LGP-30 Memory Drum Update

[Charles Anthony]

On Wed, Jan 4, 2017 at 12:30 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:

> On 01/04/2017 11:48 AM, Kyle Owen wrote:
>
> > Will the desired thickness be enough with sputtering or evaporation?
> > For modern hard drives, sure, but my gut instinct is that you'd want
> > a thicker coating on the drum. I'd suggest sputtering over
> > evaporation since it will probably adhere to the surface better. I'd
> > think nickel electroplating would take less time and effort, though.
> >
> > Heck, I have about 4 L of nickel plating solution as well as an
> > anode, if someone wants to give it a shot.
>
>
> Thinking more about this a bit...
>
> "Modern" aluminum-substrate plated media uses a layer of electroless
> nickel, which is then polished, then plated with a layer of electroless
> cobalt.   I don't know if cobalt can be vacuum-sputtered onto nickel.
>
> Lubrication layers are often added in the case of Winchester drives.
>
> I suspect that the LGP30 drum heads require a substantial signal, so
> perhaps 5 micron cobalt plating wouldn't work.  In any case, the low
> recording density might be better realized through a traditional
> iron-oxide-in-binder coating.
>
>
I am not a EE, but in a ignorant attempt at of the box thinking.....

Make a new drum out of AL, glue strips of COTS magnetic tape to it.

-- Charles