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5 1.4" Floppies

O

One Man Band

Experienced Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
110
Location
NC
Hi group...

I have a TON of floppies left over from The Commodore Pile(tm). Can I use any of them for my Apple IIe?

What should I be looking for (on the disk label) to know that they would work?

Also, does anyone know of an outlet (besides eBay) that stocks disks (both 5 1/4" and 3 1/2") suitable for Appley goodness? The 3 1/2" would be used on an 800k drive.

Thanks!

Bob
 
http://www.athana.com/

I have used Athana 5.25 DS/DD and 3.5 720K almost exclusively. Every once in awhile, I see the Athana disks on ebay that someone has overpurchased and they are unloading some of them. I can't remember exactly but it was somewhere in the $6 to $8 range for the 5.25 diskettes. I would order mixed sets of 5 to 10 boxes each time. Never a problem. Shipped out fast.

I too have, hmmm, maybe 400 old Commodore diskettes. After reading frequent "gum up" stories on here, I am super reluctant to try and reuse most if not all my current pile. Too much work getting into the drive to ungunk it vs. what new ds/dd diskettes cost.

No help from me on the 800K front. My one lone somewhat modern Apple sits out in the shed, in it's very pretty custom made case. I attempted to pick up a G3 (the white/blue guys) by the "handle". Cracked off in my hand and unit hit the floor. More of the very brittle plastic went flying all over the room. Must mean "don't use what look like nice handles as handles". Think that one will get turned into parts.
 
One Man Band said:
I have a TON of floppies left over from The Commodore Pile(tm). Can I use any of them for my Apple IIe?
Click to expand...
Yes. They are the same thing. As Chuck notes, however, using old disks can carry risks of spreading gummy goo. I handle a lot of diskettes, and it happens infrequently - but it happens.
What should I be looking for (on the disk label) to know that they would work?
Click to expand...
DS/DD (Double Sided, Double Density). Avoid anything that has HD or High density in the label.
Also, does anyone know of an outlet (besides eBay) that stocks disks (both 5 1/4" and 3 1/2") suitable for Appley goodness? The 3 1/2" would be used on an 800k drive.
Click to expand...
http://floppydisk.com is an outlet with both sizes and in DD densities.
 
One Man Band said:
So what is the 'hard sector' business about?
Click to expand...
Nothing of consequence to us. Apple disk drives ignored hard sectoring (having to do with the little hole in the disk near the big hole in the center). You can use hard or soft sectored disks. The Apple drive controller doesn't use or care about hard sectoring.
 
WOW! Those are some expensive floppies for a major supplier. I would imagine that they go through tens of thousands on a regular basis so you would think that they would be cheaper.
Floppydisk.com sells them for .99 each or 100 for $79.00. I can understand an individual selling them for these prices but a company who sells them for a living seems like they should be able to get better prices.

I noticed that Athana does not list their prices. Does anyone know if they are around the same price range as Floppydisk.com?
 
I know it says that crud about min. being $100 but it isn't true.

I have made 2 orders from them, both in the $50 - $60 range. They were always very nice to me, got my stuff packed up and shipped out so fast I almost got them before I ordered them.

Like I said already, I sure hope they manage to stay in business. They will be missed by me if they go under.

I also saw 3.5 HD diskettes listed, I would think that would be perfect for the Mac 800K diskette.
 
chuckcmagee said:
I also saw 3.5 HD diskettes listed, I would think that would be perfect for the Mac 800K diskette.
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've have though DD would be more suitable. I know HD are deemed unreliable for use as Amiga 880K floppies.
 
As explained by me in this very thread, I really know ZIPPO about Mac diskettes. Whether they should be DD or HD, no clue here. I just noticed that Athana had preformatted 800K diskettes available.

Quote from their site:

3.5 Inch Diskettes HD (High Density, Double Sided), MacIntosh Formatted, 135 TPI, ATHANA Box
47-6702

Ah, here's another one listed higher up:

3.5 Diskettes DD (Double Sided, Double Density), MacIntosh Formatted, ATHANA Box
47-6503


So, guess one will need to figure out if you need DD or HD.
 
And, as I was sitting here thinking " Hmmm, 800K is pretty damn close to 720K, I bet they need DD diskettes".
 
well athana apparently makes them on US soil, maybe that's why it is more expensive. Made in the USA is the best! :) (my original IBM PC says "Made in USA") :)
 
To repeat myself:

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?t=14979

You really can't beat the deal this guy is giving on 10 boxes of 10 each DSDD diskettes. Look at the box and SURPRISE, they are all Athana diskettes. Must have purchased tons of them to get a good discount or something. Mine are sitting right here, no mold, sealed boxes, well shipped, no heat damage, both surfaces look excellent, hub ring on each, no warp on any of them, glue on labels still works.

I suppose with shipping costs included works out to around $6.50 a box, still a great price. Apparently Cudasales has found out Athana's prices have risen dramatically. The $6.50 which includes shipping is still a lot less than I paid Athana at my last purchase there, likely 2 years ago by now. The product label on the 2 year old box is identical to these 10 boxes I just got. I guess I should write to the seller and tell him to give me a % of total sales :cool:
 
The following is a price quote via e-mail that I received from Athana...

Hello Cudasales,

Thank you for your inquiry about DS/DD floppy disks. The price for is for 2-5 BX/10 $11.50 EA. and for 6-10 BX/10 $11.00 plus shipping.
If you need this in Bulk Pack (min 500 pieces) the price is $0.75 EA. plus shipping. We accept Visa, MasterCard & American Express. If you
have any questions, please let us know. We will be glad to help.

kind regards,

Connie Fontaine
Athana International, Inc.
Ph: 800-421-1591
Ph: 310-539-7280
Fax: 310-539-6596

Floppydisk.com has them for $.79 each plus shipping if you buy a quantity of 100


All I have left to sell are 25 packs for $16.00 each plus shipping. I only have 3 packs left. Everything else that I had has sold and most of my contacts for the DS/DD have dried up unfortunately.


**If we found a good source we could all go in on it to get a better price by purchasing a large quantity***
 
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