>You are not alone.  Everything that you mention below we also seen and have
>also done.  I think there is a long road to travel down before these issues
>get resolved with AIT3 technology. ...

Sadly, this helical scan technology is turning out just like its
notorious 8mm predecessor.  Helical is great for video; but for the
reliability demands of digital data processing, linear tracking makes
far more sense.

   Richard Sims