[vcf-midatlantic] Drive repairs, was Hard drive art
Dave McGuire
mcguire at neurotica.com
Wed Apr 17 12:36:04 EDT 2019
On 4/17/19 11:46 AM, Jason Perkins via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> Another issue we'll run into is servo tracks, and no way to re-create them
> once they fade. With the software / fixtures only available at the factory
> I don't know how we could recreate those tools.
First you'd need to first determine the exact format of the servo
tracks. Keep in mind that they may not be "digital" tracks. If the
format cannot be determined from patent info, etc, then the only choice
might be to temporarily disassemble a functioning drive of the same
model, identify the servo head (assuming a dedicated head for early
drives), connect it to a signal processing chain and then digitize it.
In fact, that's probably something that should be done sooner rather
than later, for some makes and models of drives that are dropping like
flies now.
Then it should be possible to synthesize those waveforms and lay them
back down on the platter.
Not easy, of course, but similar things have been done by smart and
motivated people with, say, QIC tapes. (I'm looking at YOU, AJ!)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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