Calibration of 8" floppy drive?

[tony duell]

> > So, how do you deal with your 8" drives, and what do you do when
> > they don't work?
> 
> Don't get into the alignment issue without a scope and an alignment
> disk--once you loosen the stepper motors, it's a very touchy operation
> getting them back into position, even with a special (expensive)
> alignment disk.

I think it is worth pointing out that the things you need an alignment disk for
are mostly, if not wholely, 'interchangeability adjustments'. They have to be 
right for that drive to work with disks from other drives (and vice versa) but
not for it to work on its own with its own disks.

Consider the head radial alignment (what most people mean by 'head alignment).
If it is off, then the drive will not be able to read disks formatted elsewhere, the
head will not be on the right track. But the drive _will_ be able to format, write, and
read a bulk-erased disk (which, of course willl not be useable on other drives). So if
a drive will not do that, then it is a waste of time trying to do an alignement. There are
other problems. Fix those first, then see if it needs aligning.

-tony