On Sat, Jun 25, 2016 at 12:13 AM, Fred Cisin <[email protected]> wrote: >>> 2) It's been too long so I don't remember, but don't you use normal pc >>> floppies (5.25) and PUTR can format them? > That would be 80 TRACKS at 96 tracks per inch.
Right... 96tpi. Thanks. > Those would be the 300 Oersted disks, same diskettes as "360K". > Do NOT use the 600 Oersted "1.2M"/"HD" disks. OK. That's what I kind of remembered but didn't want to quote from memory. Personally, I've always had a stack of DEC RX50s, but I don't think my friend will easily find them these days. > Being Single Sided, it really won't hurt to use just the first side of a > Double Sided disk. Of course. > 80 track V 40 track both call for the same chemistry of the coating, but you > should probably bulk erase whatever you get. Right. Easy enough to do. > If you use a PC to format them, the requirements are essentially the same as > for a "720K" 5.25". Formatting can not be done with a "360K" (40 track) > drive, but can be done with a 1.2M drive, or with a 720K 5.25" (which aren't > common in the PC world). My usual 5.25" drive (I have several) is the Teac FD55GFR - strapped for RX33 use with DEC controllers or strapped slightly differently for PC use (I know the directions are floating around) > There are a couple of potential complications to using a 1.2M drive, that > can be gotten around in software. > (96tpi track spacing, > same write current, rotational speed and data transfer rate as for 360K) I'll look deeper into those issues when we find some media. > We all have our favorite and hated brands. > Ones you buy now, would likely be used or New stale stock, but that probably > won't be a problem if they were stored well. Right... outside of eBay, the question is where to find them, now that the particulars have been pulled out. -ethan
