Tube🌈 TimeMay 12
ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. let's get it working! 🧵
Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12

whoops, surprise hard drive inside!

this one is a Seagate ST-506, a MFM drive with a whopping 5MB capacity!

Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12
after taking out 894375037 screws, the actual drive reveals itself.
Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12
oh yeah, the hard drive has a controller board on top of it. and on the controller board is this super weird potted electronics module. i'll have to look into that later.
Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12
the floppy drive is the extremely ancient Sony OA-D31V-1. it's not the first one to come out. more like the second one.
Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12
transmissive optical sensors hate dust bunnies. they'll produce false readings, so they must be cleaned!
Show threadTube🌈 TimeMay 12
a single-sided 3.5" drive head is something you don't see every day. they were never that common.
Show threadMarcin WicharyMay 12
@tubetime Is that like… 360KB capacity?
Show threadTube🌈 Time
@mwichary worse, it is 270K and it uses 256 byte sectors. it also runs at 600 rpm!
May 12 at 1:16amWeb
Show threadMarcin WicharyMay 12
@tubetime You say “worse,” but all of this sounds awesome. 😀
Show threadChipMay 12
@mwichary @tubetime 70 tracks!