chad@norge.dec.com (11/23/89)
I've had a Toshiba drive in my upgraded 520STfm (internal floppy) and it works great except that the ST doesn't detect media change correctly. Jumpering with a switch some lines fixed that but it ain't ths safest the way I did it. I paid about US$ 85 including postage maybe somebody has the dirt on the media change? Chad chad@norge.enet.dec.com DEC has no opinions ---------------------------------------------
timcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Tim Cook) (11/23/89)
Before I go out and buy one,
Has anyone out there got any first-hand horror stories on Toshiba 3 1/2 "
double sided drive mechanisms? I am told they are "very reliable", but
then it was the person who would be selling me one who said that.
This would be a mechanism suitable for replacing an SF354 mechanism (single
sided).
I was offered a 6 month warranty if I installed the mechanism (into my own
modified SF354 case) myself, or a 12 month warranty if it was installed by
the dealer. Are these values reasonable? I'm looking at A$200 for DIY,
A$250 for dealer installed and 12 month warranty, or A$220 for DIY and 12
month warranty (presumably after the dealer has ratified the installation).
The Australian dollar currently buys about 77 US cents.
Any info appreciated.
--
Tim Cook Systems Administrator, Victoria College Computer Services
parrot - n. An animal that has the ability to imitate man, but not the
intelligence to refrain from doing so.clf3678@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.L. Freemesser) (11/24/89)
In article <3156@csv.viccol.edu.au> timcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Tim Cook) writes: >Before I go out and buy one, > >Has anyone out there got any first-hand horror stories on Toshiba 3 1/2 " >double sided drive mechanisms? I am told they are "very reliable", but >then it was the person who would be selling me one who said that. The Toshiba drives are quite reliable. Many people use them as replacement drives. Personally, I had a problem with one when I tried to hook it up to the ST. If you get one, make sure you have the ND-354, or the ND-352A. The one I had problems with what the ND-352. I believe they replaced that with the A model. >This would be a mechanism suitable for replacing an SF354 mechanism (single >sided). > >I was offered a 6 month warranty if I installed the mechanism (into my own >modified SF354 case) myself, or a 12 month warranty if it was installed by >the dealer. Are these values reasonable? I'm looking at A$200 for DIY, >A$250 for dealer installed and 12 month warranty, or A$220 for DIY and 12 >month warranty (presumably after the dealer has ratified the installation). > >The Australian dollar currently buys about 77 US cents. $200 Australian dollars is about $154 dollars US, which is WAY more than the drive sells for here. You can get them for 1/2 that price. A guy in our user group paid $70 for a brand new one not a month ago. Consider mail ordering from a US company, such as Lyco computer. Chris Freemesser, Rochester Institute of Technology :BITNET:%clf3678@RITVAX ||| ____________ :GEnie: C.FREEMESSER ||| /___ / (and 8-bit too!) :USENET: Don't bother, / | \ ______/ / : it doesn't work Call the A.C.O.R.N BBS (716)436-3078, 300/1200 baud :<-or my BBS
clf3678@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.L. Freemesser) (11/24/89)
To fix the media change problem with homebrew 3.5 inch disk drives, run a jumper between pins 2 and 28 on the drive's 34 pin connector. I've found that using 30 AWG wire works well. Take a small bit of wire, and solder the ends to the back of the drive's connector. The even numbered pins stick out the back of the connector. On some drives, this will cause the disk to be "permanently" write protected. My Tandy/Teac drive has this problem. My guess is that the signals aren't getting through to the computer. You might try using a diode instead of a wire, but that hasn't done much good either. I'm not an electronics expert (yet), but this fix seems to work fine. Of course, TOS 1.4 fixes this problem, so you don't have to run a jumper. Chris Freemesser, Rochester Institute of Technology :BITNET:%clf3678@RITVAX ||| ____________ :GEnie: C.FREEMESSER ||| /___ / (and 8-bit too!) :USENET: Don't bother, / | \ ______/ / : it doesn't work Call the A.C.O.R.N BBS (716)436-3078, 300/1200 baud :<-or my BBS
2FHDBEAK@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (12/03/89)
In article <3156@csv.viccol.edu.au>, timcc@csv.viccol.edu.au (Tim Cook) writes: > Before I go out and buy one, > > Has anyone out there got any first-hand horror stories on Toshiba 3 1/2 " > double sided drive mechanisms? I am told they are "very reliable", but > then it was the person who would be selling me one who said that. > > This would be a mechanism suitable for replacing an SF354 mechanism (single > sided). > > I was offered a 6 month warranty if I installed the mechanism (into my own > modified SF354 case) myself, or a 12 month warranty if it was installed by > the dealer. Are these values reasonable? I'm looking at A$200 for DIY, > A$250 for dealer installed and 12 month warranty, or A$220 for DIY and 12 > month warranty (presumably after the dealer has ratified the installation). > > The Australian dollar currently buys about 77 US cents. > > Any info appreciated. > > -- > Tim Cook Systems Administrator, Victoria College Computer Services > > parrot - n. An animal that has the ability to imitate man, but not the > intelligence to refrain from doing so. I have a Toshiba DSDD drive, and it is excellent. Not only is it slightly faster than the standard Atari drives, but it also reads and writes past track 80 reliably. I use DC Format to stuff more than 800K onto my disks with no trouble. They are also cheaper than Atari drives. I picked mine up for $99 (US). --Jim Sisul The University of Kansas