Subject: Re: Apple II Disk Drive Alignment...
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From: Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>
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Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 13:26:16 -0500
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LFessen106 writes ...

>>
Would someone knowledgeable please share with me their proceedure for Disk
drive adjustment?
<<

     For adjusting alignment on our 5.25" drives I use diskettes supplied by
Steve Buggie-- think it is APTEST for the drives on the II+ and a diskette
labeled "TRACK-CENTER DRIVE ALIGNMENT" for 5.25" drives on the IIc+. You
follow directions in the on-disk docs for each program.

     The above give you a measure of alignment between adjustments. The
method described by Michael Mahon-- i.e. monitoring drive output on a scope
while reading a special disk-- would be best because you get continuous
feedback while diddling stepper motor position. 

     Fortunately, disk alignment seldom needs adjustment.


>>
I have both the Disk II drives and the Unidisk drives, and I currently have
one of each that is failing to read (well, one writes disks that only it can
read).  I am not entirely certain that the alignment is off although it may
be, they are all very clean, and I am pretty sure that their speed may be
slow (at least according to copy II+).

Basically I need instructions on ramping up the speed on both types of
drives, and then info on any way to tell alignment probs/common hardware
probs.
<<

     If your drive is a Disk ][ and does not have the external Buggie 'Speed
Knob' mod, look for a small hole on the lower right side near the back-- some
owners add this hole to allow easy access to the Speed Adjustment mini-pot
screw. If there is no hole, you will need to remove the case. (Remove bolts
on bottom and slide out the drive through the front.)

     On the 5.25" Apple 'Platinum Drive', the Speed Adjustment is accessed
through a small hole on the bottom of the drive near the front on the right
side. Non-Apple 5.25" drives may place the Speed Adjustment almost anywhere.
Look for a small hole through which you can see a screw head. If you don't
fine one, remove the case and look for a mini-pot labeled "Speed" or
something similar.

     Copy II Plus is, probably, the most popular speed adjustment utility.
From the menu, just select "Verify", then "Drive Speed". Put a diskette-- one
you do not mind having over-written by the test-- into the drive you want to
adjust.

     Turning the Speed Knob (or min-pot shaft) use Copy II's numeric speed
display to zero-in on the 'magic' 200ms. number. (Standard Disk ][ rotation
speed is 300 rpm, which comes out to be 0.2 seconds per revolution.) The best
setting seems to be a smidgen on the Slow side; so, aim for something between
200 and 201.


     For more information on floppy disk drive stuff see Csa2FDRIVE.txt on
one of the following:

Ground offers pure Text for downloading or Viewing via an FTP program ...
  ftp://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/apple2/Faqs/
 
Text on the ACN Florida, ACN Tarnover, and USA2WUG sites is
 line-length formatted for on-line perusing via Netscape, etc. ...
 
 ftp://24.96.48.134:6502/Cabi_Archives/FAQs.and.INFO/A2.Csa2.FAQs/
 ftp://tarnover.dyndns.org/cabi/FAQs.and.INFO/A2.Csa2.FAQs/
 http://www.grin.net/~cturley/A2.FAQs.and.INFO/CSA2.FAQs/

Or, see the web page at http://home.swbell.net/rubywand/Csa2FDRIVE.html .



Rubywand