27 Jan
2006
27 Jan
'06
3:39 p.m.
On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:31:55 -0800
"Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
These are the 4.6 GB magneto-optical drives marketed
about 10 years ago by
the now-defunct Pinnacle. We had a few of them and every single one of
them went bad (laser head) in less than a year. Repair costs were
significant and there was a big backlog.
I note that one can still find a few of these on ePay in one of two
conditions; (a) powers up and otherwise unknown and (b) good tested,
warranteed working. The (a) type usually can be had for less than $20 and
the (b) type for $400+.
Here's my question. I have a few old Apex MO cartridges that I'd like to
read, but my curiosity doesn't extend far enough to spend $400-800 to
satisfy. Has anyone had any favorable experience with the (a) type drives
or are they all pretty much non-functional? I'm just trying to determine
if it's worth the trouble.
On a related subject, are there any other drives that will read the Apex
carts?
A mildly risky method to use would be to buy one of the tested
good drives. Read your cartridges, then sell the drive off to
someone else. This will only work if there is reasonable
turnover of the drives on eBay. If someone just has them listed
in the off chance someone will need one, you could end up stuck
with it.
But one thing for certain is that you could absolutely vouch for
it as being in 'good working order' after using it to read your
carts.