Cleaning RK05 packs (Was: LGP-30 Memory Drum Update)

[Philipp Hachtmann]

> Another thing to watch out for is the two halves of some if not all
> were screwed together with self tapping screws. When you take
> them apart bit of plastic may come out of the holes or fall off the
> insides of the screw threads. That plastic if gets between the platter
> and head will not be to the heads advantage.
Ah, oh.... How should that get between the heads and the platter? It's 
nearly impossible to get something of substantial size into that gap.
Look at the RK05 manual (and pack bag): It's the *really* small stuff 
that gets into the wrong place.
Normal dust from the paper you used for cleaning (and from your working 
environment) is kicked off the platter by the head. Makes funny sounds.

My procedure: Clean the disk, load it, manually visit the whole surface 
with the heads. If it crashes or clinging does not go away soon, 
reclean. If the disk has become silent and is running nicely, I give the 
heads a "quick brutal cleaning": Towel with IPA, between the heads, load 
heads onto the towel, move towel until heads clean. Must be done 
carefully...

I once had an RC05 disk crashing. With an awful noise and a white stripe 
on the disk. After cleaning, both heads and disks were fully functional 
again. But I have also seen packs which look perfect but either keep 
making heavy sound or having data errors.

Philipp