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

Mon Sep 16 19:08:25 EDT 2013

Oh, right; I'd forgotten about the ones that used the 3.5" type power connectors.  So, you say you put a 1.4M drive in?  Do you have the one really ancient disk controller that's supposed to be adjustable to support high-density, or have you done something else to use them?

Chris

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Retro Canada" <retrocanada76 at gmail.com>
> To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Cc: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 5:30:39 PM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] FD-502 dual drive system on eBay (not mine)
> 
> up to fd501 they all use standard 5 1/4 molex and for fd502 the 3 1/2
> connector. i have 3 units a white full height, a fd501 and fd502. in
> both fds i put a 1.44 3 1/2 as ds0. i dont like 5 1/2.
> 
> my full height is misaligned. even if i manage to fix the head it
> will misalign again.
> 
> On 2013-09-16, at 6:19 PM, Christopher Smith <csmith at wolfram.com>
> wrote:
> 
> That's interesting... what is the power supply connector now?
> 
> Chris
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Retro Canada" <retrocanada76 at gmail.com>
> > To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts"
> > <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> > Cc: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts"
> > <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> > Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 4:51:10 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Coco] FD-502 dual drive system on eBay (not mine)
> > 
> > i am talking about the full height unity to put half drives.
> > 
> > On 2013-09-16, at 5:46 PM, Sean <badfrog at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > I put a non-Tandy drive in my old FT-502 case and it fit perfectly
> > back in
> > the day.  I think I just had to change the power connector to a
> > molex
> > one.
> > 
> > 
> > On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Luis Antoniosi (CoCoDemus) <
> > retrocanada76 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> >> you will need to drill new holes on it since they don't match.
> >> 
> >> 
> >> On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 4:15 PM, Christopher Smith
> >> <csmith at wolfram.com
> >>> wrote:
> >> 
> >>> 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
> >>>> 
> >>>> --
> >>>> Coco mailing list
> >>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> >>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> >>> 
> >>> --
> >>> Christopher Smith
> >>> Systems Engineer, Wolfram Research
> >>> 
> >>> --
> >>> Coco mailing list
> >>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> >>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> --
> >> Long live the CoCo
> >> 
> >> --
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> >> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> >> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> > 
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
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> > http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> > 
> > --
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> > http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> 
> --
> Christopher Smith
> Systems Engineer, Wolfram Research
> 
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> 
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> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> 

-- 
Christopher Smith
Systems Engineer, Wolfram Research