Keatah Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 (edited) While I'm well versed in Apple Disk II drives, I'm just getting into the 3.5" stuff. So my question is is it possible to upgrade a 3.5" 800K A9M0106 to a 3.5" 1.44MB G7287 drive simply by swapping the mechanism to a Sony MP-F75-12G 2MB / MFD-75W-01G? Both those model numbers are on stickers on the main spindle motor. Vaguely recall it's that simple. Has anyone actually done this? Edited October 5, 2021 by Keatah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polymorph Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Whilst I haven't tried it myself, I'm pretty certain that the mechanisms are interchangeable. The drive will still act as a 800K drive unless you have a Superdrive controller though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 6, 2021 Author Share Posted October 6, 2021 Has anyone actually done the swap though? Never know what subtle incompatibilities are present or if a mod needs to be done. I assume the SuperDrive Controller is the one with the 6502 and memory onboard. I have several of those as well as Liron controllers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polymorph Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) On 10/6/2021 at 7:13 PM, Keatah said: I assume the SuperDrive Controller is the one with the 6502 and memory onboard. I have several of those as well as Liron controllers. This is the Superdrive controller I was referring to (officially named the "Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller"): They tend to fetch a pretty penny these days as they were released very late in the Apple II's lifespan and I don't think that many were sold (i.e. think @Jobs @Woz ultra rare, etc, etc. ). They allow you to use HD disks (1.44Mb) and can even read MSDOS disks directly. I actually have a Superdrive (i.e. a 1.44Mb drive) but do not own a Superdrive controller, so it only operates as an 800kb drive. But with all the modern disk emulators these days (Floppy Emu, WDrive, etc), the importance of such a card has been greatly reduced. That said, modern storage devices don't seem to have had much impact on the price of Superdrive controllers though. Reactive Micro have released a clone of the original Apple-branded card too: https://www.reactivemicro.com/product/apple-ii-3-5-drive-controller-card/ Edited October 8, 2021 by Polymorph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 Yes. That's what I would have guessed. Got a bunch of those SuperDrive & Liron controllers hidden away somewhere in the sea of junk here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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