On Apr 8, 2019, at 6:11 PM, Charles via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
One of my RL02 drives (that sat for a long time) has developed what appears to be a
sticky head positioner.
But it's only a problem going from the full-retracted position to loading track 0.
Once it's loaded, the drive will pass all seek and read/write tests.
It takes a surprising (to me) amount of force to pull the heads out into the disk area
(power off, no pack). When they're out there, the arm slides back and forth easily.
Sometimes it won't load at all - push the load button, light goes out, disk spins up
to what sounds like normal speed, but the heads never move and the Ready light doesn't
come on.
There's supposed to be a Fault after 40 secs but that doesn't happen - it'll
sit there forever spinning but not ready.
If I turn off the power and remove the pack, and pull the positioner out just enough to
avoid opening the Heads Home microswitch (which causes a Fault light), then it'll spin
up, load track 0, and work fine the rest of the day.
The manual (as usual) only recommends replacing the bad assembly for ease in field
servicing, which is deliberate.
But I don't have a DEC repairman and a warehouse full of parts handy... Is there some
kind of adjustment or lubrication I can do?
Lubrication in a disk assembly sounds like a thing to avoid because of contamination.
I don't know the RL02 specifically, but some pack type disk drives have a "head
unload ramp", a wedge shaped device that lifts the heads away from the platters when
the positioner retracts to the unload position. I wonder if there might be dirt on those
that could be cleaned with a suitable cleaner (kimwipes or similar lint free cleaner) and
solvent (96% isopropanol comes to mind). Does the book give any guidance about this sort
of thing?
paul