5 Oct
2007
5 Oct
'07
3:40 p.m.
There are a
number of types of drives used in vintage computers that ar=
e
no longer available, so it makes sense to be able
to repair and align
them. I just wioh I'd bought a 3" alignment disk (and for that matter a=
n
8" one) when they were available.
You imply here that they're not. I don't know, not having looked. I kn=
ow=20
that with the 3.5" drives, I can buy new ones way cheaper than my time t=
o=20
repair them is worth, if you can even get enough repair info on them to =
My point is that the new, replacement, drives may not be properly
aligned.
Trying to get servicve manuals for such drives is normally a waste of
effort (althogh I did get the Teac manual for the drive in this PC). But
in general you can fidnd the read amplifier testpoints without a
schematic, and figuring out what to move to do the alignment isn't hard
either.
As regards whether or not it's worth buying the alignment disk, I have
some 3.5" drives that are non-standard (in particular the full-height
Sony 600rpm units) and which can't be replaced by ex-PC-drives. I have to
be able to repair and align those.
do=20
anything useful. Working on the older stuff is another matter entirely=20
though.
I thought this was classiccmp :-). In other words, my first thoughts on
this list are for the 'odler stuff'.
-tony