[vcf-midatlantic] disk duplicating machines

[Ian Primus]

I have a 3 1/2" one (non-standalone) that I figured out the protocol
for, and got working. I've never been able to find a 5 1/4" one - I
kind of wonder how the disk loading would work, given that 5 1/4"
disks are less "sturdy" and vary more than 3 1/2" media. With mine, it
will jam if the disks already have labels on them, or if they are
cheaper disks made of thinner material and more flexible.

Are yours standalone, or do they require an external computer? Mine is
basically just an external floppy drive with an RS-232 controlled disk
changer attached. I wrote some shell scripts to multipart .tar
archives to a stack of floppies.

-Ian

On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 1:46 PM, william degnan via vcf-midatlantic
<vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
> Anyone into vintage disk duplicating machines?  Me?  I have two; one for 5
> 1/4 and one for 3.5 disks but I don't use them.  Have not powered them on
> or tested in 10 years.  I have never seen anyone demo these at a VCF or
> elsewhere, but I bet there was a time when these were in use in many
> businesses before easy software download.  A lost piece of tech.
>
> Bill