An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a head having at least two modules, each having an array of transducers. Axes of the arrays are about parallel and are spaced from one another in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The array of a first of the modules is offset from the array of a second of the modules in a first direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module such that the transducers of the first module and the transducers of the second module are positioned to fill a contiguous data band with written tracks in multiple passes. All of the transducers of the first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, and all of the transducers of the second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line.

An apparatus according to one approach includes an array of skew detection transducers. An array of write transducers is spaced from the array of skew detection transducers along an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. An array of read transducers is aligned with the array of write transducers in the intended direction of tape travel. The apparatus also includes a first actuator configured to operatively exert a force on the array of skew detection transducers for orienting a longitudinal axis of the array of skew detection transducers substantially orthogonal to the actual direction of tape travel across the array of skew detection transducers. A magnetic recording medium according to one approach includes a magnetic recording tape having a longitudinal axis extending between distal ends thereof, the magnetic recording tape having vertical bars written in servo-skew patterns thereof, the vertical bars being oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tape.

An apparatus according to one approach includes an array of skew detection transducers. An array of write transducers is spaced from the array of skew detection transducers along an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. An array of read transducers is aligned with the array of write transducers in the intended direction of tape travel. The apparatus also includes a first actuator configured to operatively exert a force on the array of skew detection transducers for orienting a longitudinal axis of the array of skew detection transducers substantially orthogonal to the actual direction of tape travel across the array of skew detection transducers. A magnetic recording medium according to one approach includes a magnetic recording tape having a longitudinal axis extending between distal ends thereof, the magnetic recording tape having vertical bars written in servo-skew patterns thereof, the vertical bars being oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tape.

An approach to a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD) involves a load/unload (LUL) ramp subsystem that includes a ramp assembly that includes a translatable lever member and a LUL ramp member coupled thereto, and interconnected elevator interfaces coupled with the ramp by way of a set of flexures. The ramp subsystem is configured such that in response to a sufficient force being applied to the lever by the HSA, a distal end of the ramp is positioned so that an outer perimeter of a recording disk of an HDD is free of a channel at the distal end of the ramp. The subsystem may further include a motor configured to drive rotation of a lead screw to which the ramp assembly is attached, to drive vertical translation of the ramp assembly, thereby providing for loading the vertically-translatable HSA onto and off of each of the disks of a multiple-disk stack.

An apparatus includes a head having at least three pairs of modules, each module having an array of transducers and at least one servo transducer. The axes of the arrays are oriented about parallel to each other. Of each pair of modules, the array of a first module is offset from the array of a second module in a direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module. All of the transducers of each first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, all of the transducers of each second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line. A first pair of modules and a third pair of modules have a same first function, and a second pair of modules has a second function, the first function and the second function are different.

An apparatus includes a head having at least three pairs of modules, each module having an array of transducers and at least one servo transducer. The axes of the arrays are oriented about parallel to each other. Of each pair of modules, the array of a first module is offset from the array of a second module in a direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module. All of the transducers of each first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, all of the transducers of each second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line. A first pair of modules and a third pair of modules have a same first function, and a second pair of modules has a second function, the first function and the second function are different.

An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a head having at least two modules, each of the modules having an array of transducers and at least one servo transducer. An axis of each array is defined between opposite ends thereof. The axes of the arrays are oriented about parallel to each other. The axes of the arrays are spaced from one another in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The array of a first of the modules is offset from the array of a second of the modules in a first direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module. All of the transducers of the first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, wherein all of the transducers of the second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line.

An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a head having at least two modules, each of the modules having an array of transducers and at least one servo transducer. An axis of each array is defined between opposite ends thereof. The axes of the arrays are oriented about parallel to each other. The axes of the arrays are spaced from one another in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The array of a first of the modules is offset from the array of a second of the modules in a first direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module. All of the transducers of the first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, wherein all of the transducers of the second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line.

An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a head having at least two modules, each having an array of transducers. Axes of the arrays are about parallel and are spaced from one another in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The array of a first of the modules is offset from the array of a second of the modules in a first direction parallel to the axis of the array of the second module such that the transducers of the first module and the transducers of the second module are positioned to fill a contiguous data band with written tracks in multiple passes. All of the transducers of the first module are positioned on a first side of an imaginary line oriented in the intended direction of tape travel, and all of the transducers of the second module are positioned on a second side of the imaginary line.

This base plate constitutes a part of a housing of a disk drive device, and is formed from a metal plate and a die-cast part. The metal plate includes a board-shaped bottom plate portion that spreads out perpendicular to an up-down extending axis of rotation of a disk. The die-cast part covers at least a part of the bottom plate portion. Metal which constitutes the bottom plate portion is higher in rigidity than metal which constitutes the die-cast part.