Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!merch!cpe!hal6000!trsvax!earl
From: earl@trsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: Tandy 6000 Hard drives
Message-ID: <193300079@trsvax>
Date: 1 Nov 88 14:35:00 GMT
References: <106@xenlink.UUCP>
Lines: 59
Nf-ID: #R:xenlink.UUCP:106:trsvax:193300079:000:3014
Nf-From: trsvax.UUCP!earl    Nov  1 08:35:00 1988



/* ---------- "Tandy 6000 Hard drives" ---------- */

Anyone know what is involved in taking a drive out of an external
enclosure and replacing it, probably with something a little bit
bigger? It's a full height 5.25" right? Format software will handle
it? Any problems to watch out for?
 <tdr.
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

	There is not really inherent problem to using other hard drives or
   replacing the existing ones with newer ones. Most anything will likely
   work. But, do not utilize the latest hi-tech-hi-speed stuff. Many of these
   hi-tech drives can exceed the design specs for the controller board. Pick
   drives that more or less mimmick the performance/speed charactersistics of
   the drive your replacing. You should have no problems then.

	MOST IMPORTANT  ----->>   All the Tandy external drives are powered up
   by 12 volts from the hard disk controller board. This 12 volts is provided
   in order to energize a relay in the external disk drive which then powers up
   the hard disk unit.
	This 12 volts is provided via the DATA ribbon cable on pin 7 (seven).
   ENSURE that that pin on the replacement drive is not grounded, or you'll get
   real excited as you smell things going up in clouds of noxious smelling 
   smoke on the hard disk controller board.  If you do burn up the resister, it
   can be replaced using a 33 ohm 1/4watt resister. I like the 33 ohm resister
   better than the regular one used, as it burns up faster with less damage to
   PC board runs. You can tell quite readily as to which resister burns out so
   I don't need to identify it.
	Older Tandy 12's,16's,16B's, used a Primary Hard Drive plus up to three
   secondary drives. The primary drive contains the controller board which
   provides 12 volts for powering up all the other secondary drives.
	Newer 6000 machines only provide 12 volts for powering up one external
   secondary drive. 

	I know of a number of people who replaced their internal Tandy 6000
   15 meg hard drives with 35 meg, 40 meg, or 70-80 meg units. No one ever
   stated that they had any trouble at all doing it. Please note though, that
   if your machine is under lease, warranty, maintenance contract or something
   that the Radio Shack or Tandy Service Center may not want to work on it, or
   it'll void your warranties, et cetera. If you expect TANDY to repair your
   machine in the future, check with your service center as to what the effects
   will be on future repair work.

***********************************************************************

<This information is provided by an individual and is not nor should be
 construed  as  being  provided  by  Radio  Shack or Tandy Corp.  Radio
 Shack/Tandy Corp has no obligation to support the information provided
 in  any way. > 
						
						Earl W. Bollinger
						@ <trsvax!earl>


"You were in the Clone Wars!", said Luke excitedly.
"Yes", replied Obi Wan, "I was a DOS programmer. But that was before the dark
 times, before OS2."