So far as near as I can tell the earliest FDDs (IBM
23FD Minnow and Memorex
650/651) used Step In/Step Out. The IBM 33FD Igar used direct control of the
motor.
Someone asked (you?) on one of my Youtube videos for more detail about
the 23FD's stepping method, so I made a video covering the finer
details.
https://youtu.be/AMPlJ7JayB4
--
Will