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!
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!
Comments
Post a Comment