🚀 go-pugleaf

Here's something fun and geeky to do with old, trash hard drives... make a
windchime! Here's what you do:

1. Disassemble the drive down to the platters (they're what you want). Try
not to scratch them. It goes without saying, but different size platters
result in higher/lower pitched chimes. Mix 'em up!
2. Drill a tiny hole towards the top of three or more platters.
3. String it up with fishing line or equivalent.
4. Hang 'em from something. Old hardware works/looks the best.

I've got a great one that used to hang in the test lab at work. Three
platters hanging from a garage sale TRS-80. What a hoot! Best of all, the
chime sound is actually pleasing to the ear!

-Greg

"Ian Staples" <ianst@refer.to.sig.au.invalid> wrote in message
news:8icmc6$j3o$2@bunyip.cc.uq.edu.au...
> In article <IS225.26$tQ.9871@dfiatx1-snr1.gtei.net>,
> "Michael Mattias" <michael.mattias@gte.net> wrote:
> >J French <jerry@iss.u-net.com> wrote in message
> >news:39489819.3688569@news.u-net.com...
> >> Sounds like my development machine in 1986 - it was such a jump from
> >> an XT - I only ditched the thing in 1996
> >>
> >> On Thu, 15 Jun 2000 05:50:05 GMT, Tim Chorle
> >> <timsuniverse@mailandnews.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> >I agree, I am really just so curious as to why there is a large MFM
> >> >hard drive inside a machine that norton utilities reports a a 6 mhz
> >> >286, with a 320k 5 1/4 drive, that boots into an anchient basic rom!
> >> >It's one of the strangest setups I've ever seen, even if it is just
> >> >pure garbage. There was dust balls inside it thicker then golf balls,
> >> >by all accounts it should have caught on fire. Though it's such a boat
> >> >anchor, I doubt fire could harm it :)
> >
> >Hmmm, my 6Mhz 286 (it was actually a dual-speed 4.77/6Mhz) DID servive a
> >fire, in 1993.
> >
> >Then the power supply failed in 1994. Strangest failure I've ever seen: I
> >was sitting at my desk working on something, and while I was taking a
> >ten-second break from typing to record some test results, the screen just
> >quietly went black and the machine plumb stopped. It never ran again.
Sic
> >transit gloria.
>
> Our old SR-72, the first "PC" we had for common use (and now
> buried with due formality and appropriate wake in the back
> yard) once had a short from the *mains* switch onto the case.
>
> Our botanist was using it at the time (DataStar + ReportStar for
> those of you who were around in the days of CP/M applications)
> and got a hell of a fright when the thing went "bang" with a
> flash and a cloud of vaporised metal, and a neat hole appeared
> in the casing.  Still worked once the switch was fixed though,
> and served us for a few years after.
>
> When the end came, due to obsolescence rather than failure, we
> considered salvaging the drive motors (twin 8" drives) to make
> a couple of electric lawn mowers.  ;-)
>
> Cheers,  Ian S.
>
> ianstDELETE@THISdpi.qld.gov.au
>