NCOYNE@ESOC.BITNET (06/08/91)
Hi heres some info my friend provided on the modifications he made to his Mega file 30 0660103030566 9[.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....] Atari Megafile Mods. If you are slowly going deaf from the noise of your Atari Megafile, the following might help a bit, but be warned it isn't a super mod: the fan noise doesn't suddenly stop, just gets reduced a bit ..... The fan mounting, and the outer case of the Megafile severely restrict the airflow from the fan. If you take the top off the Megafile (Park the hard-disk first), you'll find that the fan can be lifted out, and if you run it with free air flow, it doesn't make much noise. I cut away the metal mount so it didn't obstruct the airflow, and also cut away the plastic grill in the Megafile case, and enlarged the resulting hole so that it didn't obstruct the airflow. I made up a small wire grill which I screwed to the outside of the case to stop me poking my fingers in by mistake. I don't recommend using an internal temperature sensor and turn the fan off until its needed, because unless you use several distributed sensors, there is a risk of local 'hotspots' occurring, which are not detected by the sensors. Incidentally, without a fan at all, the disk drive gets hot after long use. It may still work, but this has to shorten its life..... When I bought my Megafile, it was for use with a 1040ST. The DMA cable as supplied is obviously intended to be used with the MegaST range, and will not reach the 1040's DMA connector. I took the risk, and made up a new screened cable about 1 metre long, which has been working with no problems for about two years now, with no errors due to noise, fatal predictions from friends, etc. I also had a second, external floppy drive, but things where getting a bit like the early Atari ST days, with cables everywhere, and my desk wasn't big enough. When I took the top off the Megafile, I found there was enough room inside to hold the second floppy. (One of the slimline NEC types with a 5V supply). I removed the small board carrying the LEDS indicating disk activity, and cut a hole in the front of the Megafile case to allow the diskdrive to fit closely, then mounted it inside the bottom of the case with a couple of small metal brackets, and mounted the LED board between the drive and the edge of the case with another bracket. I was able to fit a 15 pin D-type connector at the rear of the Megafile case, between the power supply switch and the edge of the case, outside the metal screen, and connect this to the drive with a short length of screened cable. ( The disk data interface is standard Shugart ). I know a 15 pin 'D' connector isn't standard, but who else is going to use my drive with another computer?. Anyway, this was the only connector I could find with enough pins that would fit in the space.... The +5V for the drive was tapped from the Megafile internal supply. If the cover is removed, there are 4 (I think) terminals towards the front right of the power unit. Two are ground, one is 12V and the other is 5V. ( Use a test meter !!). The Power unit can easily supply the low current theses slimline drives need. Mine has been operating OK for two years now. The above info was provided by a friend. NICK COYNE