Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!percy!nosun!techbook!fzsitvay
From: fzsitvay@techbook.com (Frank Zsitvay)
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Subject: Re: MAXRom and TEAC FD55 drive 1.2M??
Message-ID: <1990Sep24.235858.13077@techbook.com>
Date: 24 Sep 90 23:58:58 GMT
References: <15428.26f4f146@levels.sait.edu.au>
Organization: TECHbooks of Beaverton Oregon - Public Access Unix
Lines: 39

In article <15428.26f4f146@levels.sait.edu.au> etrmg@levels.sait.edu.au writes:
>Help:
>
>I bought a uC MAXRom for my 84 Kaypro.  Now I am trying to connect a Quad
>density drive to it for 750K storage capability.  Will a standard 1.2M 
>AT type floppy drive work.  Probably not.  Alternatively, Can I strap my
>TEAC 1.2 FD55 to act like a Quad density drive?  What are the differences
>between 1.2M and 720K quad drives.  Spindle speed only?  Same # of tracks?
>I'm getting bogged down without proper specs for these things.
>Thanks for any info...
>Ronn

   Well, in theory you could use a 1.2 meg drive as a 750k drive, but it would
be a waste of money to do so.

C

   the ibm 1.2 meg drives have the equivalent of 8 inch drive electronics,
at least a subset.

   a nifty thing you could do if you wanted to use the 3.5 inch drives,
a 3.5 inch 720k ibm drive is electrically the same as a dsqd 96tpi 5.25
inch drive.

   problems with going the 1.2 meg drive route....   the tracks these drives
write are substantially narrower than even the dsqd drive tracks, to say 
nothing of the dsdd tracks.   also, the write current is also greater.

   these drives can write an ibm 360k format, but the chances of another
type of drive reading it is about 50/50.

   if you already have a 1.2 meg drive, see if you can trade it either for
a real dsqd drive, or for a 720k 3.5 inch drive.

,
-- 
fzsitvay@techbook.COM - one of these days i'll get it right...

Version 2 of anything is usually the version that works.