🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <12577047218.9.GUBBINS@TOPS20.RADC.AF.MIL> GUBBINS@TOPS20.RADC.AF.MIL (Gern) writes:
>It is easily possible to put a 5.25" 1.2MB (AT type) drive on the Z-100 
>8" connector with a home made or store bought (REMARK magazine ads) cable.
>I believe info is in our PD Lib on PD3:<HZ100> on SIMTEL20.ARPA.   Without
>the software patches, the 1.2MB runs as a Z-100 naive format (actually true
>IBM format that IBM ignored for the AT format) 1.2MB 8" drive that is not
>interchangeable with the AT format without running the software patches as
>detailed in REMARK magazine.   Basically, the cable gets you the Z-100
>realm of interchange, FORMAT and DISKCOPY support it, etc.  The software
>patches the MS-DOS/disk read/write to use the unsupported AT format, other
>programs (in the PD LIB) must be used to FORMAT the AT type disk.

My dealer created something like this for me when I bought my Z-100 many years
ago.  (I was certain that 400KB disks would be limiting.)  In the prices of
those days the 4.77Mhz Z-100 with 192KB memory and the standard floppy drives
replaced by two 1.2MB drives cost around $3200, and it was only that low be-
cause my dealer was pretty cut-rate.  (Notice, no printer at that price.)  The
necessary disks listed at about $15.00 apiece, but I got them for around $5.30,
again thanks to my dealer.

The problem was that because the Z-100 thought it was working with 8" drives,
they were powered up at all times and the heads wore through the surface of
those disks at amazing speed.  It didn't show up when the dealer was experi-
menting because he just ran short test to make sure that everything was cabled
up properly, but in actual use a few 4 hour sessions were all a disk could
stand.

Maybe these problems have been solved in the intervening years.  Have they?