21 Dec
2012
21 Dec
'12
11:23 a.m.
I'm looking at this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shugart-model-801-8-Floppy-Drive-/230897115754?pt=U…
and it seems to be very similar to the drives in my Intel MDS box (blue if that matters,
and that's all I have of an MDS system). The listing calls it a Shugart 801. I seem to
recall Fred stating that a S* 800 was a *good* drive to utilize w/some peecee disk
controllers.? Is an 801 also *good*? I e-mailed the seller intending to grill some info
out of him.
21 Dec
21 Dec
11:42 a.m.
can you nibble notch double sided 8" disks to use with... (which leads into next
question)
does the early Option Board work w/single sided drives?
12:12 p.m.
On 12/21/2012 11:42 AM, Chris Tofu wrote:
can you nibble notch double sided 8" disks to use
with... (which leads into next question)
Yes, it involves punching an appropriately-placed sector aperture in the
jacket. As a matter of fact, several manufacturers sold 8" floppies
with that feature right from the factory. Media was expensive back
then--typically $5-$10 per floppy, so there was a good reason for
it--and this was in pre-1980 hyperinflation dollars when McDonalds
offered a burger, fries and drink for less than a dollar and you could
purchase a new car for $3000.
does the early Option Board work w/single sided
drives?
I don't see why it wouldn't.
--Chuck
2:31 p.m.
On 12/21/2012 12:36 PM, Chris Tofu wrote:
the 2nd head. But IBM used ss media in the early days so I guess as you
say there shouldn't be a problem.
Brain fart here--it didn't register that you said "early Option Board".
I seem to recall that those weren't capable of 500Kbps operation.
Maybe someone remembers.
The Deluxe Option Board definitely can, as can all models of the
Catweasel that I'm aware of.
--Chuck
does the early
Option Board work w/single sided drives?
I don't see why it wouldn't.
--Chuck
C: My concern was that it might return an error upon trying to
access 
5:30 p.m.
>> does the early Option Board work w/single
sided drives?
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Chuck Guzis wrote:
C: My concern
was that it might return an error upon trying to
access
the 2nd head. But IBM used ss media in the early days so I guess as you
say there shouldn't be a problem. Brain fart here--it didn't register that you said
"early Option Board".
I seem to recall that those weren't capable of 500Kbps operation.
Maybe someone remembers.
That's what I found, but Central Point would not state so.
It should, however work great with FM 8"
12:19 p.m.
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Chris Tofu wrote:
can you nibble notch double sided 8" disks to use
with...
YES.
I don't know of any jigs available. The Berkeley Microcomputer (ME!)
Flip-jig 8" version was in very limited production.
But, you can make one, or just measure and mark with another diskette.
In addition to the write protect notch,
If you want to flip a single sided disk, OR use single sided disk in a
double-sided-ONLY drive, OR use double sided disks in a single-sided
drive, you would ALSO need to punch the jacket for index hole
access, which is in a different position for single V double sided 8"
disks! (Easiest way to differentiate single V double sided disks)
does the early Option Board work w/single sided
drives?
should. it was designed for 5.25" 360K. Side select was handled by the
host controller, and simply passed through.
BUT, it will NOT work with unmodified software with a Double sided
[unmodified] disk in a single sided [unmodified] drive. The option board
software was critically dependent on presence of the index pulse.
Use correct drive for disk (MOST double sided drives will also work for
single sided), or punch index hole access.
OB_Disclaimer: I didn't use Option Board with 8"
OB_Anecdote: In the "Computer Bowl" quiz show, the entire team that
contained Bill Gates could not come up with an answer for WHERE the
Write-Protect notch is on an 8" diskette!
(It is on the leading edge of the disk, so that it can do maximum damage
when it falls off while removing the disk)
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
11:44 a.m.
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Chris Tofu wrote:
I'm looking at this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shugart-model-801-8-Floppy-Drive-/230897115754?pt=U…
and it seems to be very similar to the drives in my
Intel MDS box (blue
if that matters, and that's all I have of an MDS system). The listing
calls it a Shugart 801. I seem to recall Fred stating that a S* 800 was
a *good* drive to utilize w/some peecee disk controllers.? Is an 801
also *good*? I e-mailed the seller intending to grill some info out of
him.
Well, 800 was the original one that many systems were designed around.
801 should be fully compatible.
BUT, you might want to watch for a double sided drive!
(850, 851? TM-848?)
8" drives are mostly pretty old by now; not sure how many are gonna work
without some overdue maintenance
11:58 a.m.
On 12/21/2012 11:23 AM, Chris Tofu wrote:
I'm looking at this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shugart-model-801-8-Floppy-Drive-/230897115754?pt=U…
and it seems to be very similar to the drives in my Intel MDS box
(blue if that matters, and that's all I have of an MDS system). The
listing calls it a Shugart 801. I seem to recall Fred stating that a
S* 800 was a *good* drive to utilize w/some peecee disk controllers.
Is an 801 also *good*? I e-mailed the seller intending to grill some
info out of him.
I think it's safe to say that the SA801 was probably the most
widely-used 8" drive during the 1970s. Be aware, however, that it's a
single-sided drive.
The SA801 differs from the SA800 mostly in that the 801 has some added
circuitry for separating index from sector holes on hard-sectored media
and write-protect sensing is standard (it was an option on the SA800).
AFAIK, all of the MDS boxes from the 800 on, used SA801s.
If you pick a used one up, be certain to check the almost bewildering
number of customer cuts/jumpers on the PCB before deploying the
unit--and redoing them if needed. There were some pretty strangely
set-up drives around in those days.
Bitsavers has a nice collection of reference material on both drives.
--Chuck
1:08 p.m.
On 12/21/12 11:58 AM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
If you pick a used one up, be certain to check the
almost bewildering number of customer cuts/jumpers on the PCB before deploying the
unit--and redoing them if needed.
The other thing to be careful about is the felt pad on arm above the R/W head. It was
removable, and I've come across a number
of them that had it missing, or had the felt torn off the little plastic replaceable part.
Another common SS drive was Siemens.
There were a lot of them surplus around in the late 70's.
I just switched my double sided reader to a AHA-1522 with 8477A controller and a Shugart
851 and the combo is working very well.
It is MUCH easier to clean the heads with a cotton swab on the Shugart than on the
half-height QumeTrack I was using.
Cleaning the heads on a full-height Qume DT-8 is pretty much impossible because of the
plastic shroud around the head assembly.
2:37 p.m.
On 12/21/2012 01:27 PM, Al Kossow wrote:
On 12/21/12 1:08 PM, Al Kossow wrote:
That also goes for a fair number of Future Domain and DTC
SCSI-with-floppy support. In fact, it's quite easy to add a couple of
wires to support 3 floppy drives off a single cable. On slower
machines, the Tulin driver works for DOS access on the third drive.
--Chuck
AHA-1522 with 8477A
8473A
4334
days inactive
4335
days old
11 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
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aek＠bitsavers.org -
cclist＠sydex.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com