Description

Microdrive cartridges (x20) in a rigid plastic fitted case for a Sinclair QL (Quantum Leap) computer. Each cartridge has a storage capacity of 100KB. The cartridges contain a 5 metre loop of tape spinning against the read/write heads. The QL computer was built with two internal microdrive ports.

In 1984 the donor purchased a Sinclair QL and it was used over a period of four years for road safety research projects. These cartridges were used by the donor.

The microdrives turned out to be the Achilles heel of the QL. They were cheaper than the disk drives of the day and being compact, they kept the size of the computer to a small size suitable for the top of a desk. Unfortunately, the drives did not prove to be reliable. If used with the same QL they would work satisfactorily, but if used in another QL they would often not read or become damaged.