On Mon, 24 May 1999, Jason (the General) wrote:
> Talking about ST 506's, I have an old 5 MB one. It spins up, but I need a
> controller for it. The only XT MFM controller I have is a WD XT-GEN, and
> they don't work with the 506's.
Yours apparently does not have the BIOS with the Dynamic Formatter which
is not limited to just the jumper selectable drives.
- don
> Anyone have a spare controller that they don't need? Preferably an old
> IBM??
>
> ThAnX,
> ///--->>>
> -Jason Willgruber
> (roblwill_at_usaor.net)
> ICQ#: 1730318
> <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dwight Elvey <elvey_at_hal.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> <classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
> Date: Monday, May 24, 1999 12:18 PM
> Subject: Re[2]: Space, the next frontier
>
>
> >ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote:
> >> And it's getting
> >> ever harder to get working ST506 drives.
> >
> >Hi
> > The biggest trouble with these drives is that the head
> >stepper has a limit arm right where fools can get at
> >it. Wipe the arm back and forth once, with the disk
> >stationary, and you've made a nice groove in the surface.
> >The other thing is on the braking of the spindle. Some
> >used a mechanical brake but others used dynamic braking.
> >The ones with dynamic braking are real sensitive to
> >having the heads drag backwards because of rotational
> >inertia. Both of these are handling issues. It does
> >help to alway park the heads on the far end before
> >moving the machine that has one of these drives. When
> >removing, one should also tape a piece of cardboard over
> >the steppers end so you don't bump the sector limit arm
> >and move the heads sideways. Some also have spindle locks
> >but be real careful to watch the rotational direction.
> >Turn the spindle the same way that it normally runs, only.
> > The reason these two things cause so much trouble is that
> >the back side of the heads have a real sharp edge. It tends
> >to dig into the disk like a carpenters plane.
> > If your old setup doesn't have a head park routine, I
> >would highly recommend that you write one. I recommend
> >that you always park the heads every time before you power
> >off. I have several 506's that are still running and
> >have many hours on them.
> >Dwight
> >
> >
>
>
donm_at_cts.com
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Don Maslin - Keeper of the Dina-SIG CP/M System Disk Archives
Chairman, Dina-SIG of the San Diego Computer Society
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Received on Mon May 24 1999 - 22:27:40 BST