Reliability of floppy drives

From: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca <(jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca)>
Date: Sun Apr 12 17:03:11 1998

> In a message dated 98-04-12 19:13:50 EDT, you write:
>
> << Max Eskin wrote:
>
> > I have had too many 3.5" disks go bad, some my own, some not, not
>
> grrr, i hate 3.5 disks! they seem unreliable. i have software on old 5.25
> disks that have lasted longer than data on 1.44 floppies. could it be the
> density of the data on the disk that makes them unreliable? just a guess.
>
> david

Guys, are anyone using bulk disks like 25 a box or more? Usually
often are not too well screened. One time I got myself 25 disks box
that my friends claimed to be pretty good and knows few had bad ones
and formatted them again all. About 5 or 10% came out bad and more
disks followed into bin after some use. I have much luck with Fuji
also RAO (but these RAO are only found in highly marked up expensive
office supplies so I had only access to RAO, nearly never get them
bec they were priced over $15~22 CDN when I'm in Canada. When I'm
out visiting in USA (rarely now) I pick up one or two boxes of these
Fuji disks which typically priced very reasonably. Dysan,
Viewmaster, Maxwell, few others failed my quality requirement and
some bucked data off when I put some to under heavy use.
Fuji and RAO did not do that at all.

Is there a easy to contact canadian vendors where I CAN get disks
that good or exceed Fuji or RAO for reasonabley 10~15 dollars a 25
disk packs? And these kind of disks that you don't get by normal
means at most stores, read: BEST ONEs by profenssionals.

Recently binned 4 disks in appox one month period.

And I'm wondering same thing about that where to get new quality
floppy drives 3.5"! All I can find that is really good, well built
ones were 8~10+ years old Sony (couple here, after solder work) and
Toshiba drives (after cleaning all the silver contacts and 4 of them
still going strong, and one with bad logic board.)

Panasonic uses poor design using one rail under the heads and not
sleeved with harder bearing material, just plastic. Teac is a-ok
but hard to get anywhere with quality features built in.

What I desire: soft cushioning, many old ones had these that only
allows heads or both heads and disk to land softly during
diskette insertion, sleeved bearings, ball bearing on the spindle,
and rapid response in head and rpm so I have a "quicker" fd.

Please help me to find real ones...Even by different means. I mean
it! :(

Jason D.
email: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca
Pero, Jason D.
Received on Sun Apr 12 1998 - 17:03:11 BST