Howard Schwartz wrote:
>
> I have software tools laying around that claim to adjust various
> floppy drive parameters. But I wonder if anyone knows how one goes
> about aligning what I assume is the magnetic read head of a floppy
> drive?
>
> By analogy this is one of the larger problems of keeping good but
> old autoreverse audio cassette tapes going (I suppose VCRs too).
> My local electronics store tells me they can order an alignment tape
> with a pure high frequency tone on it. Then I turn the screw until
> I max the tone on my equalizer.
>
> What would the analogy for a floppy disk driver be, when you can get
> a new one for about $15. ?
Um, I don't understand the last line.
There are only slight similarities between the audio, VCR and floppy
player alignment. The audio alignment must simply make certain that
the gap in the playback head is exactly perpendicular to the motion
of the tape. The VCR alignment is extremely complicated, requiring
both the angle of the tape running past the drum and the distance
between this helix and the control head to be adjusted.
The floppy heads CAN be adjusted for azimuth similar to an audio player,
but the most important adjustment aligns the radial position of the head
to match the LEGAL track position on the diskette. The worst possible
alignment would place the head between two ideal tracks, where it would
try to read both at once. :(
- Clarence Verge
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