MCCABE@MTUS5.BITNET (Jim McCabe) (08/24/89)
I've had a problem with my SF354 for about two years now, and this
past year the drive sat unused because it had completely stopped working.
It turns out the problem I was experiencing was trivial to fix, so I'll
describe the symptoms & the cure here in case anyone else has had this
problem.
Every so often, when I would insert a disk, the drive would just spin
for a few seconds longer than usual before grabbing the disk. Then it
would make the characteristic "sucking" sound and everything would be
fine. Finally, one day it spun the disk forever and from then on I wasn't
able to use the drive. It sounded like that little pin that drops into
the hole in the hub wasn't finding the hole.
*** Before I go on, let me make the following disclaimer. If you wish
*** to open your drive, YOU ARE VOIDING YOUR WARANTEE according to my
*** information. I take no responsibility for any damage that may result
*** to your computer as a result of this message. This message is only
*** for foolhardy people like myself, and you can fully expect your computer
*** to blow up completely if you open your drive.
I had opened up the drive before, but stopped short of taking the
main inner case apart. Yesterday we took enough of the drive apart to
get to most of the mechanisms. It turns out the the problem was
unbelievably minor, and takes 2 seconds to fix.
There is a belt that is wrapped around the motor and a big wheel
in the middle of the drive. I know nothing about hardware so I can't
get much more technical than this. ;) Anyway, the problem was that
the belt had slipped off the big wheel and was riding on the rim of
it. This rim had a smaller circumference and so the speed of the drive
was really gonzo. All we did was slip the belt back onto the wheel
andzit works great now!! So if you have similar symptoms, maybe this
is the problem, and it might be worth it to check it out before
paying $75 to have it fixed. But then again, you might destroy
everything and burn down your house, too. :)
SS --> DS
On a related topic, how hard would it be to replace the drive
mechanism in an Atari SS drive with an MS/DOS-style drive? In my
drive, at least, there is a circuit board and the drive mechanism
itself. They are connected by a couple standard-looking interfaces,
including a familiar 34-pin cable interface. Is an upgrade as simple
as replacing the drive itself with a DS one? What about the weird
way Atari drives sense a media change?
Thanks in advance!
Jim McCabe
MCCABE@MTUS5.BITNET