I seem to recall there was something different on the FB100. Like the dip sw 
was missing so you have to jumper it out so it uses the correct BAUD rate.

 

Jef Birt

 

From: M100 <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Plass
Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2024 6:36 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M100] FB100 disk communication error

 

I recently got a FB100 disk drive. I disassembled it to check the belt, which 
seemed...okay... 

 

I didn't put it all back together (fool me once, shame on you...) On my T102 
with TS-DOS (in ROM), it recognized the drive. I put in a disk (DSDD) and 
TS-DOS said "not-formatted", as expected. So I formatted, but after crunching 
for a while it said "Communication error". I tried with another DSDD disk that 
I formatted on my laptop and it had the same result.

 

Since I hadn't reassembled it completely, during the format, I could see the 
head moving so I knew at least the signalling was working. Also, possibly 
significantly, during the format it seemed that the upper pad arm (opposite the 
read/write head) wasn't touching the disk. 

 

Is this normal? 

 

More background: after the partial reassembly, I tried inserting a disk and it 
didn't slot in, and I may have pushed a little too hard. Turns out somehow the 
upper pad arm shaft was stuck under one of the metal tabs of the "disk holder 
assembly" so there was no way for a disk to go in. After fixing its location, I 
was able to easily insert a disk.

 

Could the upper pad arm be misaligned, causing the communication error?  Or 
could it just be an old belt, causing timing issues on the motor?

 

Any additional debugging tips would be appreciated.

 

(https://archive.org/details/tandy-portable-disk-drive-service-manual-26-3808/page/n4/mode/1up
 is my reference.) 

Reply via email to