Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!thad
From: thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Clicking Drives II
Message-ID: <37978@cup.portal.com>
Date: 13 Jan 91 12:07:40 GMT
References: <1990Dec19.164559.19792@engin.umich.edu>
  <135@dogmelb.dog.oz.au> <1990Dec20.211301.28307@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
  <7357@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1990Dec31.091243.470@phoenix.pub.uu.oz.au>
  <1412@tardis.Tymnet.COM>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 29

jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM (Joe Smith) in <1412@tardis.Tymnet.COM> writes:

	[...]
	So, the Amiga can detect immediately when the floppy is removed.
	However, there is no signal from the disk drive that says when a new
	floppy is inserted.  The only way to detect the presence of a floppy
	in the drive is step the heads to the next track and see if that
	operation has caused the CHNG signal to become de-asserted.

But you've omitted a VERY important point that's exploited by NoKlickStart and
that is that SOME drives can be stepped OUTWARDS to reset the latch and are
smart enough to realize they're already at cylinder 0 and thus won't do any
actual movement and thus are silent.

Even with MY bad hearing, clicking floppies on the Amiga are a nuisance I will
NOT tolerate.  I use "good" floppy drives and NoKlickStart as it's been posted
to comp.binaries.amiga and probably on abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov

Keeping floppies in the drive solely to suppress clicking is absurd, as all
the tiny springs and whatnot may develop a "set" and not be at full temper
when most needed.

Commodore should find a floppy-drive manufacturer who's willing to cater to
the requirements of a company that's already produced over 2 million systems
(Amiga) and custom-make, if necessary, the logic, sensor(s), whatever are
required to produce a computer system that not only acts "professional" but
also SOUNDS professional (e.g. no tacky tick...tick...tick...)

Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com ]