JohnBuell Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I just did some searching through other threads, but did not really find anything related to what I'm looking at. I got a used XF551 recently, got a power adapter (C017945) and 3 foot SIO cable separately, and I decided to try it all out today. When I flick the power switch, the light in front comes on green for just a moment, then goes out again. Same when I shut it off. I put a known blank disk in, turned it on, the light came on, the disk was spun a bit, but then the light went right out and the spinning stopped. Same when switched back off. As many of you know, I will be the first to admit I'm not a genius when it comes to soldering, but am I at least in the right ballpark suspecting it might be a problem at the switch itself? Of course, granted, I just unboxed the power supply without actually testing it, so I should probably do that too. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 That's a normal function of the XF551 when just powering up by the switch. Have you tried booting a known good disk yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 That's normal, it doesn't act like a 1050. There's a very brief busy light and head movement reaction to powering the drive on and often the drive will have some spurious reaction (like a brief motor engagement) to being shut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBuell Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 No, and I'm actually not even sure the drive is in the Drive One position - I found someone with a user's manual on eBay just today and snapped it up. I did just get out my good old RadioShack pocket multimeter and it's showing an AC voltage of about 10.5-10.6. Is that about right for that model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBuell Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 And while I'm on the subject, can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive digital ammeter? Preferably not the clamp style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 No, and I'm actually not even sure the drive is in the Drive One position - I found someone with a user's manual on eBay just today and snapped it up. I did just get out my good old RadioShack pocket multimeter and it's showing an AC voltage of about 10.5-10.6. Is that about right for that model? Yes, the voltage is okay. A 9 VAC transformer's output will vary slightly with an input of 100 to 120 Volts A.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john-m Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 If the XF551 fails to boot or read a known good disk, be sure to check the SIO ports as they had a problem with weak connections to the motherboard and the traces would break. I remember repairing an XF551 that had that problem. Drive number switch settings Drive 1 -Both switches down Drive 2 -First switch down second switch up Drive 3 -First switch up second switch down Drive 4 - Both switches up Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBuell Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thanks! And my XF551 manual made it in the mail, so hopefully I won't have to bug you guys if something else comes up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 If the XF551 fails to boot or read a known good disk, be sure to check the SIO ports as they had a problem with weak connections to the motherboard and the traces would break. I remember repairing an XF551 that had that problem. That's right, plug a SIO cable once, and leave it there, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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