Cleaning an 810

[Tempest]

My beloved Atari 810 has decided to stop reading disks. What's the best way to manually clean the drive (I assume that's the problem since it worked last time I used it and it spins up and attempts to read the disk before giving a boot error).

 

Tempest

[Rybags]

Open the drive. Carefully lift the spring-loaded felt pad that presses the disk against the head. Clean the head, preferably using a foam tip with video head-cleaner. Otherwise use a cotton bud or lint-free cloth.

 

If there's oxide covering it, chances are you'll well and truly see it. A clean head, you should see a little line that goes through a rectangular shape once it's clean.

[Tempest]

I hope this is the problem. I swear it worked the last time I used it (a year or so ago). I have four disk drives (two 810's, one 1050, and a XF551) and they've all suddenly developed problems. The two 810's start to read then give read errors (the disks are good, one even came from a sealed game), the 1050 just spins forever and never reads, and the XF551 doesn't seem to want to power up (the light just flashes once) and doesn't seem to be detected by the computer. The XF551 in particular is troubling since I know it worked just fine last year and was always my 'stand by' drive.

 

Tempest

[Rybags]

Pulling the logic boards out and just slightly raising then pushing each socketed IC back in might help out.

 

Oxidization and crud can make our old gear play up, or just plain stop working at all.

[Tempest]

Pulling the logic boards out and just slightly raising then pushing each socketed IC back in might help out.

 

Oxidization and crud can make our old gear play up, or just plain stop working at all.

Yeah I'm going to crack open all the drives, clean them (I assume cleaning the heads is the same in all the drives), reseat all the chips, and make sure there are no broken contacts anywhere. I've opened them up before, and it's not like I can really break them at this point (what are they going to do, stop working even more?).

 

Is there anything else I should be looking for when I crack these drives open? Any other places to clean or look for crud other than the head?

 

Tempest

[Rybags]

The Field Service Manuals and Sam's Computer Facts for some drives should be somewhere in the thread linked in my tagline.

 

They should have details of mechanical checks to perform.

[+Stephen]

I hope this is the problem. I swear it worked the last time I used it (a year or so ago). I have four disk drives (two 810's, one 1050, and a XF551) and they've all suddenly developed problems. The two 810's start to read then give read errors (the disks are good, one even came from a sealed game), the 1050 just spins forever and never reads, and the XF551 doesn't seem to want to power up (the light just flashes once) and doesn't seem to be detected by the computer. The XF551 in particular is troubling since I know it worked just fine last year and was always my 'stand by' drive.

 

Tempest

If you open the XF551, carefully inspect all the solder joints going from the SIO port to the main PCB. Cracked solder joints are very common there.

[kurtm]

The two 810's start to read then give read errors (the disks are good, one even came from a sealed game)

 

 

Not necessarily true on the disks. Even never used disks can go bad with age. Unless you can verify them with another drive, you cannot be certain they are good (which sucks since all of yours are on the fritz...)

[Tempest]

The two 810's start to read then give read errors (the disks are good, one even came from a sealed game)

 

 

Not necessarily true on the disks. Even never used disks can go bad with age. Unless you can verify them with another drive, you cannot be certain they are good (which sucks since all of yours are on the fritz...)

Well I meant to say that the odds of it being a bad disk are much lower. I have about 200+ disks here and I can't believe all are bad.

 

I'll check on those solder joints.

 

Tempest

[Rybags]

It might be a head alignment problem.

 

Have you tried formatting a new disk and write/reading it back?

[tregare]

It might be a head alignment problem.

 

Have you tried formatting a new disk and write/reading it back?

 

 

do you have an SIO2PC that you can boot the system from? or a diagnostic cart? (810 diags cart) or boot the 1050 diags disk via Sio2PC/APE, etc.

[Tempest]

It might be a head alignment problem.

 

Have you tried formatting a new disk and write/reading it back?

 

 

do you have an SIO2PC that you can boot the system from? or a diagnostic cart? (810 diags cart) or boot the 1050 diags disk via Sio2PC/APE, etc.

I will in a few days.

 

Tempest

[Tempest]

Can someone make an xex file or something that will run on the Atarimax cart of the 810 diagnostic cartridge?

 

Tempest

[MEtalGuy66]

If you open the XF551, carefully inspect all the solder joints going from the SIO port to the main PCB. Cracked solder joints are very common there.

 

All of them need resoldering.. And you usually need a microscope/magnifier to see the cracks.. I have perfect vision and I usually can't see them without magnification..

 

 

And if you do resolder them yourself, run your iron at less than 500 degrees, if possible.. otherwise, you stand a good chance of delaminating the pads from the crappy single-sided board.. Use real 60/40 lead based solder.. Suck off the old solder first, and then resolder the joints, making sure to flow enough solder on to make a nice sized joint.. in fact, if your technique isnt up to par, youd probably be alot better off leaving that to someone who's done a few..

 

And alwayze be very gentle plugging & unplugging SIO cables from an XF551, to keep from causing future problems.. They are just a weak assed design where this is concerned..

[Bryan]

Floppies can suffer oxide adhesive failure over time and the first symptom will be that your heads are always dirty. Eventually, grooves will be visible on the disks themselves. So, if you suddenly start having a lot of read errors, see if you can isolate it to a particular disk or a brand of disks and then back those up ASAP!

[+bob1200xl]

With the exception of the XF551, drives tend to get speed problems as they lie around unused. The belts get a set to them and the bearings/bushings get nasty... This makes it harder to read as you get closer to the center of the diskette, so you may find the first few outer track read while the inner tracks fail. Or, the head may seek a little short because the rails are gummy.

 

Try checking the disk RPMs.

 

Bob

 

 

We ought to make a series of videos showing how to do stuff like clean the heads on a 1050, lube the rails, de-solder ICs and such.

 

 

 

The two 810's start to read then give read errors (the disks are good, one even came from a sealed game)

 

 

Not necessarily true on the disks. Even never used disks can go bad with age. Unless you can verify them with another drive, you cannot be certain they are good (which sucks since all of yours are on the fritz...)

Well I meant to say that the odds of it being a bad disk are much lower. I have about 200+ disks here and I can't believe all are bad.

 

I'll check on those solder joints.

 

Tempest

[Tempest]

With the exception of the XF551, drives tend to get speed problems as they lie around unused. The belts get a set to them and the bearings/bushings get nasty... This makes it harder to read as you get closer to the center of the diskette, so you may find the first few outer track read while the inner tracks fail. Or, the head may seek a little short because the rails are gummy.

Is the belt something that's easy to replace? If the RPMs are the problem how do I fix that? Doesn't that require turning a screw somewhere inside the drive?

 

I got my XF551 working last night so I should be good to go for a bit, although I'd really like to fix these other drives sometime when I get a chance.

 

Tempest

[opcode]

We ought to make a series of videos showing how to do stuff like clean the heads on a 1050, lube the rails, de-solder ICs and such.

 

I have a 1050 that is doing what I think is a lot of noise during seek. It is working ok, but I opened it and the rails seem dry. What should I use to lube it?

 

Thanks!

 

Eduardo

[+bob1200xl]

You had to ask...

 

I don't remember, exactly. A silicone-based lube from Radio Shack, I believe. I don't recommend petroleum lubes, in general, although I've not experienced a problem with them - because I don't use them.

 

Last 1050s I did were years ago. Mine are still quiet.

 

Don't use too much, You can always add a little, hard to take it back, OK?

 

Bob

 

 

 

We ought to make a series of videos showing how to do stuff like clean the heads on a 1050, lube the rails, de-solder ICs and such.

 

I have a 1050 that is doing what I think is a lot of noise during seek. It is working ok, but I opened it and the rails seem dry. What should I use to lube it?

 

Thanks!

 

Eduardo

[+bob1200xl]

Yes, speed is adjusted with a screwdriver. There are programs that measure disk RPM - should be 288. I think SD has a speed checker. (called 'RPM')

 

Belts are a problem... check the speed first.

 

Bob

 

 

 

With the exception of the XF551, drives tend to get speed problems as they lie around unused. The belts get a set to them and the bearings/bushings get nasty... This makes it harder to read as you get closer to the center of the diskette, so you may find the first few outer track read while the inner tracks fail. Or, the head may seek a little short because the rails are gummy.

Is the belt something that's easy to replace? If the RPMs are the problem how do I fix that? Doesn't that require turning a screw somewhere inside the drive?

 

I got my XF551 working last night so I should be good to go for a bit, although I'd really like to fix these other drives sometime when I get a chance.

 

Tempest

[Kjmann]

I've used standard 3 in 1 oil to lube the motor and the head rails without any problems. You could try that.