1541 Disk Drive

So what have I been doing since the last post - playing some solid C64 that's what.  It hasn't skipped a beat since I put it back together at the end of the last post.  I've been playing some games, writing some BASIC and just generally getting reacquainted with the C64.  I haven't stopped on the hardware side of things though.  Like I mentioned previously I've bought a few accessories, and now the system is running it's time to work through them.  The first being this guy:

It's a beast of a thing!  Just like the C64 itself, instead of paying top dollar for something in mint condition I took a punt on something that was listed as "found in storage - sold as is".  The unit looked like it had been sitting on a shelf in a garage for a long time.  Instead of firing it up - I opened it up to have a look before plugging it in:

It was dirty - but actually in pretty good condition.  I kept pulling it apart so I could give it all a good clean and a closer inspection:

All parts got a good clean, all dust removed and a rub with isopropyl alcohol where needed.  One of the other key things I picked up watching a bunch of repair videos on YouTube, was to make sure you put some lubricant on any of the mechanical parts that move.  So I did that too.  I also gave the head a very good clean with isopropyl alcohol:

It was at this point that I had to wait again - this time for a replacement belt to arrive.  While the one that was on there didn't seem terrible, it was also only a couple of dollars for a replacement.  So I placed my order and waited (and played some games while I waited).  Then it arrived:

That's the new belt inside the old one...  Fitted the replacement and put it all back together:

It was at this point I plugged it in.  First without the C64 connected, and as expected the drive powered up and ran for a second or two.  So far so good.  So I turned it off and  connected it up to the C64.  Turned the drive on again, then turned on the C64 - drive light on for a second or two like it should be.  By this stage I had also received the set of 25 random used disks I purchased for next to nothing off eBay.  I inserted on of the disks, and typed:

LOAD "$",8

Once that finished I typed:

LIST

And low and behold I got a directory listing that matched the notes scribbled on the label of the disk.  It was at this point it was time to test the drive a little more using this guy:

It's a 1541 test cart - info is here.  I ran through various tests from the cart menu - all passed:

At this point I turned off the C64, pulled out the test cart and tried a few more disks.  All gave me directory listings without issue - but some failed to run, looking at the titles I think some of them may actually beApple II software which is why they won't load.

There was only one thing left to complete this bit of work - setup up my new (old stock) disk box:

I also got a box of new (old stock) disks cheap to play around with as well.  Done!