Curious about getting my 1050 and 1010 serviced

[segasaturn]

I was wondering if someone knows how one goes about getting these both serviced now adays. Like getting my 1050 aligned or having someone change/fix the belts for my 1010. To be honest when I have some extra money I was really looking into getting them fixed up. They still both work but they are also almost 40 years old and I dont know how bad they are on the inside (parts and all). I could ship them out to people too and get them serviced if I had too. I was just wondering what everyone else has done with their machines.

[E474]

Hi,

 

I'm not sure about the 1010, as my tape decks are in a box, and haven't been used for ages.

 

For a 1050, I'd recommend opening it up, lubricating the rails the drive head moves up and down on (I use Lithium grease, but other people use a light oil like sewing machine oil, etc). It's also a good idea to get some IPA (70%, or 100%) and cleaning the disk head to remove any accumulated junk. There's a good argument to be made for replacing the capacitors, but you will need some soldering skills, or know someone who has them. I haven't done this on any of my drives, but it's on my to-do list. You can get the parts from https://console5.com/store/atari-1050-floppy-disk-drive-cap-kit.html- and probably elsewhere too. You might want to check the RPM, and other aspects of the 1050 with the diagnostic disk https://archive.org/details/a8b_1050_Disk_Diagnostics_1983_Atari

 

If you're using a stock 1050, you might want to upgrade it with a US Doubler, or a Happy.

 

You can have a look through the field service manual - it covers using the diagnostic disk.

 

Also, you might want to check if you have an "Ingot" power supply, and dispose of it if you do.

Edited March 5, 2019 by E474

[segasaturn]

Hi,

 

I'm not sure about the 1010, as my tape decks are in a box, and haven't been used for ages.

 

For a 1050, I'd recommend opening it up, lubricating the rails the drive head moves up and down on (I use Lithium grease, but other people use a light oil like sewing machine oil, etc). It's also a good idea to get some IPA (70%, or 100%) and cleaning the disk head to remove any accumulated junk. There's a good argument to be made for replacing the capacitors, but you will need some soldering skills, or know someone who has them. I haven't done this on any of my drives, but it's on my to-do list. You can get the parts from https://console5.com/store/atari-1050-floppy-disk-drive-cap-kit.html- and probably elsewhere too. You might want to check the RPM, and other aspects of the 1050 with the diagnostic disk https://archive.org/details/a8b_1050_Disk_Diagnostics_1983_Atari

 

If you're using a stock 1050, you might want to upgrade it with a US Doubler, or a Happy.

 

You can have a look through the field service manual - it covers using the diagnostic disk.

 

Also, you might want to check if you have an "Ingot" power supply, and dispose of it if you do.

I wouldnt know how to begin to replace the capacitors. To be honest Ive never soldered anything before. And I assume both my 1050 and 1010 is stock. I honestly dont know if its been serviced after they left the Atari factory. Would the 1050 diagnostic disc let me know if it even needs service in the first place? Edited March 5, 2019 by segasaturn

[E474]

Hi,

 

The diagnostic disk will check the RPM, and you can do a 10 minute burn in test for single density, and a 2 hour test for enhanced density. Adjusting the rpm is very easy - you just have to turn a potentiometer until the drive rpm is back in spec (assuming it isn't in spec already). You can also replace the drive belt if you're getting an irregular rpm, this is a bit fiddly, but not difficult. If you don't have any soldering skills, you might want to get in contact with a local technical school/community college and see if they can help you out, or maybe put up a help wanted add locally, replacing capacitors isn't an Atari specific skill. You can also open up the 1050 and see if there is anything obviously wrong - leaking, or bulging capacitors would need some attention.

[segasaturn]

I opened it up to see what was going on. The caps look ok. I took a few pictures to see if you guys thought otherwise though I know its kind of hard without seeing it in person. It also had those numbers on the side I dont know if they mean anything though. Does best electronics sell the diagnostic disc?

[+Nezgar]

How does the belt look underneath? Often the rubber has cracked and is falling apart. At minimum, they have stretched over 30+ years and don't have the same tension, so RPM's will be a little unstable.

 

New belts can be had from best electronics, but I found this page that's also selling compatible bets: https://console5.com/store/atari-1050-ibm-pcjr-qumetrak-142-floppy-drive-spindle-belt.html(Haven't ordered from them myself yet)

 

Check which ROM you have, and what the sockets look like inside the metal shielding if it is still present. If you have an original EPROM, its a solderless upgrade to a homebrew (EPROM) US Doubler. A happy upgrade is always solderless, if your socket's aren't garbage. (really bad ones may not fit)

[segasaturn]

How does the belt look underneath? Often the rubber has cracked and is falling apart. At minimum, they have stretched over 30+ years and don't have the same tension, so RPM's will be a little unstable.

 

New belts can be had from best electronics, but I found this page that's also selling compatible bets: https://console5.com/store/atari-1050-ibm-pcjr-qumetrak-142-floppy-drive-spindle-belt.html(Haven't ordered from them myself yet)

 

Check which ROM you have, and what the sockets look like inside the metal shielding if it is still present. If you have an original EPROM, its a solderless upgrade to a homebrew (EPROM) US Doubler. A happy upgrade is always solderless, if your socket's aren't garbage. (really bad ones may not fit)

Thank you for helping. The metal shielding is still there. Somewhat dusty though inside. I cleaned it all out and the belt is OK, it has a little tension, though it is somewhat stretchy if that makes sense. The 1050 does work, though some discs work flawlessly while others just give me boot errors. Is it really easy to change the belt on the drive? Im not the most coordinated to be honest but if anyone can do it Ill just go slow. Do I need anything besides the belt itself? Is there a video or step by step guide to follow for replacing the belt? Edited March 5, 2019 by segasaturn

[Magic Knight]

When servicing a 1010, I usually use a head cleaner tape (those cloth tapes thing's popular in 80s but still around for a couple of bucks on eBay and maybe amazon).

 

The inner mechanism I use a very minimal amount of WD40 (with a cotton bud) on the inner hinges and moving parts so that they are not seizing or near to that stage.

 

Changing Bands on the Japan model (the one with the orange rectangle sticker the tape goes) are a bit tricky as a lot needs removing to get to the band.

 

The Hong Kong version (one with the silver rectangle) is fairly simple however. (As are xc12's i might add)

 

Adjusting the heads/tuning. I recall you type Poke 54018,52 to switch motor on. you can then tune the tape with a tiny screwdriver so that it sounds clearest. Poke 54018,60 to switch off)

Edited March 5, 2019 by Magic Knight

[xrbrevin]

Here is the 1050 diagnostic software!

1050 Disk Diagnostics.atr

[E474]

Hi,

 

The 1050 drive looks OK, there are some smaller capacitors that are under the drive mechanism which aren't visible. If you want to look at the rest of the board, and also the belt, you need to disconnect the wire going from the mechanism to the PCB connector at the front of the drive - you can then lift and tilt the drive mechanism to vertical. Or you can disconnect all the wires, and lift out the drive mechanism. Take photos of the connections first to record how they are oriented/aligned.

 

You haven't mentioned if you have a way to transfer files from the internet to your Atari, when I got back into the 8-bit Atari I built an SIO2PI cable to connect my Raspberry Pi to the 8-bit, but there are lots of other choices/routes you can take.

 

If your drive can only read some disks, it might be down to the disks, not the 1050. If some of the floppy disks are actually failing, cleaning the disk head is a good idea, as they can leave gunk behind - but on the other hand, if the drive can read other disks, maybe the head isn't so dirty. It can also be the RPM is a bit out of spec. If you want to order the diagnostic disk from Best, I think it is also in stock. Some of the tests in the FSM require an alignment disk (I'm not sure if this is available separately), but I think you also need to use an oscilloscope for testing - I would have a look at the 1050 Field Service Manual (Google for it).

 

Fitting the belt is just a matter of dropping it down through the gap between the spindles that rotate the disk, it's very simple, but a bit non-obvious. I don't know if there are pictures or videos showing how to do this.

 

Also, you really should check to see which PSU you have for the 800XL, if it's an "Ingot", it will most likely fail at some point, taking your XL with it.

[segasaturn]

Best sells the belt for 6$ And if everyone is saying its relatively easy and simple Ill probably do it and just go slow. As for the alignment disc and the oscilloscope, I wouldnt have the slightest idea on how to use them. Ill have to pay someone to do it for me. Anyone know of anybody who can help me with that? And I didnt know I could hook my Atari 800 to the internet. I dont know how.

Edited March 5, 2019 by segasaturn

[_The Doctor__]

single sided disk head cleaning disk wet/dry... let head dry a few minutes before inserting a disk. all disks might not be the correct density, or using different DOS on them.

please consider boot a different number of DOS types and then swapping in the disk that does not work looking for data or directory etc...

I have disks that were in different dos type that act blank until the correct dos is used, also some are in double density etc. and an unmodified 1050 can't read them...

 

Make sure those disks are clean... if you see something on the disk you can use a soft cotton swap and slow hot moist breath on the disk surface and q tip to give it a wipe.. this has worked for many disks over the years. there is plenty of threads going down recovery and cleaning etc so search those out here on AA

[E474]

Hi,

 

You actually can connect up the 8-bit to the internet, but what I meant was that most people use a cable to connect to a PC/laptop, etc, and run software like RespeQt, etc., which emulates a 1050. There are a lot of great sources for disk images (ATR files) on the internet, such as atarimania, pigwa, fandal, and more, but you need to figure out how you are going to use disk images downloaded from these websites with your 800xl.