Does anyone here currently have a functioning RK05 drive? Has anyone here ever brought one back from the dead? Ashley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Uban" <uban(a)ubanproductions.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>rg>; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:16 PM Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner should

What kind of system do you use it in? -- A ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Uban" <uban(a)ubanproductions.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>rg>; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:31 PM Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner Posts" and

Another question.... I have an RK05 pack that has not been mounted since 1978. What are the chances that it can still be read? Ashley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Uban" <uban(a)ubanproductions.com> To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>rg>; "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:31 PM Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner Posts" and

I've just carried it around with me whenever I've moved (about 10 times) and it usually has just sat quietly on a shelf. A friend of mine had it for a year or so, but I had to rescue it when he was talking about turning it into a wall clock. It has many programs that my friends and I wrote during our college days. Ashley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Uban" &lt;uban(a)ubanproductions.com&gt; To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:42 PM Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner Posts" drives systems <http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4129402394>

Basic Plus on RSTS/E, either V6B or V6C, on a PDP 11/40. - Ashley ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Uban" &lt;uban(a)ubanproductions.com&gt; To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" &lt;cctalk(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:54 PM Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner for wall the Off-Topic to drives. basic head. molded also solution

On Wed, 5 May 2004, Tom Uban wrote: I got 4 of them in January... they look very clean, and seem to be in good condition, but we'll see once we open them up. The foam is probably gone, so that would have to be replaced. --f

On Wed, May 05, 2004 at 03:22:31PM -0400, Ashley Carder wrote: Several, though as I mentioned earlier, only one has been used in the past couple of years. I have an as-yet-unused-by-me RK8E and one RK05J-16 pack, and a couple of RK11s (one RKV11D, a couple of RK11Ds, and an RK11C) each with at least one drive and stacks of RK05J-12s, mostly with copies of RT-11 and ancient university data sets on them. More or less - new foam, new filter, new NiCd batteries, and a through cleaning. I did get to process two *pallets* of drives for a former employer (c. 1988) and recover as many working drives from the pile as possible. I think my boss told me that four drives would be considered good work, and I gave him six. Besides head crashes (these were as-is drives), the most common actual failure mode was burned-out lightbulbs in the optical positioner feedback circuit. It was easy enough to check them... open up the service panels and see if there's a light on the glass scale by the heads... no light == bad. They were some bizarre bulb assembly that we didn't bother trying to find replacements for - we just robbed them from drives that were in worse shape (dents, smashed doors, etc). If you only have one "dead" drive, I'm not sure how you'd get replacement parts, but my experience is that unless you know the drive has had something catastrophic happen to it, it probably only needs a severe cleaning and a PM on the batteries, foam, etc. That having been said, though, I wouldn't mount a critical pack first. Always mount a scratch monkey! -ethan -- Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 05-May-2004 21:40 Z South Pole Station PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -81.4 F (-63.0 C) Windchill -122 F (-85.59 C) APO AP 96598 Wind 8.69 kts Grid 050 Barometer 675.4 mb (10800. ft) Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html

It sounds like you've pretty much done it all. I hope mine doesn't catch fire! I'll likely be asking for some advice in the not too distant future. Ashley -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Tony Duell Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 7:58 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: DEC RL01/02, RK05/06/07 Cartridge Inspector/Cleaner Yes. Well, actually I have 2 of them, and an RK05F Yes, again. Done head replacements, rebuilt the blower fan, fixed logic problems, and even once undid a field-circuit bodge where they twisted together the ends of a broken wire in the interlock circuit (ensures the heads only load when a pack is in place) without soldering. This would open under vibration (say during extensive disk activity), and then the logic would retract the heads as a safety precaution. Took a long time to find that one, seconds to cure it! -tony

I have a couple of RK05s on my 11/45 system. I've done an alignemt after a head replacement on a friend's machine. It's not hard. You load the alignment pack (after ensuring the heads fly correctly on a scratch (but not scratched :-)) disk), connect a 'scope to the testpoints on the read ampifier and trigger the 'scope from the index signal. You then step the head to the right track (just dump the right values in the RK11's registers) -- the track contains a special offset alignment pattern. You then look at the display on the 'scope. When the heads are on-track, the 2 halves of the pattern are read with equal amplitude. So you tweak the head adjusting screws until that's the case. I acutally found doing the RK05 alignment to be easier than aligning a 3.5" floppy drive. I once had an RK05 drive catch fire (!). The insulation on the blower motor widings broke down, and smoke, and even small flames, came out of the motor. I manages to hit the load switch (retracting the heads) and shut the machine down before any real damage was done. A friend gave me a similar blower with bad bearings, and using the stator from that and the bearings/rootor from my original one, I got it going again. -tony