Best 8-bit Atari disk drive? 810, 1050, XF551

[fibrewire]

AMDEK dual 3" floppy...

 

Are you the guy that got that AMDEK dual 3" off of ebay in August of last year? Any chance you can take some hi resolution pics and post it up in a new thread??

_____________

 

I like beige, so the 815 is my favorite. My regular use drives are a couple of 810's.

[TXG/MNX]

Nope got the amdek years ago when i find it in the boxes overhere i post pictures

[1050]

Well.. that last point could end up in a big disappointment. I bought myself a nice 5.25" PC mech, but that mech did everything, but only wanted to format and read 360K floppies... and only the ones that were created with THAT mech. (not the 360K disks I had from my original XF551 mech).

 

The XF551 is a very nice diskdrive, but not out of the box. The original rom has a few problems (especially with the density check). With a fixed ROM the XF551 turns into a beast of drive, which is very reliable.

Almost sounds like you purchased a 1.2 meg 5.25 drive which doesn't work so good for that job since they don't do single side at all but will do limited 360K. Due to the half width head on those they have problems with original DD disks and really only shine when you feed them HD disks. The easiest way to tell other than an accurate model number look up table was to connect it to an older PC and then set the BIOS to the 360K version and reboot. If you got floppy fail (40) as an error in the process, that means you've got a 1.2 meg drive. In those early days for me at least you could not count on ANY published table of model numbers stating the type of drive it really was, the only thing I could count on was my BIOS post result as the final word on the subject. IIRC the PC would halt right there and not proceed with the boot either.

 

Wolley's density switch code can be transplanted into the original ROM code and it works just fine from then on. It makes the drive switch density when it fails to cold boot a DD disk and the drive tries it again with the switched density which then results in success, but it does take a moment or two for it to happen. Otherwise the orginal code just fails miserably to cold boot a DD disk be it single or double sided. How is it possible that this code made it onto the market and wasn't found to be in error at any point before or since? Atari never published an errata sheet on this issue that I'm aware of, nor a fix - simply incredible to me they did this to start with.

[+Ripdubski]

What, no Rana love? I had one of these long ago and never had any issues with it. I also had several Indus drives whichnone had issues. i have a 1050 now, but it doesnt see regular use.

[777ismyname]

I have had a XF551 since they came out - at a local Sear's that had mis-priced it for something like $69 - and it has never failed to work, though it has been a couple of years since it has been used. As a younger teenager, I always wanted an Indus GT and the dual 3" (I think it was 3") drives.

[bbking67]

I've owned three different drive models over the years: Percom, 1050 and Indus GT (the Indus was my first drive). While i loved the Indus, i think the overall best drive has to be the 1050. Ultimately the 1050 has the most upgrade options, is relatively easy to repair and parts drives are plentiful.

 

But really the 1050 is only a contender if upgraded via US Doubler, happy or comparable upgrades.

[+Ripdubski]

the dual 3" (I think it was 3") drives.

Amdek I think.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Ripdubski

[Britishcar]

I've owned about all of them. I ran an Austin, TX BBS on a vertical Percom in DD but it was a bit twitchy. I would say the Happy enhanced 1050 is a very solid choice. However, my nostalgia factor has to go with a Happy 810. Why? Well, the 810's were reliable tanks -- still are -- an a Happy enhancement made them super sweet. They were big bucks and were the ultimate hacker/pirate tool early on. First you had to afford an 810...lot's of cash...and then you had to get that Happy upgrade...also not relatively cheap back then. So...I really admired the guys who put up the $ for a Happy 810 back then. I was much too young and poor to pull it off until the mid-80's.

[ApolloBoy]

The best A8 drive is either a SIO2PC or SIO2SD.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

The best A8 drive is either a SIO2PC or SIO2SD.

Which aren't even disk drives, so, useless info...

[+wood_jl]

Happy 1050!

 

(1.) Even if you "weren't into copying protected disks" back then (talk is cheap/it's easy to take the moral 'high road' on this now (can't prove a negative (that you did NOT)), though most Atari users bootlegged as we all know), it was still a legitimate use to backup your own software. Apple users didn't need a drive mod to do it. Unsure about Commodore. Anyone?? The ST didn't need it. But the ability to do this was unique to the Happy 1050 (save for the Happy 810 rev 7.1 (ultra-rare) which the Happy 1050 supplants.) (FYI - The original Atari 810 would go up to about Happy 5.4 (or thereabouts) and then LATER there was a Happy 810 hardware upgrade that would run Happy 7.1. On the other hand, any Happy 1050 would run up to [the latest and final] Happy 7.1 without any further upgrades.

 

(2.) The track-buffered Happy 1050 (and 810) was FAST. This was - quite simply - the fastest Atari floppy drive there was. That's nothing to sneer at. Happy "Warp Speed" is legendary in the Atari community. This was pretty much a unique thing to the Happy 1050, too.

 

(3.) Reliability. The Atari 1050 is - unquestionably - one of the most reliable designs in the A8 disk drive universe. The Happy 1050 benefits from this, obviously.

 

(4.) Double-Density. While other aftermarket drives do this too, this feature is merely added to the Happy 1050's plusses. The US Doubler gets a nod, but it lacked #1 and #2 above, so can't be top-dog in this comparison.

 

The Indus GT gets an honorable mention for awesome-looking design, general reliability as well (at least that I've observed), and double-density out of the box.

 

The XF551 gets a nod for being a flawed but official double-sided drive. I don't think it ever did anything that hardcore BBS SYSOPS weren't doing with Percom drives in the 1980s; the Percom could drive about any standard PC drive mech you threw at it, so it gets a nod, as well.

[Marius]

Which aren't even disk drives, so, useless info...

 

Ah… that's what I'm doing wrong… I was trying to fold a 5.25" floppy disk so it would fit in a SD slot, but since I'm not ORIGAMI EXPERT I couldn't find the right way to fold.

[Ransom]

I've owned 810s, 1050s, XF551s, and Indus GTs. My favorite for daily use is the 1050 with Happy upgrade. I have two of those and love 'em. I like the XF551s but I've had reliability problems with each of the ones I've owned. The Indus GT I had was great, but ultimately I decided against sticking with it due to concerns about finding spare parts. The 810 was just a novelty to me -- too much desk space for too little storage.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

 

Ah… that's what I'm doing wrong… I was trying to fold a 5.25" floppy disk so it would fit in a SD slot, but since I'm not ORIGAMI EXPERT I couldn't find the right way to fold.

Of course you need to fold it in such a way that the notch of the 5,25" floppy ends up at the same place as the write-protect switch of an SD card.

 

If you're in for a real challenge, try this for a micro-SD slot.

 

 

And to add something useful, no one mentioned the Speedy-1050. It's at least as fast as a Happy-1050 and may be even faster.

 

Also no mention of the XFD601 and XFD602. These are possibly the fasted non-track-buffered SIO disk drives around.

[monsoft]

Well, I would say Toms 710 and Toms 720 floppy drives. Both created by Polish company named Toms.

I used CA-2001, Toms 710 and Toms 720C (with centronics build in) and Toms 720C was the best one (still have it). Build in MyDOS, 720KB on floppy, PC format, Toms Turbo transmission.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atari.apox.pl%2Fartykul%2Cstacja-toms-720.html&edit-text=&act=url

Edited November 12, 2014 by monsoft

[+David_P]

The Super Archiver 1050 was great. I've also owned a stock 810, stock 1050, stock XF-551, and, for sheer looks, my favourites, a pair of Indus GTs. Because, lets face it, a 180K is adequate for everything you could ever want to do .

[Yautja]

Well, I would say Toms 710 and Toms 720 floppy drives. Both created by Polish company named Toms.

I used CA-2001, Toms 710 and Toms 720C (with centronics build in) and Toms 720C was the best one (still have it). Build in MyDOS, 720KB on floppy, PC format, Toms Turbo transmission.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atari.apox.pl%2Fartykul%2Cstacja-toms-720.html&edit-text=&act=url

 

Couldn't find an image of any "Toms" DD in Google. Would you please share some photos?

 

- Y -

[monsoft]

Sure:

 

This is Toms 710 http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/Floppy-disk-drive-TOMS-710.aspx

And this is Toms 720 http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/Floppy-disk-drive-TOMS-720.aspx

and here http://www.fotosik.pl/u/sniegowy/album/1491193

Edited November 13, 2014 by monsoft

[kogden]

The Toms drives look pretty cool. Never saw one here in the US. Two drives get my vote:

 

Happy 1050 - Nice looks, very reliable and not incredibly loud. DD and high-speed SIO w/ a Happy board makes it even nicer.

 

Indus GT - Really nice looks, also reliable and can be pretty damn quick.

 

I like both drives but I'd trade my Happy 1050 for an Indus GT.... mainly to run Indus CP/M.

[monsoft]

There was produced around 300-380 Toms 720 drives only and mostly only people from Poland knew about this device. Additional, price for Toms 720C was simillar to price of new Amiga 500 so it was definitely not cheap.

Edited November 14, 2014 by monsoft

[+Nezgar]

The Super Archiver 1050 was great. I've also owned a stock 810, stock 1050, stock XF-551, and, for sheer looks, my favourites, a pair of Indus GTs. Because, lets face it, a 180K is adequate for everything you could ever want to do .

 

Never had any of the CSS mods, but I'm curious - Did the Super Archiver, Super Archiver II, Bitwriter, for the 1050 support any high-speed modes for day to day use? IE Non-buffered altered skew like Indus or USD, or buffered like Happy?

 

My only 'archiver' exposure was with the Happy-to-Chip Archiver that would temporarily convert the 1050 to I believe essentially what the 810 Chip archiver would have been. When in that mode there's no ultraspeed, nothing but single density support, and SDX 4.48 won't even talk to it.

[gargoyle]

I've found this thread quite late but let me chime in anyway. I like my 1050(s), never owned anything else. I like the 1050 with all its faults and noise, and nowdays i can experience all those drive enhancements of the bygone era thanks to Megaspeedy. XF551 simply doesn't look like Atari to me, it looks more like a PC drive. 1050 has a very unique look. Obviously I am an XL series atari guy

[toddtmw]

My first drive was a Rana 1000. It was cheaper than an 810, way smaller and did double density. It felt a little weak when using it. Sometimes it felt like it was just tired. Spinning up felt like it was slow to get going.

 

I got an Indus GT and it was much better.

 

Now I have four 1050's. One with Happy.

 

I have to say, I like the 1050 with Happy the best.

 

Todd

[flashjazzcat]

All my 1050s are dead and both my XFs still work. So I'm saying XF551 for a second time.

[Marius]

I've found this thread quite late but let me chime in anyway. I like my 1050(s), never owned anything else. I like the 1050 with all its faults and noise, and nowdays i can experience all those drive enhancements of the bygone era thanks to Megaspeedy. XF551 simply doesn't look like Atari to me, it looks more like a PC drive. 1050 has a very unique look. Obviously I am an XL series atari guy

 

I love the XL line too more than the XE line, and I find the 1050 (especially when it is new, where the atari 1050 badge is all shiny, and without scratches) a really awesome device to look at. I do not have the mega speedy, but I built in the Mini Speedy which does everything I want too.

 

On the other hand: I have a few XF551's which are still operational, and I don't have that "pc-look" idea with these drives. In fact... I find it very cool to hear a XF551 spinning, and the head seek actions are pretty amazing too. I wished I had a XF551 speedy, that would be awesome.