Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!ucsd!nosc!tetra!budden
From: budden@tetra.NOSC.MIL (Ray A. Buddenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Subject: Re: 8" floppy drive probles
Message-ID: <667@tetra.NOSC.MIL>
Date: 19 Mar 88 01:01:54 GMT
References: <547@auvax.UUCP> <802@nuchat.UUCP> <246@oink.UUCP>
Reply-To: budden@tetra.nosc.mil.UUCP (Ray A. Buddenberg)
Organization: US Coast Guard, Washington DC
Lines: 16
Summary: They're OK


Agree with Jim that there is no real need to dump 8" drives.
I've got a hybrid with both on my CPM workhorse.

But there is one additional reason that 8" can be a liability
in certain situations.  The drive motor is the only thing in
the whole computer that does anything with 60 Hz.  Aboard ships, we
had to trade our 8 inchers out because when the cooks fired up
the stoves in the galley for breakfast, we got cycle sags.
Which changed the drive speed.  The result was what we called
'data smear', a phenomenon that made you a believer in backing 
up your work.

5" drives, which run on DC only don't have this problem (true for
both hard discs and floppies).

Rex Buddenberg