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Tandy 3800 HD Repair/Restoration

Conmega said:
I got your package leeb and I noticed you left a bracket on the drive... I hope you didn't need that?
Also GGRRRRR I stuck the drive in and it sounded like the heads were moving on the drive I got all excited to find it telling me there is no boot device!!!
:(

Edit: hah, funny you taped the warranty sticker back on XD
Click to expand...

Well, I THOUGHT it arrived with one so I sent one... and NO, I don't NEED it. Not like I don't have a few extras!

Only a couple of things to do I can think of...
Have you send it back to me and see if it still works once it shows up, AND/OR
Send you a working 2024 and see if your 3800 can talk to IT.
I KNOW there is nothing wrong with the controller... it is the one off my unit. While I am FAIRLY CERTAIN it is formatted to the 'default' configuration (918,8,17), it IS inconsistent with the values I found online of 823,4,38...
When I DID format to those values it did not boot... but it would not boot when I first managed to get the data off it...

Have you opened it up yet to confirm that the heads are doing the 'seek/return/jump-2-outer' sequence I mentioned before?
If you want to try reformatting it, I can burn you a CD of the data so that you can have it to put back on...
 
I have opened the drive once to check the heads and they were in the center of the platers and when I went to check if they were stuck at all they weren't so i just closed it up and put it back in. When booting again I can hear it seeking during the mem check but then I never hear the heads move again... I never noticed ANY corrosion on the board but I just had a look and noticed two pins on the CHIPS F82c711 look a bit corroded so I'll try and clean them seeing if that was just shorting...

Also Paralel I'm not sure what your saying for parts of what you have left but I'd take anything you don't want!
Extra parts NEVER hurt! (Yea I'm sort of a hoarder but at least I'm hoarding something cool!)
 
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Which pins? Tho I don't have the pinouts here I DO have them... the same basic design as the 1800 and using the came chip.
My 1st 1800 was so corroded that it had eaten thru many of the traces... the FD motor line was totally shot. I think I still have it lying around somewhere...

EDIT:

Found a post of the datasheet PDF:

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~theom/riscos/docs/82c711.pdf

I hope it IS the drive (format or otherwise!) :cool:


:D
 
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Well I don't remember how to count the pins for the exact numbers but if you looking at it with the model number and name right side up then its three pins in from the bottom right hand side. There looks like there is also a single pin with alittle corrosion on it but... here this is what its like for the bottom row of pins.
(bunch of pins)||//||| The fowardslash represents the corroded pins... Do you have any idea of what to clean it with? acetone? something safe for everything?

Edit: So its pin HDCS1 and pin IOCS16
 
Conmega said:
Well I don't remember how to count the pins for the exact numbers but if you looking at it with the model number and name right side up then its three pins in from the bottom right hand side. There looks like there is also a single pin with alittle corrosion on it but... here this is what its like for the bottom row of pins.
(bunch of pins)||//||| The fowardslash represents the corroded pins... Do you have any idea of what to clean it with? acetone? something safe for everything?

Edit: So its pin HDCS1 and pin IOCS16
Click to expand...

Okay... when it spins up and/or attempt to access the drive, do you see the HD LED ever light up?
HDCS1 should NOT be a big deal... however IOCS16 is...
 
It only flashes for a brief second when it JUST finishes spinning up... Then when the actual heads move around the light blinks no more...

What can I use to clean the pins on the chip?
 
Okay... that suggests that it IS attempting to access the drive.
Have you gotten the FD back together ? HSECT.com will be able to tell you if it just needs to be 'compatibilized'... :p

Do you have a floppy with HSECT.com on it? You can get it thru the radio shack support (2nd entry) that you posted.
I wouldn't be able to send another drive until after Thursday ($ issues) but would be happy to if you want to try it!

Oh... old toothbrush and rubbing alcohol.
:D
EDIT: If you please, open the drive back up and confirm that it is reaches the outer edge TWICE before stopping there.
 
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That's ok you don't have to do much more for me other then this support you've already done enough!
ALSO no I don't have the belt yet... may take up to another week... BUT I did get a professionally made IDE to IDE adaptor so I could hook it up to my desktop... But I do not have a floppy with HSECT.com... Do you have like a directory of every single dos program and such that you have that I would either want (fun programs?) or need? Because if you could email me all that I could make a bunch of floppys... OH also... I have a HUGE amount of 5 1/4 in floppys with NO SUCH DRIVE to read it D: I've been looking on and off for a 5 1/4 inch drive but yea... I have a TON of them... a few of which I've taken from my grandparent's basement because they said they had games on them :D So yea... I probably have 100+ 5 1/4s... Some of which I specifically remember saying CAD most likely files but... yea :D

Also again do you know what substance I can safely use on the board to clean the corrosion? Acetone?
 
Sorry... made a couple of edits to the entry.
Just rubbing alcohol and an old toothbrush (manual preferred) :rolleyes:

Remember if you hook it up to your desktop you MUST use CHS... It WILL NOT READ properly otherwise!

Actually I don't have that many anymore... backups and copies magically disappeared over years of prurging and moving and purging and relocating and.... :D
 
In fact I am still looking for one that I had when I was using the 2810 onboard ship...
It was a map program that placed locations on it by lat/long coordinates and they could be ADDED TO/MODIFIED!!
I would LOVE to find it again, but I don't remember who made it... MySoftware is who I thought they were...

:D
 
Do you know were I could get my hands on a 5 1/4 in floppy drive because with all those floppys I'd love to backup all the programs/data and make it publicly available... Other then the data... I have this game on two 5 1/4 floppys called OVERKILL SPACE GAME.
 
I just cleaned the pins the best I can It APEARS to not be shorted anymore... Also I'll have to retreive those 100 5 1/4 in floppys and see what they have written on them... If they are all interesting enough I shall harder for a drive to read them... I have the cable to beable to hook it up to my desktop even but no drive! Do you have a source for 5 1/4 in floppy drives? Working or not?
 
You shouldn't have any trouble finding a stock 5.25 floppy drive just about anywhere. There are literally millions of them.

Now, finding the external Tandy 5.25 that is suggested for the Tandy laptop series, that's a totally different matter. They appear to be rather rare. I've never found one for sale. I've love to get my hands on one of those since I also have various 5.25's I'd like to read on my 3800.

If for some reason you can't get your hands on one, you could always send them to me and I can just covert them all into disk images and upload them. I have a desktop 5.25 drive that works.
 
Conmega said:
Do you know were I could get my hands on a 5 1/4 in floppy drive because with all those floppys I'd love to backup all the programs/data and make it publicly available... Other then the data... I have this game on two 5 1/4 floppys called OVERKILL SPACE GAME.
Click to expand...

Conmega said:
I just cleaned the pins the best I can It APEARS to not be shorted anymore... Also I'll have to retreive those 100 5 1/4 in floppys and see what they have written on them... If they are all interesting enough I shall harder for a drive to read them... I have the cable to beable to hook it up to my desktop even but no drive! Do you have a source for 5 1/4 in floppy drives? Working or not?
Click to expand...

No... at this time the only 5.25 drives I have are SSDD units from my avatar-displayed Dinosaur (lovingly named :p ). I don't think my desktop/tower would even accept them... tho it DOES have 3.5...
Thinking seriously about trying to track down a Backpack unit... if anyone still has them. Perhaps as a companion to the CDRW I bought for these lovely portable antiques! :p
 
Paralel said:
You shouldn't have any trouble finding a stock 5.25 floppy drive just about anywhere. There are literally millions of them.

Now, finding the external Tandy 5.25 that is suggested for the Tandy laptop series, that's a totally different matter. They appear to be rather rare. I've never found one for sale. I've love to get my hands on one of those since I also have various 5.25's I'd like to read on my 3800.

If for some reason you can't get your hands on one, you could always send them to me and I can just covert them all into disk images and upload them. I have a desktop 5.25 drive that works.
Click to expand...

The drives you refer to are just rebranded Backpack units... I know cuz I got one with my original 2810...
Kinda wish I had kept it tho... just because.
:D
 
I have a cable that should make a 5 1/4 compatible with a regular floppy plug on a motherboard... Also when I want to read the HD with my desktop should I put the drive in then set the bios or set the bios then put the drive in? Or does it just not matter?
 
Conmega said:
I have a cable that should make a 5 1/4 compatible with a regular floppy plug on a motherboard... Also when I want to read the HD with my desktop should I put the drive in then set the bios or set the bios then put the drive in? Or does it just not matter?
Click to expand...

Put the drive in first... then your desktop will likely detect the configuration it is set for... you only need to manually set CHS.
 
Well... %#^$... Sorry for that but... I put the drive in and THE SECOND I TURN ON MY COMPUTER I HEARD SNAPPING AND POPPING THEN AN INSTANT SMELL OF BURNING HIT ME!!! I switched off my power supply and I was completely dumbfounded the back of the HD was very hot and when I went to disconnect it I realized the problem... There are keys in the corners of the power cable in the computer to keep you from putting it in backwards... but I was able to just slide it in and ended up backwards... so... I supplied 12v instead of 5v on the HD... THE CHEAP CONVERTER BOARD'S KEYING ON THE POWER PLUG WAS SO FLEXIBLE YOU CAN JUST PLUG IT IN ANY WAY!!! GAHHHH!!! So another controller board is dead... hopefully the internals are ok but... still... GAHH WHYYYYY
 
That sucks

IDK if they have any kind of overvolt protection built into them, but it might have fried the entire drive (motors, etc...) and not just the controller.
 
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