Just completed the 80 Track disk controller MOD

[Sinphaltimus]

This story continues here....

 

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/256744-atx-psu-in-peb-mod/

[Sinphaltimus]

Rather than start a whole new thread, for some reason, I am now having issues with my DSK3.

I have the 80 track MOD, DSK1=80 DSK2=80 DSK3=40, that's my config.

I can read a floppy in DSK3 (catalog) but I cannot save files to it (it's not write protected) nor can I initialize it.
I ran a quick test and it came up with 27 errors so I figured the floppy disk is no good. I replaced with a new one.
I know it wasn't initialized but wanted to check with Disk Master 2 anyway.

Went to catalog it and got "DISK NOT INITIALIZED"

OK, awesome it knows. So I go to initialize it and I get IO error 44 which I think means:
Restore

OUT OF SPACE

 

I don't understand. That's the same error 44 I get when i tried to initialize the "bad" floppy disk.

I am choosing 40 tracks per side, double sided, single density. The floppies I got are known to be what I need in this day and age.

They are double sided, double density, soft sector diskettes.

 

Am I doing something wrong?

What could be the issue? This drive has gotten very little use out of me since about a year. And at that time I was able to initialize and save programs to it.

 

I discovered the issue when i attempted to copy a file to it, a catalog program.

[+Schmitzi]

Do the 80track-"ports" work with its drives ?

 

Maybe something was confused on the 80t.BIN, so I would jumper

the drive as #1 and #2 once, to see if it works there at 40tracks

 

Do you have a stock controller, to test this drive in normal condition ?

[Sinphaltimus]

Do the 80track-"ports" work with its drives ?

 

Maybe something was confused on the 80t.BIN, so I would jumper

the drive as #1 and #2 once, to see if it works there at 40tracks

 

Do you have a stock controller, to test this drive in normal condition ?

1. My over all peb modifications make "testing by swapping" extremely difficult.

So I haven't tried it on other ports.

 

2. It would be far easier for me to dig out surgery peb and test on that. It'll have to wait until this weekend as opposed to pulling out another card. That's a great idea I should have thought of.

 

Thanks. Send I'll pull my other peb out of storage for testing this weekend.

Edited January 17, 2018 by Sinphaltimus

[+Schmitzi]

hmm, maybe a bad drive issue, by random ? Did you change anything ?

 

Did the 80-tracker work before ? (I think so)

 

Did you have to resocket anything ?

 

a complete different PEB for a test is cool, of course

(maybe an issue with your console ?)

 

I would disconnect anything but the controller and the drive for a test

 

ERROR 44 on the #TI #PHP1240 means Write Protected.

[Sinphaltimus]

hmm, maybe a bad drive issue, by random ? Did you change anything ?

 

Did the 80-tracker work before ? (I think so)

 

Did you have to resocket anything ?

 

a complete different PEB for a test is cool, of course

(maybe an issue with your console ?)

 

I would disconnect anything but the controller and the drive for a test

 

ERROR 44 on the #TI #PHP1240 means Write Protected.

Ok thanks Schmitzi - I really think this is highly likely a USER ERROR someplace. Becasue my memory is not that good. I just today labelled the drives on my PEB for DSK1 80T, DSK2 80T and DSK3 40T so I won't have to look up almost 2 year old threads anymore.

 

Yes, everything worked flawlessly after the mods were competed, it worked flawlessly that last time I used it becasue i had purchased a box of floppies and was able to initialize at least one of them. This was about a year ago. I haven't used the drive since but i did leave the floppy in the drive all this time.

 

I want to ensure that I've got this right.

 

All 3 DSKx devices should be Double Sided Single Density correct?

The 5.25" drive is a Tandom Corp. TM50-2FS 5 1/4 Floppy Drive.

The FDC is a TI one, in the grey(?) clamshell. I found these error codes on-line someplace and just assumed they were correct for me:

 

: : I/O error - this condition genarate an accompanying error code as follow
 
: : When an I/O Error occur , a two-digit error code(xy) is displayed with the message:
 
: : *I/O ERROR xy
 
: : The first digit (x) indicate which I/O operation caused the error.
 
: : 0-open
: : 1-close
: : 2-input
: : 3-print
: : 4-restore
: : 5-old
: : 6-save
: : 7-delete
 
: : the second value (y) indicate what kind of error occured
 
: : 0-Device name not found(Invalid device or file name in DELETE,LIST,OLD,SAVE command)
 
: : 1-Device write protected(attempting to write to a protected file)
 
: : 2-Bad open Attribute(one or more OPEN option are illegal or do not match file caracteristics)
 
: : 3-Illegal operation(Input/output command not valid)
 
: : 4-Out of space(attempting to write when insufficient space remains on the storage medium)
 
: : 5-End of file(attempting to read past the end of a file)
 
: : 6-Device error(device not connected,or is damaged. this error can occur during file processing if an accessory device is accidentally disconnected while the program is running)
 
: : 7-File error(the indicated file does not exist or the file type;program file or data file does not match the acces mode.)

But you're telling me a 44 error code that doesn't match, can you point me to someplace online I can cut and paste the proper error codes from so i can replace my text file?

Now comes the stupid questions part because i have to doubt everything I think I recall.

 

Orientation of the drive - I installed it so that the activity light is bottom left corner and the locking lever turns down to close and up to open, is this correct?

The floppy disk has one notch in it on the left side looking at the top as I insert it into the drive (if it were laying horizontal, it's not, it's vertical). Does that all sound correct?

[+Schmitzi]

yes to all questions

 

About the drive I don´t know. but if it worked before....

Edit: Yes for the Tandon, it´s in the list, but only 1 drive in a PEB. (1x800mA is already near a limit)

 

This is from the controllers manual:

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by Schmitzi

[+arcadeshopper]

if its a write protect error, then your write protect switch may be stuck.. or you know..write protected because you have the disk in backwards the top of the drive should be towards the handle

 

Greg

[Sinphaltimus]

Thank you Schmitzi! EDIT: I've replaced my PSU with a more powerful ATX PSU.

acradeshopper -thanks for that heads up- I'm thinking stuck write protect switch. I recall seeing a thread about the unsticking process around here someplace. I'll have to look that up. I can imagine it being something the temperature in my basement might cause. It's very cold down here during the winter. I do nothing to heat it up beyond running computers. So maybe it's sensitive to it after all these years? Off to search the forums...

Edited January 17, 2018 by Sinphaltimus

[Sinphaltimus]

And no, I can't find anything. Is there a write protect switch unsticking resource on the web someplace? Or possibly a MOD to disable the thing like Tursi did to his school teacher's disk drive? Otherwise, it's to the storage area to dig through my TI-Box of things to locate another 1.2 height (I think I have one more) or swap it out for a full (I don't have an enclosure for it tho..)

[+arcadeshopper]

a lot of drives just use a microswitch and a lever, or a photodiode and a beam.. looking up your drive https://archive.org/details/Tandon_TM-50_Service_Manual_1983_Tandon page 5.5 shows the write protect adjustment

[+Schmitzi]

somethings went wrong

 

https://archive.org/details/Tandon_TM-50_Service_Manual_1983_Tandon

[Sinphaltimus]

Thanks again to the both of you.

It's some sort of photosensor.

I unscrewed it and flipped it over to have a look see. I then put a bright flashlight to it and successfully formatted a floppy.

So good news is that the sensor works. But without a light, it fails.

 

so I check the other side of the drive and found the other end. It appears to be an LED. It doesn't shine at all during any disk processes.
I attempted to jump an LED off the two contacts but couldn't get the one I was using to test with to light up. I couldn't get it to light up jumping off the drive activity light either so it's most likely not the correctly rated LED I'd need.

But that's not too bad at all. All i need is a light on, I'm guessing cutting the wire to the sensor or shorting it out would not have the same effect would it?

Well, yeah, I'm probably just going to run an LED of the molex power connector. It'll always be on but at least it'll get the drive working again.

According to the schematic, it should be a 5v LED and I'm pretty sure my test LED is 5V. So it would have been nice to drop it inline as designed but I don't think the line is working.

I'll test it tomorrow, too tried now, bedtime. L8rs and yep, thanks.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Sinphaltimus

[Sinphaltimus]

Update - So I cut the old LED off at the base leaving its legs in place.
Connected my test LED to it and it works. So freaking cool. Later today I'll solder it in place.

just for reference, it appears as though this write protect switch LED is always on. Unlike the drive activity light.

That is relatively an easy fix. So happy.

EDIT: Of course yes, (in case you're wondering), my replacement LED diameter is too big. I would have to remove the PCB in order to machine drill a wide hole. Not gonna do that. Just gonna use hot glue and secure it to the inner wall of the aluminum body,.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Sinphaltimus

[+arcadeshopper]

test shorting it i bet it works

[Sinphaltimus]

test shorting it i bet it works

Will do. If that works, I may not bother with the LED. I don't care if this particular floppy drive can't be write protected. But I think it's still cool to replace the LCD. Keeping the drive functional in case it ever ends up in someone else's hands...

[Sinphaltimus]

And that's a wrap. The original LED was red, my test led was white, but apparently the spare LED I had to install was blue and the sensor does not like blue? so I ended up cutting the photosensor off and twisting the wires together.

It works. So I can write protect disks. *shrug* At least I can write to them.

[Ed in SoDak]

Nice kludge that got you going! I'm a month late to the party, but have a comment. The original LED may have been an IR device. We can't see it, but the sensor could. It probably had indeed failed, as you deduced by troubleshooting a replacement LED. But being IR, you couldn't tell one way or the other by looking at it. Same sort of LED as found in most any IR-type TV remotes. Digital cameras or most any video cam, such as a cellphone cam will pick up IR light and make it visible on their screens.

 

Make a vid of the LEDs in your TV remote in use and you'll see the light pulsing as it sends various codes to the TV/Dish/whatever.

 

I was working inside an operating VCR once and it would not behave, but it was OK back in the cabinet. Found out that ambient light was fooling with the sensors. I dimmed down the room light and was then able to work on whatever it was; head alignment or fix tape loading. Long, long time ago.

 

-Ed