27 Jan
2014
27 Jan
'14
11:04 a.m.
On 01/27/2014 09:53 AM, Paul Koning wrote:
My DEC 1976 peripherals handbook says 10 to 40 C for
several disk drives
(RS04 and RK05) but for the RP04 it shows 15 to 32 C. It also shows
humidity as 20 to 80%, max wet bulb 25 C, minimum dew point 2 C. (Is
wet bulb == dew point? I?m not sure.) RP03 is also given as 15 to 32,
20% to 80%.
RX01 has the same specs as RP04 plus an additional rule: max temperature
gradient of 11 C per hour. Tape drives (DECtape as well as 1/2 inch
models) also list the RP04 specs.
Bottom line, I?d aim for 15 C minimum, and keep the humidity under
control. In fact, especially for tapes, the humidity is probably the
biggest concern ? you might want to take the given specs and narrow them
down some more to be safe.
Thanks - I think it's mainly the media that I'm concerned about - whether
there are problems with the binders used (particularly given that the media
is operating way beyond its design life) when it's "cold" (i.e. something
quite a bit cooler than typical room temperature).
When it comes to motors and actuators I can certainly imagine the
lubricants under-performing, but I would expect that they'd still work
(albeit with increased wear until they're up to operating temperature) -
although as Ethan pointed out there may be problems with drive currents
which could cause damage.
I was just running my IIgs the other day in a space where the heaters
hadn't kicked in, and it was ~52F or so; although I wasn't particularly
concerned about the machine itself or the display, it did make me wonder if
I should be worried about the floppies/drives. I've seen discussion about
high temps on the list in the past, but I don't recall anything about the
other end of the scale.
cheers
Jules