I've just repaired my similar drive with similar issue. The switch that gives signal when a floppy is inserted was, as suspected, faulty. I screwed it loose (only one screw) and pulled it carefully out ( 3 wires soldered on, ground, floppy inserted, write protect). I then opened the plastic carefully (the brackets will break, used superglue when closing it). Inside the switch, one microscopic metal sheet was out of position, I fixed that and used super-glue when closing the switch plastic again. Floppy drive now works fine.
Hi Dan! Nice channel you got there. I read some of the comments here, and it seems like some people are suspecting the 'disk-in-drive' sensor switch to be bad. However, I do not think that is the case since it works better for you when you untighten/remove the screws at the side. My take on it is that when you tighten those screws, pressure is being applied to the disk drive from each side. This keeps the (probably worn-out) spring-loaded mechanism to move freely. (Continued...)
It's probably the spring that pulls the mechanism together when the disk is inserted - if the spring becomes weak through repeated usage the mechanism doesnt pull together tight enough and the disk doesnt quite press the switch firmly enough down. It floats in a state whereby vibrations can switch / unswitch it.
It's black tiny micro switch on the corner of the drive. You could spray contact cleaner spray into it and give it a wiggle. Isopropyl alcohol won't work because it doesn't remove oxides from metal contacts.
Just an idea. Can it be the capacitors went stale over time? When you put on the shielding it attaches through the screw holes to the ground contacts of the pcb which changes the characteristic of the circuit. Maybe without it somehow the drive manages to work (barely functions by a chance). I would try to recap the drive with new capacitors?
That repair is exactly the way I'd have done it. I'd guess the mechanism on the original is just wsuffering from wear and tear but I hope its not and can be fixed. There's nothing like the satisfying click of a 3.5" floppy being inserted, great stuff. I must get a CDTV one day, so cool that it can run disk games.
What this means is that, because of the mechanical resistance applied from the sides, the springs in the drive will not have enough strengh to fully push down and lock the disk into place. This will result in the disk not getting pushed down far enough to trigger the momentary push-switch that acts as a 'disk-in-drive'-sensor. You can try this by, after inserting the disk, trying to push is down with your finger to help it lock into place. (Continued again...)
I had similar problems with my drive in an Atari ST and an Amiga 500. There are 2 (3 on HD drives) "buttons" inside the drive which are operated by the disk. One scans the WP hole and the other gets pushed down whenever a disk is inserted. Probably the one that gets pushed down by the disk has gone bad. It doesn't necessarily have to be a "button". My A500 drive had a magnet on a tilting mechanism that got tilted towards a reed contact. That reed contact has gone bad. It affected the WP sensor not the disk present sensor. It drove me mad. Every time I wanted to demonstrate it to someone it worked just fine. BTW... you don't have to butcher a similar external drive. Any old amiga drive should work just fine, I guess.
Hello, I also had problems in recognizing disks and I think it's the pin which detects the drive. There are two pins, one for the disk recognition and one to check the write enable hole of the disk. I think this touch sensor (aka button) has a problem. Did you try this?
Well done and well said : "no floppy drive were harmed" :) and yep, I just watched a video (by RetroGameModz) about the same issue, fixed by contact cleaner. Cheers!
Thanks mate :) Definitely, I do buy a lot of new tech/gadgets/consoles etc just the few vids I have done on iPad stuff etc. seem to get low views. I guess 'cos so many other people are doing them at the moment, hard to compete. I think there is more of a niche audience with the old stuff.
Well it's a game of opinions as the comments below show but I think it's good to mix the channel up a bit but only if that's the direction you want to go in. I love my retro but i'm also partial to new bits of kit too. It's nice to dip your fingers into the past but if you don't keep up with the Jones' you'll get left behind! Either way Dan, i'll still be watching your channel :P
If it works when you try pushing it down to help it lock into place, you have isolated the problem and know that what I described is causing this to happen. If there is no difference, you probably want to suspect the switch in the first hand. Check it with a multimeter to see whether the switch is ok. It might be intermittent. I acutally made video about a similar floppy problem not long ago. Maybe having a look at that video will give you an idea of what to do? :)
Well, oddly enough I've tried out the old drive in the white casing on my Amiga 1200... and it seems to work fine in the other case!! So I do now have two working drives, how odd.
There's a slight debate going as to what Dan should be doing with his channel? Obviously whatever he wants to, but my 2 cents: The sole reason that brought me here was his in-depth overviews of classic and 'new' Amiga OS's and classic hardware. There aren't that many, SO well-narrated videos of this stuff floating around. Whereas new gadget videos are a dime a dozen.
There's another vid on youtube for Amiga HD Floppy Drive Repair. Not the same problem and it's HD, but it has a great view of the disk inserted switch and how to test it, along with some software on aminet. My 500 drive was acting similarly, I just needed some contact cleaner in the disk sense switch and then actuating it a bit to get it cleaned up.. Might not be the same, I didn't have the problem more with the case on, but worth a shot. Good Luck.
I have the same roblem with some A500s. I replace it with 1200 and pc drives. I have the damaged in the closet. One day maybe i'll be able to fix it. As the years passing many things seems easier than it was in the past :D
Nice video. I think you should stick to Amiga videos, I find them very interesting (although I could be slightly biased lol). Do Amiga and the odd one about your office/man-cave set-up, seems to work well :) I bet your misses hates it but we appreciate. : )
I remember years ago my mate had a 486 desktop case, no matter what mainboard was put in it it always had weird issues yet every component including the psu was fine when used in other cases... we just thought it was haunted and binned it lol
Typically that problem is due to a dirty disk sensor. Just inside the drive opening on the left is a little box with 2 plastic pins. One gets pushed down by the disk and one gets pushed down by the write-protect tab. There are *TINY* contacts on the bottom and when they get dirty from normal use, they stop making good contact. You can use contact cleaner spray, but use a towel, it goes all over! I took the pin box apart once. I don't recommend it, the contacts are almost microscopic!
If you take the case off and look through the front there are 2 buttons that are write protect and change just keep the change button (the one on the back of the write protect) just hold the change one down
It feels like consoles have been done to death, more videos on other retro computer hardware/software would be cool. Sticking with just the Amiga is fine by me as well.
You have to open the disc detection micro switch and scrap the contact plate in the bottom. they get corroded over the years and the switches makes bad contact. I fixed 3 drives by doing this. It's extremely small springs inside the switches and I had alot of trouble because everything was so small. But when done properly it will fix the problem. Using CRC/contact spray on the switches would just fix it for a period and the problem would come back. So the only permanent fix was the above mentioned.
I'm no Amiga expert, but generally when a disc drive is having problems like yours, and it's not the connection cable, you have a bad circuit board on the drive, so check your board for any blow caps, and/or bad traces, etc..
Yeah, i know what the problem is: The drive is busted :) Amiga/Commodore stuff.. Particularly, the non-realeased stuff.. You must have connections right?
my Amiga 500 has been damaging my floppies (leaving circles on many disks, even after cleaning the heads....) :(. bought another floppy drive from eBay. fingers crossed! :)
Stick to what you do best mate , I watch your channel for the Amiga , but it wold be nice to delve a bit earlier (C64,PET) or more software/game reviews e.t.c .
I'd like to see a video about how to reprogram your girlfriend into liking the Amiga, or how to get another girlfriend with all the same qualities, but who is Amiga friendly!
I used to have a CDTV years ago, should have kept it. Anyway If not mentioned before check this video out, Chinon drive with the same problem and possible fix: JPSOP_Gxkcs I would tend to aim for lubricating the mech, frame etc rather than messing about adding more springs... I can see the little spring hooks snapping at a later date which is not good! I am also going to refurb an A500 Chinon drive soon! Fave drives, my first A500 Rev6A had one :)
Keep the channel retro, newer systems and console are just boxes of hardware noone cares for. Real computers and consoles have propriety custom chips and other black magic in them unlike today's soulless boxes of unreliable generic pc parts, sold by companies only in it for the money. Retro ended with the DC, the likes of the PS3 and 360 will never be called retro in the eyes of today's collectors.
It's black tiny micro switch on the corner of the drive. You could spray contact cleaner spray into it and give it a wiggle. Isopropyl alcohol won't work because it doesn't remove oxides from metal contacts.
