Christian Kent   š˜Šš˜’ :ļ¼¼ļ¹„Mar 6
Matthew Jones

The unobtainium piece of the Seequa collection has arrived, and wow is it smaller than I imagined! The Tabor 3.25ā€ drivette for these little disks were designed in a collaborative effort between Dysan Corporation from California, Tabor Corporation from Massachusetts, and Seequa Computer Corporation from Maryland. These rigid plastic disks could hold 500K on a single disk, and were to be the new ā€œgolden standardā€ of format for any luggable IBM compatible.

I will have my 3.25ā€ disk, my NOS Drivette, and the Tabor edge adapter on display alongside my Seequa research at VCF East and VCF Midwest!

#vintagecomputing #seequa #floppydisks

Feb 27 at 8:11pmWeb
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4

As I like to reach out to the folks behind a company to get the real story for my research, rather than basing facts off of computer magazines, I was hoping to reach out to those behind Tabor to get some insight to just how long these drivettes were manufactured. Unfortunately, it seems both members involved directly with the company have passed away.

Moral of the post is, every story matters. You never know where something you accomplished fits into a bigger story!

Show threadMike SpoonerMar 4
@mcjonestech Is it connected to the organisation at taborelec.com ?
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@shelldozer Tabor Corporation was out of Massachusetts, it looks like this company is out of California. Tabor, according to Massachusettsā€™s business entity report, filed for dissolution in 1990.
Show threadAlice AverlongšŸ³ļøā€āš§ļøMar 4
@mcjonestech oh wow!
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@foone You have one of these too if I'm not mistaken? One of the Dysan-branded ones?
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@foone I actually just found your Twitter thread on the Tabor stuff. Firstly, I am beyond jealous of whomever has the drive enclosure thing you posted about (pictured). Secondly, I am beyond jealous of that pre-release Tabor diskette. That is awesome! Do you care if I cite those photos on the Seequa preservation site from you as a part of the Seequa 325 page whenever I get around to publishing it?
Show threadAlice AverlongšŸ³ļøā€āš§ļøMar 4
@mcjonestech yeah go ahead
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@foone thank you!!
Show threadL.A.Mar 4
@mcjonestech Interesting. I need to look into this and see how they compare against those sony rigid disks that Amstrad (and spectrum after the purchase) used.
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@lonelyautomata Hi! I can confirm this has the flop of a 5.25", but has the metal ring like a 3.5". It is like a weird hybrid of the two! I'm blanking (too early in the morning), what was the capacity of the 3" disks Amstrad used again?
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@lonelyautomata Here is a sheet on the TC 500 drive, for your reference.
Show threadL.A.Mar 4

@mcjonestech it may have been around 720kb, 360kb on each side (you had to flip them). My memory is pretty foggy, but I remember that when I formatted 3.5" 1.44mb floppies for use with the CPC I would have to cover the HD hole with tape.

What I find a bit confusing about these ones is the lack of a metal shield. The 3" ones had a the shield under the plastic, so it was very hard to accidentally damage it like a 3.5". We used to joke that you could drive over the disk and they would survive.

Show threadEric S. SmithMar 4
@mcjonestech
I like that the NO-RISKā„¢ DISK has an exposed recording surface.
Show threadMatthew JonesMar 4
@smiteri probably couldnā€™t fit ā€œSOME RISK PROBABLY LIKELY RISK DEPENDING ON GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, HUMIDITY, AMBIENT DUST, MISALIGNED WRITE HEADS, OR THE WEATHER FORECAST OF THE SUNā€ā€¦ or is that what the quotes symbolize?