Fixing Floppy-Drives

CPC_Fan · 18:32, 23 January 15

Bryce - I know that you are a busy person, but is there any chance that you could PM your address please, so that I can send my drive over for you to look at?

Bryce · 14:44, 24 January 15

@Shining : The first of the two drives is up and running now. I'll use it for a few days to make sure it stays that way. The main problem was the dry joints and a dodgy connection to the head position motor. The belt seems to be the original but it works ok still, although it has a bit a bend in it from not being used for so long. I can put a new one on if you want though?

The other drive is a bit questionable. After fixing the dry joints, it spins at the correct speed and the head is searching, but there is a lot of play in the head movement due to it being old, was used a lot and also looks like it was stored in a damp place at some time. I'll try to convince it to work again, but it may be a lost cause.

Bryce.

gerald · 15:21, 24 January 15

Quote from: Bryce on 14:44, 24 January 15
The other drive is a bit questionable. After fixing the dry joints, it spins at the correct speed and the head is searching, but there is a lot of play in the head movement due to it being old, was used a lot and also looks like it was stored in a damp place at some time. I'll try to convince it to work again, but it may be a lost cause.

What model is this drive ?
On the EME156V, the spring that is part of the head motor can get week and fail to compensate the play of the tread mounting.
This can be fixed by disassembling the motor and slightly bending the metal bit that act as spring. You obviously need to align the head after.
You can check that play by monitoring the head signal amplitude on a selected track. When accessing it upward or backward the amplitude will be significantly different.

Bryce · 15:57, 24 January 15

I managed to tighten up the spindle that moves the head and it's reading disks again

So both are back working.
I'm not sure how reliable this drive will be, because the whole frame that holds the disk is a bit rusted and sticks quite a bit. I disassembled it, gave it a clean and re-greased it, but it's still not great. I'll use it for a few days and see how it gets on.

@Gerald : It's an EME150A, the one where the spin speed is a poti on the PCB, not in the motor. The more reliable one is an EME-155.

Bryce.

gerald · 16:53, 24 January 15

Quote from: Bryce on 15:57, 24 January 15
I managed to tighten up the spindle that moves the head and it's reading disks again So both are back working.
I'm not sure how reliable this drive will be, because the whole frame that holds the disk is a bit rusted and sticks quite a bit. I disassembled it, gave it a clean and re-greased it, but it's still not great. I'll use it for a few days and see how it gets on.

@Gerald : It's an EME150A, the one where the spin speed is a poti on the PCB, not in the motor. The more reliable one is an EME-155.

Bryce.

Ok, that's a completely different mechanism.
By the way, do you have suggestion on a replacement for the woolen pad that press the disk on the head ? I have a non working drive that is missing this bit, and it took me a while to notice it

Bryce · 17:11, 24 January 15

I've had to replace this once on a drive where the owner thought it was dirt and "cleaned" it off

I used a very fine felt sticker and that worked great, but I can't remember where I got it from, just be careful that
it's made of something very fine. Maybe the little cloth used to clean glasses ("Lunette" not "Verre"

) with
some double-sided tape would work?

Bryce.

CraigsBar · 18:04, 24 January 15

As a temporary measure, I replaced one of those with the similar pad from an audio cassette in about 1994. It's still in place, and still works perfectly.

Bryce · 12:09, 25 January 15

Where are these used in audio cassette players??

Update on the floppy repair: ~~The EME-150A is proving to still be very unreliable. I tried it this morning and it can't find the tracks any more~~. The EME-155 is still working fine.

Edit: Doh! Turns out I was testing it with a damaged floppy! Both still work fine

Bryce.

CraigsBar · 13:43, 25 January 15

Quote from: Bryce on 12:09, 25 January 15
Where are these used in audio cassette players??

Update on the floppy repair: ~~The EME-150A is proving to still be very unreliable. I tried it this morning and it can't find the tracks any more~~. The EME-155 is still working fine.

Edit: Doh! Turns out I was testing it with a damaged floppy! Both still work fine

Bryce.

no in the player, but in the cassette themselves, on a little leaf spring to press the tape onto the head.

Bryce · 14:01, 25 January 15

Oh yeah, forgot about those. Good idea, it's exactly the right material.

Bryce.

Shining · 22:30, 26 January 15

Thank you very much Bryce for fixing both drives ! After the first repair attempt failed, I was praying that at least one was fixable. Now that there are both fixed, I'm happy as hell

.

Bryce · 22:33, 26 January 15

No problem. I'm just happy that they were both saveable. I hate to see hardware that unrepairable.

Bryce.

Shining · 21:43, 31 January 15

Again thank-you, Bryce. The drives arrived back today and now I'm re-assembling my 6128.

Bryce · 10:17, 01 February 15

Cool. Despite all the modern solutions, it's still always nice to have a real floppy drive

Glad I could help.
Let me know how long the older one lasts.

Bryce.

Gesendet von meinem Motorola DynaTEC 8000X mit Tapatalk 2.

CPC_Fan · 17:28, 03 February 15

Bryce - I was just wondering if you could confirm whether or not you have received my 3" drive yet? I know that you have been away, so I wasn't expecting you to have had a look at it yet, but I was hoping that you have received it in one piece?

Mark

Bryce · 21:50, 03 February 15

No not yet. What date did you send it?

Bryce.

CPC_Fan · 16:54, 04 February 15

Oh that's odd. I sent it on the 26th of January. I have sent you a PM anyway.

Bryce · 22:05, 04 February 15

I wouldn't worry about it yet. It usually takes up to 10 days from the UK and we are only at 7 today.

Bryce.

Bryce · 10:40, 10 February 15

I'm happy to say, that after much research (from CPC_Fan) and a stroll around a few shops by myself, I finally have CPC_Fans drive

Now to find out whether it's fixable...

Bryce.

CPC_Fan · 13:10, 10 February 15

Glad to hear that you have finally got my drive Bryce. Hopefully once you have had a chance to look at it, it will be fixable.

Mark

TFM · 18:35, 10 February 15

Hey guys, this is not facebook. For that kind of talk we got something here they call a PM!

Never mind.

Bryce · 21:06, 10 February 15

Quote from: TFM on 18:35, 10 February 15
Hey guys, this is not facebook. For that kind of talk we got something here they call a PM! Never mind.

?? The thread is "Fixing Floppy-Drives" and the current conversation regards the logistical details of such a drive being sent for repair. We're not even off-topic! Where's the problem?

Bryce.

TFM · 21:41, 10 February 15

It's just using up my scarce spare time if I have to read 10 times "Oh I did send you a floppy", "Oh, it must be still on the way". This is absolute off-topic. A purely private conversation, and probably getting on the nerves of others as well. $:-\$
If I read the thread then I expect help in fixing floppies and not pages of private talk.

Sorry, but somebody had to say it.

Bryce · 22:27, 10 February 15

Nobody's forcing you to read it. If it doesn't interest you, then go read something else!?

Just for you, number 11:

Hey CPC_Fan, just wanted to let you know that your drive has arrived. It looks to be in decent condition, probably just needs to be calibrated / aligned. I'll let you know later this week. Feel free to reply with a "Great let me know" message, don't bother with PM, let the whole thread know.

Bryce.

TFM · 23:16, 10 February 15

Quote from: Bryce on 22:27, 10 February 15
Nobody's forcing you to read it. If it doesn't interest you, then go read something else!?

I wished I *could*. But this is something the forum software is not capable of.

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Fixing Floppy-Drives