VOGONS


First post, by seanneko

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I recently picked up a pile of old parts which included this 5.25" tape drive. It came with a few 40MB mini cassettes.

I assume it needs a special controller card which unfortunately I don't have. Does anyone know anything about it and how I could get it working? What sort of interface does it use? Even just a brand or model number would be helpful.

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Reply 1 of 8, by weedeewee

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I was gonna say it's a floppy interface, but then I noticed the extension... So maybe it isn't....

More photos would probably make it easier to identify.
All I got for now is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter-i ... ridge_(MC) which would indicate it actually is a floppy interface.

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Reply 2 of 8, by seanneko

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True, it wasn't the most helpful photo. Here are a couple more.

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The larger connector is the same as a regular 5.25 floppy drive, with the same notch and everything. The other connector is obviously something different though.

I thought it may have been an MFM interface but after counting the number of pins I don't think it matches.

Reply 4 of 8, by weedeewee

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the eprom seems to have seen better days, piece of a corner missing...

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Do not ask Why !
https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Serial_port

Reply 5 of 8, by seanneko

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Miphee wrote on 2021-04-15, 10:58:

Great, sounds like exactly what it is.

It says it uses a "standard minifloppy interface". I'm assuming that's just a regular floppy interface that any computer has. How is it able to read/write 40MB of data from what presents itself as a floppy drive? Is it all just trickery done in software?

Reply 7 of 8, by weedeewee

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I guess it no longer has an id sticker visible when looked at from the connector side ?

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Do not ask Why !
https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Serial_port

Reply 8 of 8, by seanneko

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Thanks for finding the user manual. I won't have time to even plug it in for at least a few days but I'll definitely come back to it and try to get it working.

weedeewee wrote on 2021-04-15, 11:10:

I guess it no longer has an id sticker visible when looked at from the connector side ?

Lol... Ok I'm totally blind. It does have a sticker there which says it's an Irwin model 145. No idea how I didn't see that there until now.