730 m	2400 feet	240 min.	120 min	60 min	30 min
18 cm	7 inch	1080 m	3600 feet	360 min.	180 min	90 min	45 min
22 cm	8,5 inch	1620 m		540 min.	270 min	135 min	67:30 min
25 cm	10 inch	2160 m		720 min.	360 min	180 min	90 min

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These pages were last modified on: 14.02.2026 at: 18:05:38