Snip
On Mar 9, 2023, at 10:57 PM, John Maxwell via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On 3/9/23 10:16 AM, John Maxwell wrote:
Nowhere do I see any mention of a Model 80 Reference Disk. If you
don't have one of these, you will not be able to configure the machine.
Is there a repository to where I can upload diskette images? What format is in widespread
use these days? I use DiskImage (Ver5) and Dave Dunfield's ImageDisk (Ver1.17) - both
work well. I seem to recall that DiskImage is a commercial product and ImageDisk is still
available for free.
> ADFs were text files with descriptions of
hardware addresses and the
> like.
That sounds like what I remember.
> Not sure of what you mean by 'Rifas'
in the last question. Probably an
> acronym or other abbreviation of something I may know about, but
> nothing comes to my foggy brain presently.
My understanding is that RIFA is a brand of
capacitor which had a model like which is notorious for failing after time and they seemed
to be common in the '90s.
Not sure that IBM would use cheap *anything* in their equipment.
[snip]
*nod* That's what I was referring to as
sticktion.
A word of warning, the "inertial rotation" procedure was great for smaller
drives, but you may break your arm applying this to an ESDI :-)
I don't know the state of the bearings. Is
there anything that I can or should do for them?
Aside from dismantling the drive, not really. Just cross your fingers and pray. Usually
not a problem. I have an ST225 which had been powered off for two decades and it came up
fine in my DEC Rainbow!
> The battery used is one of the old 6V
photoflash types (cannot recall
> the model, unfortunately). I have a few of them left in my collection
> - just ran into them in a box (with 2 or 3 left) a few months ago.
> Each still had over 6v (no load) at the terminals. No idea how long
> they would last in application under load, though, even though the
> Model
> 80 didn't use too much current to hold things in config memory.
ACK
My assumption is that the Model 80 has been
powered off for years, if not a decade or more. It's on the older end of a five
computers I picked up from someone >who wanted them hauled away. I'm not holding
my breath that they powered the PS/2 on anytime in the last decade. ;-)
It is my belief that these batteries should still be available from somewhere. If I think
of it when I get home, I'll dig out the box and relay the model number. Provided that
the box is still where I remember.
> Just my $0.02 (not even sure it was worth
that much). Good luck with
> your 80.
Thank you. You're sharing things that seem
familiar. Which is appreciated because it means that my memory isn't that far out of
calibration or bit rot.