[Coco] Cleaning Coco disks (gene heskett)

gene heskett gheskett at wdtv.com
Sun Jan 22 16:24:57 EST 2012


On Sunday, January 22, 2012 04:24:29 PM Steven Hirsch did opine:

> On Sun, 22 Jan 2012, gene heskett wrote:
> > On Sunday, January 22, 2012 12:39:46 PM Steven Hirsch did opine:
> >> On Sun, 22 Jan 2012, gene heskett wrote:
> >>> I've threatened to make a test jig I could clip onto the drive
> >>> connector so I could start and stop the motor and step it in and
> >>> out, but life kept getting in the way so it was never done back in
> >>> the 80's when it was needed.  Ideally it should also include a
> >>> slow, about 1 second counter that always sends like 31 pulses out,
> >>> but only 30 in, so that it will be banged against the Trk0
> >>> detector.  The auto step one way or the other won't muck the scope
> >>> trace observations all that much, particularly if your sweep is
> >>> triggered by the index pulse, but it will serve to keep the drive
> >>> from sitting on the same track for long periods of time, both
> >>> wearing out the track, and causing multipass erasure so that
> >>> eventually your good disk is destroyed magnetically.  Head
> >>> magnetization state is generally not a factor in the real world.
> >> 
> >> I was lucky enough to score a Teaco drive test rig for $5.00 at a
> >> hamfest. It does exactly what you describe.  Just invaluable for
> >> servicing Olde Drives.
> > 
> > Some people have ALL the luck.  :)
> 
> Compared to Left Coast residents, this is a real vacuum for hobbyists
> and classic computer buffs.  So, it's neat when things work out.
> 
> This past fall, I picked up an 18-ch 100Mhz. TechTools logic analyzer
> for $45 at the same hamfest (Deerfield, NH).  What a cool toy.  Always
> wanted one, but couldn't rationalize 100s of bucks.

I can smell roses from here.  Darnit.

Cheers, Gene
-- 
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My web page: <http://coyoteden.dyndns-free.com:85/gene>
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