[Coco] FD-502 dual drive system on eBay (not mine)

[Christopher Smith]

Excellent, so it looks like I may be able to make a simple conversion from one of the full-height units, then.  I'll just have to keep an eye out for a half-height, DS/DD drive.  The second drive would probably be the quad-density one that I have currently.  I suppose I should start looking at how to swap drive IDs as well.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rogelio Perea" <os9dude at gmail.com>
> To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 2:52:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] FD-502 dual drive system on eBay (not mine)
> 
> On Mon, Sep 16, 2013, Christopher Smith wrote:
> 
> I do wish people didn't pay nearly so much for those two drive
> things.
> >  Honestly, I've begun to wonder whether I could convert one of the
> >  single
> > drive boxes to hold two half-height drives.  Not sure if they'd
> > mount
> > properly in the case, and have no idea whether the power supply
> > would be
> > sufficient.
> >
> 
> I added a second drive to my FD-502 years ago (20+) and did not
> install the
> fan as suggested in the user manual; had the system in close
> observation
> for a while and even under heavy disk usage (OS9L2) the power supply
> never
> defaulted, and it is still rock solid to this day. That FD-502 I use
> exclusively on my CoCo 3 setup.
> 
> A little bit more than a year ago I upgraded my CoCo 1's 26-3029 disk
> system (prior model before the FD-500): drive was a full height
> device
> mounted on a corresponding case - took the original drive out and
> replaced
> it with two TEAC FD-55 half-height drives, they sat nicely on the
> case -
> only had to drill a couple of mounting holes on the bottom to secure
> the
> drives inside. The full height case's power supply is a no frills
> linear
> one, again as with my first days with the upgraded FD-502, after
> hooking up
> both drives to it I kept a close eye on the power demands, play
> tested with
> OS9L1 to my heart's content and not a single problem crept in - I did
> put a
> fresh helping of heat sink silicone grease on the power regulator
> before
> hooking up the drives, power supply runs warm to the touch but
> nothing
> beyond the ordinary.
> 
> Newer drives will have less power demands than older units, that has
> to
> account for my problem free experiences with the disk system upgrades
> noted
> above.
> 
> -- RP
> 
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> 

-- 
Christopher Smith
Systems Engineer, Wolfram Research