Charlie_ Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Absolutely: IndusGT. (and that is coming from an owner of two (2) 1050s, also). 1050's are simply noisy, clunky, boxy and power-hungry, next to their Indus nemesis. Ah, and before I forget: DO NO USE WD-40 or anything similar. My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. Even after I used some WD-40 on the rails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 WD40 has no place in a disk drive PERIOD.. There are plenty of other less harsh/reactive lubricants commonly available that can be used on the head carriage rails. We can agree to disagree and we obviously do.... I have always cleaned and lubricated my 1050's drive rails with WD40 and the drive still works after 25+ years without any trace of damage (neither to the rails nor to the plastic part that slides over the rails) caused by the supposedly harsh lubricant. WD40, even though is not a long term lubricant (a lubricant nevertheless), has the advantage of not attracting dust to the rails thus permitting smoother operation. Heavier oils (like machine oil) attrack more dust and WD40 is specially formulated to displace water thus more beneficial in an environment where humidity might be a problem (WD in the name means Water Displacement). Oils tend to drip on other parts, WD40 won't if it's applied with a q-tip. Oils don't clean, WD40 cleans (dust/ gummed-up cigarette smoke and other nasties) as it lubricates. So instead of making a blanket statement like "WD40 has no place in a disk drive PERIOD", try to make your point by providing proof of harm.... Dude.. WD40 is chemically formulated to DISSOLVE metal-oxide compounds.. hence the "frees rusted parts" on the can. If you cant see the reasoning against using that in a device that relies on the integrity of a metal-oxide finish on a disc, then I dont know what to tell you. There are a TON of lubricants out there that have equal or better lubricating properties when used in this application, are chemically inert when it comes to the materials involved, and are commonly available at any place that sells household or hardware products. It is very poor advice to tell someone to use WD40 in a disk drive.. period.. Its not my oppinion.. Its factual reality.. Dude!, are you on crack or something, what are you are you talking about!!!. You're not gonna spray it on the disks, you will use it on the rails. How in the world it gets into the floppy if you're not dumb enough to do it while a disk is in the drive. If you use common sense and use a q-tip nothing will ever happen to your disks. I did it and all my disk are still intact, if you can't than there is something wrong with YOU. "It is very poor advice to tell someone to use WD40 in a disk drive.. period.. Its not my oppinion.. Its factual reality.. " It is in fact your opinion (and you are very opinionated in everything concerning Ataris and perhaps a lot other things), and not a fact that WD40 is in any way harmful to your disk drive (I REPEAT, REMOVE YOUR DISKS from the drive before appying, and this is true for all lubricants). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Absolutely: IndusGT. (and that is coming from an owner of two (2) 1050s, also). 1050's are simply noisy, clunky, boxy and power-hungry, next to their Indus nemesis. Ah, and before I forget: DO NO USE WD-40 or anything similar. My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. Even after I used some WD-40 on the rails. The noise isn't only due to the rails, the stepping motor also contributes to it, so is the material used in the construction of the drive...and there isn't much you can do about that. I do have one 1050 that is very quiet compared to 3 other ones I also own. it's up to you what to use on your drive to lubricate it. I use WD40 and I am happy, I haven't seen any side effects in the 25+ years. Even medication can be dangerous to your health if you are dumb enough...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 There's better solutions around, so why use the wrong thing? Would you put cooking oil in your car's engine instead of the proper oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Absolutely: IndusGT. (and that is coming from an owner of two (2) 1050s, also). 1050's are simply noisy, clunky, boxy and power-hungry, next to their Indus nemesis. Ah, and before I forget: DO NO USE WD-40 or anything similar. My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. Even after I used some WD-40 on the rails. The noise isn't only due to the rails, the stepping motor also contributes to it, so is the material used in the construction of the drive...and there isn't much you can do about that. I do have one 1050 that is very quiet compared to 3 other ones I also own. it's up to you what to use on your drive to lubricate it. I use WD40 and I am happy, I haven't seen any side effects in the 25+ years. Even medication can be dangerous to your health if you are dumb enough...... Yes. I'm just pointing out the mech is very similar and sounds the same to me. I can't see recommending it as a more quiet drive. I even heard a 1050 mech can be used to replace the mech in a Indus GT. I've had excellent results with WD-40 also. I won't argue with anyone. They have about as good a chance as changing my mind as I have of changing theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) Absolutely: IndusGT. (and that is coming from an owner of two (2) 1050s, also). 1050's are simply noisy, clunky, boxy and power-hungry, next to their Indus nemesis. Ah, and before I forget: DO NO USE WD-40 or anything similar. My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. Even after I used some WD-40 on the rails. The noise isn't only due to the rails, the stepping motor also contributes to it, so is the material used in the construction of the drive...and there isn't much you can do about that. I do have one 1050 that is very quiet compared to 3 other ones I also own. it's up to you what to use on your drive to lubricate it. I use WD40 and I am happy, I haven't seen any side effects in the 25+ years. Even medication can be dangerous to your health if you are dumb enough...... Yes. I'm just pointing out the mech is very similar and sounds the same to me. I can't see recommending it as a more quiet drive. I even heard a 1050 mech can be used to replace the mech in a Indus GT. I've had excellent results with WD-40 also. I won't argue with anyone. They have about as good a chance as changing my mind as I have of changing theirs. Oh you're right, I am not out here to change anyone's opinion either. I am just saying I have not had any bad results and it wasn't harmful to my drive or my disks, opinions vary of course and everyone is free to use whatever they want. as long as they are smart enough not to use them on their floppies Edited May 10, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 There's better solutions around, so why use the wrong thing? Would you put cooking oil in your car's engine instead of the proper oil? With all due respect sir, I don't think it's a good comparaison. 1050 ain't no car engine.... besides, rails on the 1050 are not lubricated fresh out from factory (meaning they are not meant to be), WD40 is a very light lubricant and it cleans accumulated dust and dirt and doesn't leave any residue behind, compare that to machine oil, vaseline, personal lubricants etc.... and again opinions differ.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (...) My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. (...) Maybe rotten? Let me put it this way (from a crop of two (2) 1050s, and (2) IndusGT drives): There is one IndusGT unit that makes virtually inaudible sound / noise during track seeks & reads... I would say even LOWER than the actual sound of the diskette's clean-spin! The second IndusGT (which does have RamCharger, etc.) is a bit louder but not that much, though... In contrast, my two (2) 1050s are basically an audible "scandal" next to the twin-Indus units... and the 1050s are very well tuned and mantained, in excellent internal condition. It is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (...) My Indus GT has a mech that looks and sound just like my 1050. Doesn't seem to be any more quiet. (...) Maybe rotten? Let me put it this way (from a crop of two (2) 1050s, and (2) IndusGT drives): There is one IndusGT unit that makes virtually inaudible sound / noise during track seeks & reads... I would say even LOWER than the actual sound of the diskette's clean-spin! The second IndusGT (which does have RamCharger, etc.) is a bit louder but not that much, though... In contrast, my two (2) 1050s are basically an audible "scandal" next to the twin-Indus units... and the 1050s are very well tuned and mantained, in excellent internal condition. It is what it is. Your right. I just opened mine up and gave it a very good cleaning. Now it almost as quiet as my XF551. Honestly I only recently acquired this drive. I did open when I got it but I must have only cleaned the head because the rails were VERY dirty. Qtips were turning black from the dirt. Funny how they didn't look too dirty.... I don't use my A8 too much so didn't give this drive much attention. All good now though. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Dude!, are you on crack or something, No.. Are you retarded, or just canadian? what are you are you talking about!!!. You're not gonna spray it on the disks, you will use it on the rails. How in the world it gets into the floppy if you're not dumb enough to do it while a disk is in the drive. If you use common sense and use a q-tip nothing will ever happen to your disks. I did it and all my disk are still intact, if you can't than there is something wrong with YOU. That doesnt make it a good idea to suggest it to others.. There are plenty of products that can be used for specific purposes with no ill effects if you are careful enough. That doesn't make it adviseable when there are other products commonly available that do as good or better with no risk whatsoever. Noone in any kind of authority in any industry reccomends WD40 for use on electronic equipment. The fact is that it is chemically harmful to far too many materials commonly used in electronics. Here is a one line of products that is typical of what is actually reccomended by manufacturers and industrial authorities for lubrication of home/office electronic/electromechanical equipment: http://www.gcelectronics.com/order/SubCatPDF/lubricants%2048-49.pdf To say that WD40 leaves no residue is rediculous. If it didnt, it would not have any lubricating properties.. To say that dust wont stick to it is also wrong... Typically, the thicker (heavier) a lubricant is, the less tendency it has to evaporate over time, and the more tendency it has for particles (such as dust or dirt) to stick to it. They make a huge range of lubricanting oils for all kinds of applications.. Light machine oil (the stuff you use on sewing machines)is much lighter than WD40. In an industrial setting, cotton fabrics produce alot of particulate over time, and the oil for sewing machines has been traditionally designed to be used on a relatively frequent maintenance schedule because being light, it does dry up relatively quickly and has a relatively low affinity for gathering dust & particles. as far as the "water displacement" properties of WD40 go, it is designed to dry up existing moisture when you apply it.. It is not designed to prevent moisture from accumulating or condensing on surfaces over time.. Nor have they ever claimed it would do this. If you want to get rid of existing water, alchohol works even better. Go look at the ingredients in the products that are sold to remove water from your gas tank. Bottom line.. WD40 is a great product for all kinds of uses around the house, garage, shop, etc.. thousands of uses.. Disk drives aren't one of them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Ok cowboy, you've got the last word on this one too. I give it to you... you truly are an expert on every subject conceivable... have a nice lube dude.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 It's not about having the last word.. or even who is "right" or "wrong" in an absolute sense.. It's about sound advice.. To be fair, I should admit that I have most likely at one time or another used WD40 on 1050 head carriage rails.. And I cant remember ever experiencing any ill effects.. But I wouldn't advise it, given the availability of stuff that's a much better match for the application.. That's all Ive been saying from the start.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Old thread I know but I just picked up a 1050 that sounds like it has never been lubricated since it was new..... I remember greasing the metal head supports BITD and I'm positive I used something like Vaseline, or at least something that was not runny. However today we have silicon sprays, would that be any good ? Of course not just spraying it around but spraying a bit on a Q-tip and then applying it to the supports. it's safe for plastics (in fact I use it for work to lube plastics) but I wonder if it will work as long as the Vaseline. I have never lubricated the spindle but I do hear a noise from this drive that I never heard before while running and it's not the discs inside the cover, I know how that sounds. I would never use WD40, way too aggressive stuf. Edited February 6, 2014 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 The best way to make a 1050 quiet is adding a happy to it. Not what people actually are looking for here probably, but it is a huge difference stock 1050 and happy Os. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
re-atari Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Old thread I know but I just picked up a 1050 that sounds like it has never been lubricated since it was new..... I remember greasing the metal head supports BITD and I'm positive I used something like Vaseline, or at least something that was not runny. However today we have silicon sprays, would that be any good ? Of course not just spraying it around but spraying a bit on a Q-tip and then applying it to the supports. it's safe for plastics (in fact I use it for work to lube plastics) but I wonder if it will work as long as the Vaseline. I have never lubricated the spindle but I do hear a noise from this drive that I never heard before while running and it's not the discs inside the cover, I know how that sounds. I would never use WD40, way too aggressive stuf. I had 2 1050's back in the days, and remember they differed a lot in the amount of noise produced. My guess is A8 diskdrives must be female, same phenomenon... The first drive I owned was a brandnew purchased one, the clatter of the drive mech drove me nuts after only a few days of use. By greasing the 2 rails with vaseline I managed to get the noise down to just a silent whisper. The other 1050 was a used one I bought about a year later from a friend, but sadly I never got it running as silent as drive #1. It did run more silent, but the steppermotor remained clearly audible on this one. After upgrading each with a diskspeeder the noise was down even further. Drive 2 stayed louder than the other, though. I just learned to live with it. I used vaseline as it is not aggressive for plastics. From experience I was and still am very hesistant on using oil on plastic parts. Reason is that at the same time as my active A8 days I had a car where the previous owner had put oil on the pivot of the clutch pedal mech for smoother action. Little did he know there was a nylon bushing there. As you may know, nylon soaks up oil and expands in the process. So after a few weeks the clutch action got very heavy. I remember it was a real pain to replace that nylon bushing. re-atari Edited February 7, 2014 by re-atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 This is my favorite grease for electronic assemblies as it doesn't react with plastics or other greases: http://www.super-lube.com The head assy. and rails tend to make noise if there is an air gap between them. Grease works well because it tends to stay in place. The whistling happens when the felt pad oscillates on the disk surface due to stiction. This is due to aging of the disk. I've often wondered if there is a better material for the pad than felt. -Bry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I used valve oil from my trumpet. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Crap.... I just disassembled the drive, washed the outer parts and dried them thoroughly. Cleaned the head with some alcohol and a Q-tip (no dirt visible amazingly !), did some dusting-off on the mechanism and re-assembled. I'm positive I hooked up everything correctly (made pics) and the drive worked fine a couple of times. Then I decided to put some vaseline on the metal rods (very little) and .....the drive stopped working !?!?!? When booting it spins up, I hear an occasional beep instead of loads and fast and get boot error on the screen...... did I accidentally damage anything ? Maybe some grease on the track 0 optics ? I tried to clean that, no result....any ideas ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hah, problem fixed ! Moved out the head a bit and noticed the plastic that goes into the optical track 0 sensor was very shiny....accidently some vaseline on it ! Cleaned it off with alcohol, looks nice dull black again and.......working ! Guess the shiny surface tricked the optical sensor into thinking the head was not at Track 0 while it was already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Cleaned up nicely. Yes it's yellowed a bit, but not as bad as it shows on the pictures. I'll probably try retrobright one day on some more stuff that I have. Nice to have an extra 1050 apart from the one I already have (which has a write protect switch and LED from BITD and a Happy that I installed very recently. Some pics.... I discovered there was a little something still not removed before :) Nice....almost like new 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I love the 1050 a lot. Although I have had a few minor problems with a few of them, most of my 1050's (and I seriously can build a nice house when I stack all the 1050's ) are going strong and are as reliable as possible. Very satisfied with my 1050's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Sorry replied to an old message, so it's gone Edited February 7, 2014 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) I love the 1050 a lot. Although I have had a few minor problems with a few of them, most of my 1050's (and I seriously can build a nice house when I stack all the 1050's ) are going strong and are as reliable as possible. Very satisfied with my 1050's! Over here in Europe we didn't get to see much else than 1050's (at least not in the 80's) I remember one guy I knew had an 800 and a 810 drive with happy ( he was the king in those very early days when I had just got my 600XL) but in all those years I never saw any other disc drives then 1050's. I remember looking at the IndusGT ad in one of the American Atari Magazines I bought and seriously drooling all over the place because of that SOOOO incredibly slick looking drive... I saw ads for Rana and maybe Percom too, but those look ugly as hell....the Indus was the holy grail for me Edited February 7, 2014 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
re-atari Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Over here in Europe we didn't get to see much else than 1050's (at least not in the 80's)Very true. Not until last year did I ever get my hands on a 810 drive, to go nicely with the 800 I obtained about 5 years ago. In the 80's both the 800 and 810 were very expensive, hence not many were sold. That changed a bit with the 600/800XL series, I don't think their predecessor (the 1200XL) was ever officially distributed in Europe. Despite significant price cuts, XL-series sales just couldn't keep pace with the C64. The Commodore was sold in such vast numbers that the installed base simply created its own critical mass. Just about every software developer jumped on the bandwagon, dropping support for the A8 like a hot potato. Not even selling A8's at dumping prices, like the Tramiels did to clear their warehouses and generate funds for developing the ST-series, could change that. And, software developers didn't want to invest in 'old tech' anymore, but instead dive into the exiting new 16-bit world. re-atari Edited February 8, 2014 by re-atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I actually don't think ever knowing about the 400 and 800 until the XL series was released here. I doubt Atari (Benelux) did it's best to promote them although I do have video footage from Dutch national TV that features an Atari 800...they also mention the price which was insane indeed. I think only in the UK the PAL version of the 800 was sold a bit. The XL version sure did change it a lot over here in Holland at least. They did pretty well, although of course the C64 was number one by far, I am positive the XL's were a good runner up. They were sold almost everywhere, from computer shops to large chain stores etc. I saw the ST EXTREMELY early in London. It was the summer of 1985 and I was on holiday in the UK with my parents. I had them especially drive up to the Silica Shop who was a specialized Atari dealer. I was awed by all the stuff but I don't think I actually bought something. No ST there though. A few days later we were in London and I visited a specialized Atari shop there too (don't remember the name) and much to my utter surprise they had a 520ST (or was it a 260ST ??) on demo. It was so freaking fresh that it bombed all the time, and I believe only 1 or 2 programs were actually available. The TOS was from floppy. They only had that demo machine and there were no other units for sale yet. I was awed enough that I wanted one, but it did take some time before I could afford it. The amount of machines sold simply dictates the amount of software for it. I sometimes thought piracy may have killed the A8, but hey, the C64 owners weren't much different. I do remember that because there were fewer A8 owners, they tended to get together more easily. At a certain point in time we had contacts in the US and Australia and floppies were flying over the world.....and remember this was WAY before the internet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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