3.5" PC drives
#21
Ah... well, it could be writing only in HD mode, using a DD disk though. This is certainly possible.
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#22
I just checked writing to a DD disk and it seems to work. I created a .scp file from a formatted 720KB PC disk, then wrote that back to another DD disk. The just-written disk read back fine in a normal USB floppy drive.
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#23
Hmm... that's good to know. I don't have a T6 drive to test. That report came from a customer.
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#24
The post quoted above from the Kryoflux forum seems specific to the /LEB variant:
"Models /LEB starting from revision T6 have lost the density switch, so the last revision of the /LEB type that works well with Amiga 880K disks is T5."

Talking of that variant specifically, if it's just the physical HD hole sensor switch that's missing, it should still be possible to use those drives for reading/writing DD disks if you either bridge the not-present-switch PCB holes with solder (which would force DD-only operation), or wire an external switch to the holes for manual selection.
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#25
ALPS DF354H090F OK read DD AMIGA write adf OK
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#26
(11-24-2016, 02:22 PM)mark_k Wrote:
(11-01-2013, 05:41 PM)admin Wrote:
Samsung SFD-321B - this is an extremely good drive for reading/writing!  *1

*1 - The Rev T6 and later drives are high density ONLY.  So, they will not work for reading/writing DD disks!

How large was your sample size to conclude the rev. T6 SFD-321B doesn't work with DD disks?

Because I received one the other day and — as far as I can tell — it works fine both reading and writing DD disks. Supercard software media test is successful with a DD disk and dumps made from Amiga disks seem fine.

My drive is a Compaq OEM model, SFD-321B/LCPN2

(11-24-2016, 02:33 PM)admin Wrote:
Unless your drive says "T6" somewhere, I believe it is a Rev. L drive.

Just now, I found some vital information regarding how to decode the packaging information on the Samsung SFD 321B drives: OEM MANUAL SFD-321B.

Please take a look at section 8. Packaging Description.

While the discussion so far has focused on revision identification, for example T1, T2 ~ T6, it could be important to decode the serial number as well to get the year and month of manufacturing.

The "LEB" part is apparently the buyer name. I have no idea to what extent buyers were able to affect choice of components so this might not be as important than noting year and month of the make.

I don't know if other production divisions followed the same guidelines though, since this manual is from SEMA Electronics, or if there were revisions to the manual itself and the production description over the years, but this document should give a good idea of how to decode the label description.
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#27
I have several 'T6' drives, and they only work in 1.44MB mode, no matter what you do with the density line.

Thanks for the link to the manual. That might come in handy for someone.
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#28
I have several 'T6' drives, and they only work in 1.44MB mode, no matter what you do with the density line.

Thanks for the link to the manual. After reading it I see something very odd compared to other model 3.5" disk drive. Normally, the density line selects between 720K and 1.44MB density modes. These drives can only switch to true low density (720K) if you are using a low density floppy drive (ignoring the density select line) and the density line switches between 1.66MB and 2.0MB modes. That's definitely a problem if you are trying to read or write a low density format using a high density disk!
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#29
I saw posts saying that a Sony MPF 920-1 drive worked. I'm thinking about buying a Supercard Pro and I was wondering how much the Sony MPD 920 drives vary from each other.

I recently acquired four Sony MPF 920 T/B63 drives and would like to use two of them for a Supercard Pro setup.

Any idea how well they would work?

Thanks
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#30
Typically, the numbers/letter after a model number were for certain customers (Dell, HP, IBM, etc.) The MPF-920 drives all seem to work. In reality, I have not seen anyone report "don't use this xxxx 3.5" disk drive" (or 5.25" drive for that matter).
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