Sony Microfloppies question

From: Wayne M. Smith <wmsmith_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Fri Nov 29 18:57:00 2002

I was trying to teledisk an old Sony Microfloppy with no success and then
noticed that the disk is different than the other early Sony microfloppies I
have. I have posted some images for illustration at
http://home.earthlink.net/~wmsmith/SonyMicroFloppies.jpg

The disk I couldn't teledisk is shown in the two top scans. Unlike the other
two disks it appears to be springless, has an oval opening, and lacks the angled
guide notch of the two later disks. When inserted into a Sony model OA-D34V-22
3 1/2 inch drive (the one that shipped with the Lisa 2 and original Mac) the
floppy will usually (but not always) insert all the way, but the shutter does
not open. This can be remedied by opening the shutter manually prior to
inserting the disk, in the position shown on the rightmost photo. It "notches"
into place and stays open due to the lack of a spring. The two-sided arrow on
the disk seems to suggest, at least to me, manual operation.

The next two scans down are of the "auto shutter" disk. This disk has a more
rectangular opening, the angled guide, and also a notch that locks the shutter
in place if the door is opened all the way. The shutter is then released by
pinching the edge of the disk, and the word "pinch" is engraved in the plastic.

The last scan is of a microfloppy for some Lisa 2 software, which appears to be
a further evolution in the design that corresponds to current disks. The
opening is rectangular, the guide is angled and the shutter is spring loaded and
will not stay open unless held.

So, my question is, does anyone know anything about this apparent design
evolution, and is there anything about the Sony springless design that would
prevent me from using Teledisk?

Thanks.

-W
Received on Fri Nov 29 2002 - 18:57:00 GMT

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