Blur2040 Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Call me the relatively happy new owner of an ST computer... For a cool 20 bucks, I scored myself a 520 ST, Mouse, Power Supply.... ...and three SF354 drives with two power supplies. On the more interesing side...it's been modified with RCA composite and sound output (though I understand you can get those (well, at least composite video) through the monitor port...) The problems...? The mod is really ugly...and has nasty old wires sticking out of the case. Can I buy a video cable for this anywhere? (I haven't seen one...and that's why I ask...I'd build one...but that port seems far from standard...and i'd still prefer to buy) Oh...and the three SF354s...are SF354s...meaning they suck. And two of them don't work at all. The two that don't work power up and the computer detects them...but they can't read anything. The other one...it seems to work some of the time...but doesn't read some disks...(I don't know if that's because they're bad...or what) So...are these drives repairable? I don't want to replace the mechanism...as they have those giant buttons...and well...that would be a pain to get another drive to work... And that said...how much is an SF314 going to run me? I know best has replacement drives...but they're expensive...and there were none on flebay last tiem I checked... I'm thinking replacement because my 314 drives are relatively useless...as all disk images i can find online are double sided... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Call me the relatively happy new owner of an ST computer... For a cool 20 bucks, I scored myself a 520 ST, Mouse, Power Supply.... ...and three SF354 drives with two power supplies. On the more interesing side...it's been modified with RCA composite and sound output (though I understand you can get those (well, at least composite video) through the monitor port...) The problems...? The mod is really ugly...and has nasty old wires sticking out of the case. Can I buy a video cable for this anywhere? (I haven't seen one...and that's why I ask...I'd build one...but that port seems far from standard...and i'd still prefer to buy) Oh...and the three SF354s...are SF354s...meaning they suck. And two of them don't work at all. The two that don't work power up and the computer detects them...but they can't read anything. The other one...it seems to work some of the time...but doesn't read some disks...(I don't know if that's because they're bad...or what) So...are these drives repairable? I don't want to replace the mechanism...as they have those giant buttons...and well...that would be a pain to get another drive to work... And that said...how much is an SF314 going to run me? I know best has replacement drives...but they're expensive...and there were none on flebay last tiem I checked... I'm thinking replacement because my 314 drives are relatively useless...as all disk images i can find online are double sided... 1028193[/snapback] It probably is the drives, but since its a 520 ST and fairly problematic for "chip creep", I'd do the 6 inch drop on it first. Pick the 520 itself up, about 6-12 inches, let it drop on a hard, flat surface. If it solves your problem, then you'll probably have to open the 520 up and remove, clean and reseat the socketed chips. Have you tried swapping cables 'n stuff between the drives, in case on the odd chance it might be a cable. You might find the best combo of the hardware you've got.. They are all expensive, but try B&C Computervision and Bravo Sierra computers as well as Best Electronics for drives... HTHs. PS Congratulations on that price - not half bad! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javiero Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 The SF 314 is fairly cheap, arround 20 bucks down. And don't get rid of the 520, the one that you have is the original system look under the case to find out your serial number and enjoy it. Javier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blur2040 Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 (edited) The SF 314 is fairly cheap, arround 20 bucks down. And don't get rid of the 520, the one that you have is the original system look under the case to find out your serial number and enjoy it. Javier. 1030755[/snapback] Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted to hear! And yeah, I was kinda pumped to find out that I have one of the earliest 520 ST Models. External power supply and everything. It's in really nice shape too...aside from some yellowing keys...I just have to carefully remove that ugly mod....I hope it'll be easy to remove...I haven't been able to open it yet. Enjoying it might be a problem though...as I need to get some sofware for this thing! Edited March 9, 2006 by Blur2040 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Womble76 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Enjoying it might be a problem though...as I need to get some sofware for this thing! Nah thats pretty easy too, you just have to boot your PC into DOS to write any downloaded disk images to a floppy for your ST to run - theres plenty of info on the MAKEDISK program on the forum. Also the fact its the very earliest ST doesnt matter - from a software point of view there is no diff between a 520ST and a 520STFM. You may find that your ST has 1Mb in which case it would be the same as a 1040STFM. The vast majority of games will run on your machine - the only problem might be that you will have TOS1.0 in the roms - although I have never had a problem. When you get the lid off I would strongly advise pushing quite hard on any chips in sockets to reseat them. My 520STM had the same problem your does, ie it barely registers the floppy drives presence. I actually pulled out and fully reseated the floppy controller chip to solve that issue. If you want to get the the full low down on your ST, format a floppy with it, and then use your PC drop this file to it. (Even XP can read these ST formatted disks - albeit slowly) http://cd.textfiles.com/suzybatari1/extras...154/sysinfo.prg Then run it on your ST. It will tell you how much ram you have and what version of TOS is in ROM. It will also tell you about a thousand other bits and pieces but those 2 are probably the only things you need to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Skunkworx... you see this? I told you I wasn't nuts about the 6" drop-test for Atari 520ST drive problems! It really *is* a well known fix. Heh. I'm sure someone is going to complain about using the drop method, but I've used it on a number of Atari 520STs over the year, and it always worked, and I never damaged an Atari doing it. I'm sure opening it up and reseating the chip by hand is a better fix, if you have time. As a diagnostic tool, in this case, I'd say it is going to be your best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Womble76 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 With an old ST theres not a great deal inside that can be shock damaged anyway - a floppy drive may not thank you for bouncing it but the ST(M) doesnt have one inside. Its deff worth a go If it improves the issue or fixes it totally then you probably should take it apart and reseat by hand. If it doesnt help then it actually doesnt prove anything, it may still be a cheap seating problem, just one that needs a more directed approach to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blur2040 Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 If you want to get the the full low down on your ST, format a floppy with it, and then use your PC drop this file to it. (Even XP can read these ST formatted disks - albeit slowly) http://cd.textfiles.com/suzybatari1/extras...154/sysinfo.prg Then run it on your ST. It will tell you how much ram you have and what version of TOS is in ROM. It will also tell you about a thousand other bits and pieces but those 2 are probably the only things you need to know. 1030920[/snapback] Huzzah! I was hoping somebody would point me in this direction...I knew there had to be a system info program... I'm on spring break all next week, so I hope to spend a lot of time with my ST. Here's hoping for 1mb of ram! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I've been going through a bunch of stuff with the three sf354 drives that I have and you're on the same track I was. But don't forget, those drives are belt driven and the belsts are no about 24 years old. I replaced the belt in one of mine and it started working like a champ. Any good vcr repair shop should have those belts. I never did the drop method, and I hear it works, but I went ahead and got myself a chip puller to reseat the chip. Worked. If you want a cheap replacement (I haven't seen ANY 314 drives for less than about $60, so javiero, get em and POST THEM! I know I'll buy one!) try a Epson SMD-340 drive. They are direct replacement for the later 354 drives (square buttons, not the slanted ones) and the faceplates are a bit tricky to get off, but they will fit right in. Make sure of the voltage, too, cause I think that the epson replacement was for the stfm's, not the early external drives. Lots of little details to work out, but lemme tell ya, it's worth it! One more thing, they're locked to 720k, even though they're 1.44mb drives. I think that depends on the os and the controlelr chip. I'm not going to try for 1.44, I'm quite happy with 720k for now. Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blur2040 Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 I've been going through a bunch of stuff with the three sf354 drives that I have and you're on the same track I was. But don't forget, those drives are belt driven and the belsts are no about 24 years old. I replaced the belt in one of mine and it started working like a champ. Any good vcr repair shop should have those belts. I never did the drop method, and I hear it works, but I went ahead and got myself a chip puller to reseat the chip. Worked. If you want a cheap replacement (I haven't seen ANY 314 drives for less than about $60, so javiero, get em and POST THEM! I know I'll buy one!) try a Epson SMD-340 drive. They are direct replacement for the later 354 drives (square buttons, not the slanted ones) and the faceplates are a bit tricky to get off, but they will fit right in. Make sure of the voltage, too, cause I think that the epson replacement was for the stfm's, not the early external drives. Lots of little details to work out, but lemme tell ya, it's worth it! One more thing, they're locked to 720k, even though they're 1.44mb drives. I think that depends on the os and the controlelr chip. I'm not going to try for 1.44, I'm quite happy with 720k for now. Nathan 1031123[/snapback] Well, I'm screwed on my 354s in the fact that they're the older models...and therefore all have the big slanted buttons....but I'll definitely open them up and try and repair them. I'll bet that's what's wrong with them. Do they have any other known problems though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Do they have any other known problems though? I don't know of many other problems with them, though rarely the heads get misaligned and take either an oscilloscope or seemingly endless testing to repair it. I also found a seller that has an SF314 drive if you'll pay overseas shipping: http://www.retrotrader.com/catalog/product...bfbb553bea16925 But I'd look around for an Epson smd-340 before I'd do that. Look in the ST/TT forum here, I posted the pinout to make a 1.44mb drive be used as a 720k drive on all ST's with the external cable connector. Don't these machines rock??? I love em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Skunkworx... you see this? I'm here. I didn't doubt you, I'd just never heard of that before. Up until this year my knowledge of the ST line was pretty minimal anyway. Fortunately, my 520ST is behaving itself, and I have a 1040STe to play with also. And now I have some games on the way. Woohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I just thought EVERYONE knew about the Atari ST drop-test... Glad to hear you haven't had to drop it yet. My guess is, you will, some day. And, as pointed out... this is pretty much a 520 repair. You don't want to do it on anything with the disk built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javiero Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I bought a SF314 a couple of months ago from ebay, i tought it was 20 or something, i wanted a second drive for my system but the internal died some weeks ago and i used the SF to repair it. This one is going on ebay at this time. Saludos a todos. Javier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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