RSwipeCA Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Hi all. I recently acquired a great condition 520ST setup. It came with a SF354 external floppy drive. The previous owner said there was a problem with the drive, so I opened it up to take a look. The drive responds to a disk when its inserted and tries to spin up, but there is no belt connecting the motor to the disc drive mechanism flywheel. I am guessing that the belt fell off and somebody removed it from the case. What's the chances of getting a replacement belt for this drive? I've searched on the net but it doesn't look too promising. Alternatively, is there another drive that I can put inside the case of this drive, if I cannot get a replacement belt? The drive is a Chinon F-353AT RevA Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I would just get a PC drive and put it in there that way you have a double-sided drive. You'll have to trim the case a bit. But well worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSwipeCA Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 I would just get a PC drive and put it in there that way you have a double-sided drive. You'll have to trim the case a bit. But well worth it! Oh ok that's great info. May I ask what type of drive you recommend? Just a standard every day PC floppy drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zogging Hell Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 You can get the belt from ebay - I think the seller is something like coolnovelties - they also have a website..(see below) As tjlazer suggests though it might be better to get a replacement. The 354 is single sided, and as such is a bit limited in the disks it can access (should be ok for a lot of games before about 1989 though) http://coolnovelties.co.uk/coolnovelties/69-atari-st-parts-and-accessories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) Epson SMD 300/340 and Chinon FZ357 works, not sure what other drives do. Edited November 22, 2016 by tjlazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 (edited) Here is what mine looks like after the mod: I'm using a Chinon FZ357. Edited November 22, 2016 by tjlazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSwipeCA Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Ah that's great info guys. Thanks very much to all of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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