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Re: 1.4M drive in a 800K case

Absolutely. I am doing that right now. Just got 4 1.44 mechanisms off e-bay for about $20 (it was supoosed to be 5drives, but one of the drives they sent was an 800k)
That is, it will work unless you are Borg. Then it won't work. In that case, microsoft will try to assimilate the drive. 


Locutus wrote:


   So let me get this straight.  If I go and by a Sony Macintosh 3 1/2
mech and put it in an Apple 3 1/2 case (those for the Apple GS) and got
a Surperdrive card, I will have a 1.4mb floppy drive for my IIgs?

   Thanks for clearing this up for me?

   -Locutus


In article <20010701113349.06501.00002854@ng-ch1.aol.com>, Michael J.
Mahon <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote:



Mark Cummings wrote:



Today I repaired an 800K Apple 3.5 Drive which needed a loading motor assy.
I stole one from a spare 1.4M HD drive from a Mac. It worked.

Half way through the job, the penny dropped, and I thought why don't I just
swap the whole mechanism instead of just the load motor assy.

So why shouldn't I ?
Will it work exactly like the 800K drive, or is there some difference with
the R/W heads or magnetic strength ?
Has anyone done this ?
Are there any advantages/disadvantages ?

BTW I have heard that you can use a FDHD drive on the GS smartport, but it
will only work as an 800K drive, so that's what made me think of the
problems using HD floppys in DD drives.


From what I understand, the Sony "2MB" drive from a Mac is *exactly*
a Superdrive/FDHD, and you have now manufactured one from an Apple
3.5 Drive.  It will work functionally identically to a standard 800K drive
when connected to an Apple II series machine through any controller
_not_ a Superdrive controller.  When connected through a Superdrive
controller, it will, naturally, operate as a Superdrive, with all of its
capabilities.

To my knowledge, the replacement you made is without any downside
and has a substantial upside should you acquire a Superdrive controller.

Considering how plentiful the Sony 2MB drives are on the Mac "scrap"
market, I recommend this drive swap--particularly for those who have
a Superdrive controller card!

-michael

Email:  mjmahon@aol.com
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/