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- Path: Walden.mo.net!not-for-mail
- From: pbunch@Walden.mo.net (Phil Bunch)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
- Subject: Re: Permanent fix for misaligned 1541!
- Date: 26 Feb 1996 17:17:30 GMT
- Organization: -=MO.NET=- MVP-Net, Inc's Missouri Operations
- Message-ID: <4gspva$3vr@Twain.MO.NET>
- References: <4g5cgn$jmi@bcarh8ab.bnr.ca> <9602180047.AA000ga@cosine.demon.co.uk> <4gh78f$da7@Twain.MO.NET> <9602222001.AA000ix@cosine.demon.co.uk>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: walden.mo.net
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-
- Jason (tmr@cosine.demon.co.uk) wrote:
- : Phil Bunch (pbunch@Walden.mo.net) wrote (in reply to a comment I made):
- :
- : : Your 1571 might have died on you but I doubt that it was alignment
- : : related. Of all the 1571's that I worked on I don't think I ever
- : : found one that was out of alignment. Lots of times the upper R/W
- : : head mounting "spring" would break. Sometimes the little plastic
- : : "rubbing block" that the lever/clamp mechanism used would wear out.
- :
- : The 1571 shows all the classic signs of alignment problems but I'll get
- : a friend to check it out properly (I'm not too hot on fixing drives).
- :
- : Thanks for the advice! The '71 was used regularly until it became too
- : unreliable so it'll be nice to get it back online.
- :
- : Jason =-)
-
- Another common problem was that the top R/W head did not have
- enough downward pressure (tension) to firmly press against
- the diskette. The way I usually tested this was to try to
- format a diskette; the format would go OK on the first pass
- (bottom head) but would fail upon starting the second pass
- (upper head). I would then LIGHTLY apply a downward force
- on the upper head with either my finger or the end of my
- ink pen and try another format. If it worked then I
- knew what the problem was. I would normally confirm this
- by putting in an alignment disk and looking at the "eye"
- pattern on a scope while I applied/removed pressure on
- the upper head and watched the amplitude of the signal
- get larger/smaller. The usual fix was to CAREFULLY
- wrap another turn on the tension spring for the upper
- head. I would use a pair of needle nose pliers to
- wrap the extra turn. Try this at your own risk if
- you are certain this is the problem. I wouldn't
- think twice about doing it. But then I had lots
- of practice...
-
- Cheers,
-
- Phil Bunch N0MFC
-
- pbunch@mo.net
- or
- phil@slacc.com
-
-