5 replies to this topic

[crash]

Greetings,

I'm wondering why disks originally formatted on an Atari 810 are now only readable on another drive such as an XF551 or IndusGT. The XF551 seems to be working the best thus far.

Is there something about the drive that would make it better suited to reading old disks, or is it likely that my 810s are just out of whack? For that matter, the 810s refuse to format an entire disk, or write correctly - but can read some files and disks just fine.

Thanks!

[javiero]

The 810 is probably missaligned; also check the band, check the write switch and clean the head. The XF551 has a newer drive mech, so imho is better suited for working on the atari this days, however they've become expensive as heck.

Javier.

Edited by javiero, Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:06 PM.

[doctorclu]

javiero, on Thu Jan 12, 2006 1:05 PM, said:

The 810 is probably missaligned; also check the band, check the write switch and clean the head. The XF551 has a newer drive mech, so imho is better suited for working on the atari this days, however they've become expensive as heck.

Javier.

Only problem I've had with the 810 (I love that really retro early beige look, and the sound effect.. and let's face it, if someone gives an icon for a drive in a Atari emulator, it tends to be the facing of a 1050 or 810 especially. Like in SIO2OSX (Mac version) that one has a 810 facing.

Any got derailed there for a bit, problem I have is the 810 is single density, or at least mine is. Now if there was a way to hack the 810 to be double density then I would toss my other drives.

[Larry]

crash, on Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:02 AM, said:

Greetings,

I'm wondering why disks originally formatted on an Atari 810 are now only readable on another drive such as an XF551 or IndusGT. The XF551 seems to be working the best thus far.

Is there something about the drive that would make it better suited to reading old disks, or is it likely that my 810s are just out of whack? For that matter, the 810s refuse to format an entire disk, or write correctly - but can read some files and disks just fine.

Thanks!

Interesting question! Presumably you have already cleaned the R/W head. (?) After extended service, the R/W "felt" pressure pad can also clog with oxide and compress, causing problems. Also, early 810's had poor data separation ability, and to a lesser extent, speed control. A later modification added a data separation board -- called the "Grass Valley" modification, IIRC. It's also certainly possible that your 810 has alignment issues after all these years. If you check at Best Electronics and B&C Computer Visions, they still carry quite a few 810 parts/assemblies. B&C also does repairs. Later drives like the 1050 and especially the XF551 had much better data separation capabilities. My XF551 will read disks that no others in my collection will touch. This isn't just one thing -- the electronics are better; the mechanisms are better; as with most technology, newer is (usually) better. -Larry

[crash]

I ended up getting replacement mechanisms for both of my 810s from B&C, and these helped tremendously. My problems with formatting and reading disks have disappeared. I suppose that the alignment of the drives must have gone out, and since I have no idea how to fix that, the new mechs definitely did the job.

I do have an XF551, although it doesn't read flippy disks, of which I have quite a few, so the 810s definitely needed to be resurrected.

Thanks!

[MEtalGuy66]

crash, on Tue Apr 4, 2006 8:56 PM, said:

I ended up getting replacement mechanisms for both of my 810s from B&C, and these helped tremendously. My problems with formatting and reading disks have disappeared. I suppose that the alignment of the drives must have gone out, and since I have no idea how to fix that, the new mechs definitely did the job.

I do have an XF551, although it doesn't read flippy disks, of which I have quite a few, so the 810s definitely needed to be resurrected.

Thanks!

Both my XF551s read flippy "back-sides" they just wont FORMAT them.