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The current parts list and costs for the upgrade were available. W. Alef (MPIfR) has been to Socorro recently and has the information. P. Burgess estimated a total cost per site of USD XXXXX. P. Burgess turned to the question of ``thin tape'' (see also Craig Walkers E-mail - Appendix 2). Thin tapes required the tape path upgrade. Although an upgraded recorder could still use thick tape, once the switch to thin tape was made, the heads were reprofiled. However, Alan Rogers is looking into changing the vacuum to allow both types to be used on the same transport. P. Burgess noted that the changeover must be co-ordinated at each site. The budget for thin tapes required 1k per tape and a minimum of 20 per site to start with. Therefore 20k would be required on top of the upgrade cost. It might be possible to spread this over the time needed to do the upgrade. T. Foley asked what would be the final fate of the old tapes? P. Burgess believed they would have to be taken care of in some appropriate enviromentally friendly way. M.A. Garrett asked what was the projected life time of thin tape. P. Burgess was unsure - although he believed the most common fault was mechanical failure. Thick tape could be used at least 50 times. J.D. Bregman concluded that we would have to make the costs of thin tape clear to the directors at the next meeting.