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WTB: Atari ST floppy drive

U

username1

Experienced Member
Joined
May 29, 2017
Messages
96
Location
Texas
I just recently got my first Atari ST (1040STF) but the disk drive seems to be totally dead. I am looking for a replacement or someone who can do repairs on it. I have posted a picture of the type I have, the brand is 'Chinon".

Thank you! 20191025_184007.jpg
 
What model number is on the sticker on the back? I've seen Chinon drives on ebay, but they seem a bit pricey because they have settable jumpers.
 
Username1, I am in the same boat with my 1040STF. Read a bunch of posts that its possible to modify many standard 1.44MB floppy drives to work, but I havent yet tried. I do not want to go the gotek route on mine.
 
I have modified a standard PC 3.5" floppy drive to work in my ST. The drive needs to be set as drive 0, or the first drive, instead of the typical drive 1 setting for PC drives. Also, the disk change line needs to be connected to pin 2 of the floppy interface instead of it's usual connection to pin 34. Some drives have jumpers for these changes, but most later day floppy drives don't. They do, however often have jumper pads on the circuit board that can be used to reconfigure the drive

I modified this drive (a TriGem, made by Samsung) by removing a zero ohm resister connecting the DC signal to pin 34, and soldered in a jumper wire to connect the DC circuit to pin 2 of the floppy interface connector. I then removed a solder bridge that jumpered the drive to be drive 1, and bridged the adjacent connection to address the drive as 0. This worked flawlessly in my ST. Getting it mounted and making it look good is another matter entirely.

20191026_154820[1].jpg

My apologies for my photography skills. Take care. I don't recall how the ribbon cable is marked inside the ST, but my external ST drives defy convention by having the stripe on the ribbon cable on the opposite side (pin 34 instead of pin 1). That one really threw me at first.
 
Lafos, the model number is FB-354AA rev A.

Thanks for the info on modding PC drives, hopefully I don't have to do that. I'm still hoping I can find someone to repair mine or sell a replacement.
 
When I has a 520ST, I used a pair of NEC 720K floppy drives in a 2-drive box with separate power supply (from an old modem); they do provide the READY/ signal. Worked beautifully.
 
username1 said:
Lafos, the model number is FB-354AA rev A.
Click to expand...

You might take a look at Chinon FZ-357 drives. They have jumpers for several signals. You should do some searching. I've seen reports that a mod is still needed to detect disk changes, The drives can be found on ebay for about $30-40
 
Thank you for the information on compatible drives! I unfortunately don't really have the time to source and mod a drive so I hopefully can find someone willing to do this for me. I'm also unsure how these will fit the faceplate of the ST but I guess I'd rather have a working drive than no drive at all.
 
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