Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!bath63!pes
From: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Disk problems (continued -- also, media-change)
Message-ID: <2558@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk>
Date: 19 May 88 10:39:28 GMT
References: <2511@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk>
Reply-To: pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee)
Organization: AUCC c/o University of Bath
Lines: 29


I've just had a reply to my letter to Cumana, in which I explained to them
the error of their ways, and told them how I'd fixed my drive.  Aside from
rather profuse thanks, the letter included several bits of information I
thought I might pass on --

1) The fix I outlined is apparently appropriate ('elegant in its simplicity')

2) They will be contacting the people who *they* sold this series drives to,
telling them how to fix it themselves or to return it for modification.  I
suspect that this means the *distributors*.  Cumana themselves don't seem
to require you to send back a registration card, so are unlikely to know
who the final owners are.  So, unless you bought directly from Cumana, you
may have to look up your dealer.

3) The problem relates to a specific variety of Chinon drive mechanism.  I
infer from this that it may well affect drives 'made' by other makers than
Cumana, if they have used the same series Chinon drive.  (The 'problem',
of course, being that the mech in question is too sophisticated for the
ST's way of working -- creeping featurism -- and so needs one of its
features nobbled.)

4) They had noticed the problem by the time my letter arrived, but had not
yet solved it.  They have modified their production procedures so that the
problem will not occur in Cumana drives made since they noticed the problem.
(They had suspended production pending working out a solution.)  Chinon
now know about the problem and the solution, so I assume that other makers
using Chinon mechs will also be getting their act together, but don't know
for sure.