1050 disk drive motor clicking sound

[pkersey]

Hello everyone. Hardware problem. If this isn't the right place to ask, please move the thread where it's due.

 

Today my 1050 disk drive started to show boot errors. Eventually the disks would boot but the motor was very loud, as if it were scratching against something. I don't remember the drive being that noisy. It was working fine just 10 minutes before!

 

I took it apart and decided that it's best to replace the belt, which seemingly lost its elasticity. Besides, after examining the belt and trying to fit it back in place, it became totally deformed due to its age.

 

While the belt doesn't come, I decided to assess the mechanism for further possible problems. Then I manually turned the disk motor a few rounds and noticed that it makes a clicking sound when rotated counter-clockwise (which I assume is the correct rotation direction). That sound doesn't occur when I spin the motor in the opposite direction.

 

Question: is that clicking sound normal? That's expected of the stepping motor but not the disk motor I guess...

 

I suppose that's why the motor is so loud but maybe that's just normal and I don't know. Also, I suppose that when the motor spins faster the noise tends to be many times louder - hence the weird, scratchy sound.

 

If that's the case of a dying motor, I won't even bother buying a new belt.

 

Thanks in advance for any information.

[TGB1718]

Shouldn't be making any clicking/scratchy sound, it maybe that the stator has come loose and

all that's required is to glue it back in place, I seem to remember a thread some time back

where someone had a similar issue and managed to secure the stator with glue

[pkersey]

4 hours ago, TGB1718 said:

Shouldn't be making any clicking/scratchy sound, it maybe that the stator has come loose and

all that's required is to glue it back in place, I seem to remember a thread some time back

where someone had a similar issue and managed to secure the stator with glue

That would require me to disassemble the motor then, I reckon?

[TGB1718]

Yes, I've never done one myself, so can't advise on the procedure, sorry.

[TGB1718]

Found the post here 

[pkersey]

Thanks for all the information. I will be thinking about what I should do. Cheers!

[Mclaneinc]

Steeping sound = good, clicking sound = not so good...Good luck, hoping there's an easy fix.

 

Paul..

[cwilbar]

For the drive motor there is a sensor assembly on the top of the motor to determine rotation speed.  I have had things come loose in there before on one unit.  IIRC I glued/epoxied/etc something back in place and everything was good again.  The problem I observed was incorrect speed/speed fluctuation along with a noise.  IIRC you just remove a 2-3 screws on the top of the motor and take the top cap off to check that.  Don't need to take anything else apart to examine it. (minus the top of the 1050 drive itself).

 

 

[pkersey]

Follow up to the situation.

 

I ordered the belt from Console5 and am waiting for it to arrive. I couldn't source the belt locally, most unfortunately.

 

I decided to take the motor apart and noticed two things. First, a round plastic piece and a weak, round magnet fell off the motor cap. Second, the magnet had remnants of glue around the top border. I assumed the plastic piece was supposed to be glued there, which I proceeded to do. A small drop of superglue should have sufficed but if that won't hold, I can always redo the procedure with epoxy or something stronger. It feels solid.

 

Then I put the motor cap back together and gave the motor axis a final drop of lube. I hope this wasn't a mistake, because the lube can't come off after it's in there unless I totally disassemble the motor - a thing I am not inclined to do.

 

Now for the clicky motor concern. 

 

I assumed the clicking was just normal or that the drive will work anyway despite that. It is strange that the motor is somewhat clicky going clockwise, but not the other way. I'll go with that because there's no alternative except buying me another drive and these are going for a lot of money these days. I don't suppose I can simply buy another motor in pristine condition, I would expect to pay high prices for another old motor that will probably die in a couple years anyway.

 

I usually do with a SIO2PC from AtariMax, but it was just fun to play with a real drive occasionally.Thus, I am not out of options. I can still play games on my Atari computers with greater conveniences.

 

I will come back to this thread to post the final chapter when the belt is here, expecting the closure to be a happy one.

 

So far, thank you again for all your kind help.

Edited September 22, 2022 by pkersey

[+bf2k+]

If you are in the US, I'll sell you a 1050... I have 5 of them for sale.  Make me an offer that I can't refuse...

 

[Mclaneinc]

Careful, you are dealing with Paul Kersey, Death Wish

 

Just joking OP..

[pkersey]

Unfortunately I am not in the US. But I managed to repair the drive.

 

The belt arrived today. This is advertised as a "fabric reinforced belt", thus I reckon it might last for a long time. 

 

I fitted the new belt and everything went smoothly. It took me a couple minutes to figure out how to place it but it wasn't a big deal. It took me at most five minutes to fit the belt and put the drive back together.

 

I created a disk drive diagnostics disk and used it to calibrate the drive speed. Then I ran the diagnostics and all tests passed.

 

The drive spins smoothly and there are no unexpected noises. The drive is absolutely silent apart from the sound of the spinning disk itself. If I manually spin the motor to one side, I can feel and hear the click but anyway, I am assuming this to be absolutely normal.

 

I loaded a handful of games from disks and generated some more. I am confident that the device is working properly, probably better than before.

 

Thanks everyone for your kind posts.

 

And yes, PKersey stands for Paul Kersey. I've been using this alias here and there for a long time now, so I am going to stick with it.

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

[Mclaneinc]

Glad to hear that it's sorted...

 

Re the alias, I'm a huge film fan..When they filmed III or was it 4, it was filmed in London, my idiot of a brother rented them the land to film on..

[Vyvyan B.]

Didn't they film the gang war part in Brixton? Death wish 3 is perhaps the best movie ever made. So super ridiculously over the top and unintentionally hilarious. It makes Rambo look like Mary Poppins.

[pkersey]

As you might have figured I am a huge fan of the Death Wish series as well. I think the first movie is the best one. The second, though regarded by most as bad, is to me an average movie. The third movie deserves a whole category of its own. 

 

Anything after the third movie is utter forgetful nonsense and should be disregarded. In my opinion, the reason why they did what they did with the third installment was because they already knew things were getting too long in the teeth. The later films shouldn't exist.