[comp.sys.mac] Dataframe20 Static Brush

wade@sdacs.UUCP (03/28/87)

Several months back there were discussions of the annoying noise made
by the anti-static brush in the Dataframe disk drives. Does anyone
have a detailed description of the procedure to disable the static brush?
When I installed the XP ROM in the drive, I looked around a little
but I could not actually see the brush. What else has to be removed
besides the cover? Any horror stories or warnings about voiding my
warranty? 

I am becoming more and more aware of the noise (it is not really getting
worse, but it is very intermittent and so does not blend into the 
background noise)

Thanks for any help

Wade Blomgren
UCSD Academic Computing Services
...sdcsvax!sdacs!wade

anson@elrond.UUCP (03/30/87)

In article <271@sdacs.ucsd.EDU> wade@sdacs.ucsd.EDU (Wade Blomgren) writes:
>Several months back there were discussions of the annoying noise made
>by the anti-static brush in the Dataframe disk drives. Does anyone
>have a detailed description of the procedure to disable the static brush?

  I successfully performed the surgery on my own DataFrame 20 just the 
other evening.  Here's what I did:
  1. Make a full backup, just in case.
  2. Remove the three screws from the box.  Two on the upper back, and
one on the bottom toward the front.  Carefully slide the cover off.  There
are some wires and components packed close to the cover, so *be careful*.
  3. Just below the LEDs, two ribbon cables are connected.  Disconnect
the edge connectors.
  4. Lay the innards on a table, with the drive side down.  Four screws
now appear on the top.  They hold the drive in place on the main bracket.
Remove them.
  5. Carefully lift the rest of the unit off the drive, watching out for
several wires that remain connected.  This exposes the anti-static brush,
which is on the drive's shaft.  Using the blade of a flat screwdriver (or
similar instrument), carefully bend back the brush, which is essentially
a piece of copper with carbon attached to it.  Some folks remove it, but
bending it back means the procedure *might* be reversible if necessary.
  6. Reverse the disassembly procedure, and enjoy the quiet.

>Any horror stories or warnings about voiding my warranty? 
I don't know what this does to the warranty.  If you're really concerned,
you should check, or even get the repair done under warranty.  I did my
own because I couldn't afford to be without the disk while the service
techs got around to doing the job.
>
>I am becoming more and more aware of the noise (it is not really getting
>worse, but it is very intermittent and so does not blend into the 
>background noise)
  I can assure you that the noise gets worse over time.  It was driving
my entire family crazy, until I did something about it.
-- 
=====================================================================
   Ed Anson,    Calcomp Display Products Division,    Hudson NH 03051
   (603) 885-8712,      UUCP:  [decvax, wanginst, savax]!elrond!anson
   (Just blame me;  my boss isn't even certain about just what I do.)