[Coco] FD-502

[George Ramsower]

I'm wondering if there might be some ripple on the power supply that 
different drives that draw different current could affect that ripple and 
give different results. Old caps, you know!

George
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gene Heskett" <gene.heskett at verizon.net>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 10:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Coco] FD-502


> On Thursday 12 March 2009, Bill wrote:
>>The one of them will act like it's formatting a disk. But when it gets its
>>FIRST scan and is supposed to go back and verify (seems like a quicker 
>>scan)
>>it just stays in place with the disk spinning.
>>
>>The other one won't even do that much. It goes through about 1/2 of the
>>first scan, and just sits there with the disk spinning. I have access to 2
>>controllers, and the drives do the same thing, regardless of which
>>controller is used.
>>
> That pretty much verifies my thoughts on it Bill.  Those drives need to 
> come
> out of the box, and have the head sliders cleaned and lubricated again. 
> The
> stepper motor that drives the heads simply cannot overcome the friction
> because the sliders are dirty, and the lubricant that was there 20 years 
> ago
> has now turned into an almost varnish like substance with zero lubrication
> ability.  All its doing today is gluing the dirt in place.  A can of paint
> thinner alcohol and a bag of Sherwood Q-Tips from your druggist (they 
> aren't
> on the shelf except in the pharmacy and they may have to order, in which 
> case
> its a box of 10 bags, 100 to the bag, and about a $15 bill the last time I
> bought some.)  These are wooden sticked Q-Tips, cotton on one end only, 
> and
> the sticks are a good 6" long so you can reach places the common q-tip 
> can't.
> The paint thinner alcohol is far more effective than any rubbing alcohol, 
> and
> comes in qt cans at ACE Hdwe or similar places for about a 5ver per can.
>
> Clean the slider parts up till they look like new, and a drop of 10w30 on
> them, and those drives will likely be as good as new.  10 minute job per 
> drive
> for me once they are out laying out on the table. Maybe it like the piece 
> of
> furniture or a toy that a 6 year old can assemble, so maybe you can find a
> youngster with good eyesight & no arthritis?  And who knows  what a gentle
> touch means?
>
>>Unfortunately, with my poor eyesight and arthritis in my joints, I'm 
>>unable
>>to work on them like I used to.
>>
>>It would be easier for me to sell them "as-is" on eBay and get back a 
>>little
>>of what I spent, or just trade both full units to someone for 2 bare 
>>drives
>>that I could use.
>
> Which, because there haven't been floppy drives made in the 5.25" sizes 
> for a
> good ten years now, are likely very near the 'use by' date too.
>
> One thing that is rarely discussed on the net is where we are, but 
> sometimes
> knowing where one is might lead to a visit from one of our group who lives
> nearby.  That of course is up to you.  Most of this group knows where I am
> within a few miles, in Weston WV.  County seat town, about 5500 
> population,
> and I'm in the phone book.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com [mailto:coco-
>>> bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Robert Gault
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 9:20 PM
>>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
>>> Subject: Re: [Coco] FD-502
>>>
>>> What is the failure mode? Can they read disks from another drive? Can
>>> they format disks? Does the drive spin and if so is the strobe speed
>>> correct? Does the head move along the rails? Check for fuses.
>>>
>>> There are several failure modes that can be fixed by cleaning,
>>> lubrication, adjusting drive speed, and adjusting the track0 stop.
>>> Other failure modes would need a scope and special calibration disk to
>>> repair.
>>
>>--
>>Coco mailing list
>>Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>
>
> -- 
> Cheers, Gene
> "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
> soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> sticktion
>
>
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