Re: [M100] TPDD2 help
On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 5:50 PM Brian White wrote: > > The felt is on a plastic arm, but that arm is lifted by a bit of sheet metal > to let the disk in and out. > > I think what he meant was it's possible for that metal to be bent and keep > the felt lifted, perhaps only a little, even when the disk is inserted and > the door closed, preventing the felt from pressing the disk to the read/write > head. Yes. Quick test is to press lightly on the felt pad/arm and see if the disc magically reads/writes properly then. That's how I found this issue. -Josh
Re: [M100] TPDD2 help
The felt is on a plastic arm, but that arm is lifted by a bit of sheet metal to let the disk in and out. I think what he meant was it's possible for that metal to be bent and keep the felt lifted, perhaps only a little, even when the disk is inserted and the door closed, preventing the felt from pressing the disk to the read/write head. On Wed, Nov 18, 2020, 2:44 PM Francois Gurin wrote: > > Thanks for the advice! I did some tinkering and the TPDD2 still reports > an I/O error or Communications error when trying to format (depending on > DOS), you can see it homes and seems to step through each sector.The > felt pad on the drive seems to be on a plastic arm, not a metal one. > It seems to be making decent contact with the disk from a quick visual. > > I did notice the low battery led wasn't flashing and seems to have broken > off the solder points. I haven't had a chance to fix this yet, but can't > imagine it's related. > > > > > On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 1:57 PM Jeffrey Birt wrote: > >> In addition to what Josh said you can look for the low battery LED to >> very briefly flash when you turn it ON (or OFF, can’t remember which just >> now). This is a sign that the power supply is putting out 5V and it is >> getting to the control board. >> >> >> >> The connector from the battery compartment/ext. power jack it a pain to >> snap in place and may have popped loose. >> >> >> >> Worse case would be something popped loose from the power supply. I >> worked on one last week that had a battery leak in its past which did a >> number on the power supply board. A board in that shape could have a >> component knocked loose from a fall. The video for that repair will be out >> this Saturday in fact. >> >> >> >> Good luck let us know if you get it or if you need help. >> >> >> >> Jeff Birt >> >> >> >> >> >> *From:* M100 *On Behalf Of *Josh >> Malone >> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 7, 2020 11:45 AM >> *To:* m...@bitchin100.com >> *Subject:* Re: [M100] TPDD2 help >> >> >> >> Most of the PDD design I think is pretty robust - physically at least. >> Things I would check off the top of my head: >> >> >> >> - Is the belt still in place? >> >> - Does it still power up (PSU board has connector that could shift loose) >> >> - Does disk still insert / eject smoothly? >> >> >> >> One non-obvious thing I've seen on a couple of PDDs now is this: There >> is a metal tab on the top of the frame that lifts the felt pressure-pad off >> the disk cookie during eject. This tab was physically bent on 2 of the >> drives I've seen, preventing the felt from making contact. The result was >> that the cookie was not pressed firmly against the drive head and the disk >> was not read properly. Bending this tab is very touchy as the felt needs to >> raise up quickly enough to clear the disk shell on eject, but still lower >> fully to press the cookie to the head. >> >> >> >> Good luck! >> >> >> >> -Josh >> >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:40 PM Francois Gurin >> wrote: >> >> Reaching out to the list for advice and help. >> >> >> >> I recently replaced the belt on my TPDD2 and was in the process of >> writing to a test disk when the drive fell a few feet onto the carpeted >> floor. There's no obvious physical damage, but as you can expect it's no >> longer able to read or write to disks.I'm going to guess the head is >> physically out of alignment, but I haven't a clue where to start. >> >> >> >> Any ideas? >> >> >> >> If not, anyone interested in taking a look? >> >> >> >> --FG >> >>
Re: [M100] TPDD2 help
Thanks for the advice! I did some tinkering and the TPDD2 still reports an I/O error or Communications error when trying to format (depending on DOS), you can see it homes and seems to step through each sector.The felt pad on the drive seems to be on a plastic arm, not a metal one. It seems to be making decent contact with the disk from a quick visual. I did notice the low battery led wasn't flashing and seems to have broken off the solder points. I haven't had a chance to fix this yet, but can't imagine it's related. On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 1:57 PM Jeffrey Birt wrote: > In addition to what Josh said you can look for the low battery LED to very > briefly flash when you turn it ON (or OFF, can’t remember which just now). > This is a sign that the power supply is putting out 5V and it is getting to > the control board. > > > > The connector from the battery compartment/ext. power jack it a pain to > snap in place and may have popped loose. > > > > Worse case would be something popped loose from the power supply. I worked > on one last week that had a battery leak in its past which did a number on > the power supply board. A board in that shape could have a component > knocked loose from a fall. The video for that repair will be out this > Saturday in fact. > > > > Good luck let us know if you get it or if you need help. > > > > Jeff Birt > > > > > > *From:* M100 *On Behalf Of *Josh > Malone > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 7, 2020 11:45 AM > *To:* m...@bitchin100.com > *Subject:* Re: [M100] TPDD2 help > > > > Most of the PDD design I think is pretty robust - physically at least. > Things I would check off the top of my head: > > > > - Is the belt still in place? > > - Does it still power up (PSU board has connector that could shift loose) > > - Does disk still insert / eject smoothly? > > > > One non-obvious thing I've seen on a couple of PDDs now is this: There is > a metal tab on the top of the frame that lifts the felt pressure-pad off > the disk cookie during eject. This tab was physically bent on 2 of the > drives I've seen, preventing the felt from making contact. The result was > that the cookie was not pressed firmly against the drive head and the disk > was not read properly. Bending this tab is very touchy as the felt needs to > raise up quickly enough to clear the disk shell on eject, but still lower > fully to press the cookie to the head. > > > > Good luck! > > > > -Josh > > > > On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:40 PM Francois Gurin wrote: > > Reaching out to the list for advice and help. > > > > I recently replaced the belt on my TPDD2 and was in the process of writing > to a test disk when the drive fell a few feet onto the carpeted floor. > There's no obvious physical damage, but as you can expect it's no longer > able to read or write to disks.I'm going to guess the head is > physically out of alignment, but I haven't a clue where to start. > > > > Any ideas? > > > > If not, anyone interested in taking a look? > > > > --FG > >
Re: [M100] TPDD2 help
In addition to what Josh said you can look for the low battery LED to very briefly flash when you turn it ON (or OFF, can’t remember which just now). This is a sign that the power supply is putting out 5V and it is getting to the control board. The connector from the battery compartment/ext. power jack it a pain to snap in place and may have popped loose. Worse case would be something popped loose from the power supply. I worked on one last week that had a battery leak in its past which did a number on the power supply board. A board in that shape could have a component knocked loose from a fall. The video for that repair will be out this Saturday in fact. Good luck let us know if you get it or if you need help. Jeff Birt From: M100 On Behalf Of Josh Malone Sent: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 11:45 AM To: m...@bitchin100.com Subject: Re: [M100] TPDD2 help Most of the PDD design I think is pretty robust - physically at least. Things I would check off the top of my head: - Is the belt still in place? - Does it still power up (PSU board has connector that could shift loose) - Does disk still insert / eject smoothly? One non-obvious thing I've seen on a couple of PDDs now is this: There is a metal tab on the top of the frame that lifts the felt pressure-pad off the disk cookie during eject. This tab was physically bent on 2 of the drives I've seen, preventing the felt from making contact. The result was that the cookie was not pressed firmly against the drive head and the disk was not read properly. Bending this tab is very touchy as the felt needs to raise up quickly enough to clear the disk shell on eject, but still lower fully to press the cookie to the head. Good luck! -Josh On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:40 PM Francois Gurin mailto:franc...@gurin.org> > wrote: Reaching out to the list for advice and help. I recently replaced the belt on my TPDD2 and was in the process of writing to a test disk when the drive fell a few feet onto the carpeted floor. There's no obvious physical damage, but as you can expect it's no longer able to read or write to disks.I'm going to guess the head is physically out of alignment, but I haven't a clue where to start. Any ideas? If not, anyone interested in taking a look? --FG
Re: [M100] TPDD2 help
Most of the PDD design I think is pretty robust - physically at least. Things I would check off the top of my head: - Is the belt still in place? - Does it still power up (PSU board has connector that could shift loose) - Does disk still insert / eject smoothly? One non-obvious thing I've seen on a couple of PDDs now is this: There is a metal tab on the top of the frame that lifts the felt pressure-pad off the disk cookie during eject. This tab was physically bent on 2 of the drives I've seen, preventing the felt from making contact. The result was that the cookie was not pressed firmly against the drive head and the disk was not read properly. Bending this tab is very touchy as the felt needs to raise up quickly enough to clear the disk shell on eject, but still lower fully to press the cookie to the head. Good luck! -Josh On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 12:40 PM Francois Gurin wrote: > Reaching out to the list for advice and help. > > I recently replaced the belt on my TPDD2 and was in the process of writing > to a test disk when the drive fell a few feet onto the carpeted floor. > There's no obvious physical damage, but as you can expect it's no longer > able to read or write to disks.I'm going to guess the head is > physically out of alignment, but I haven't a clue where to start. > > Any ideas? > > If not, anyone interested in taking a look? > > --FG >
