Where to but a floppy drive for a TEK544 O-Scope?

H

Homer.Simpson

Guest
I've got a TEK TDS544 O-Scope with an apparent "out of alignment"
floppy drive. When a disk is formatted with Windows, the scope can't
read it. When formatted with the Scope, Windows can't read it.

Surely one can just buy a replacement drive somewhere? Is Tek the
only place? It isn't by any chance just a garden variety "PC" type
floppy drive is it?

TIA
 
Homer.Simpson <Homer.Simpson@springfieldbb.com.invalid> wrote:
I've got a TEK TDS544 O-Scope with an apparent "out of alignment"
floppy drive. When a disk is formatted with Windows, the scope can't
read it. When formatted with the Scope, Windows can't read it.

Surely one can just buy a replacement drive somewhere? Is Tek the
only place? It isn't by any chance just a garden variety "PC" type
floppy drive is it?
Click to expand...
I would suspect it is.
What's the extra profit for Tek in making a special drive, that'll
sell in the tens of thousands (?), when they could stick a PC one
in for $10, and have change left.
 
"Ian Stirling" <root@mauve.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:43028e16$0$1231$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader01.plus.net...
Homer.Simpson <Homer.Simpson@springfieldbb.com.invalid> wrote:
I've got a TEK TDS544 O-Scope with an apparent "out of alignment"
floppy drive. When a disk is formatted with Windows, the scope can't
read it. When formatted with the Scope, Windows can't read it.

Surely one can just buy a replacement drive somewhere? Is Tek the
only place? It isn't by any chance just a garden variety "PC" type
floppy drive is it?

I would suspect it is.
What's the extra profit for Tek in making a special drive, that'll
sell in the tens of thousands (?), when they could stick a PC one
in for $10, and have change left.
Click to expand...
It might possibly need some jumper settings changed. I believe small
diskette drives still have some options that PCs don't use. But most
likely, Tek uses it right out of the box. Look at the connectors on it...
it won't cost much at all to *try* a PC diskette drive.
 
On 17 Aug 2005 00:13:08 GMT, "Homer.Simpson" <Homer.Simpson@SpringfieldBB.com.INVALID> wrote:

I've got a TEK TDS544 O-Scope with an apparent "out of alignment"
floppy drive. When a disk is formatted with Windows, the scope can't
read it. When formatted with the Scope, Windows can't read it.
Click to expand...
Silly question but are you sure it is supposed to be PC compatible format..?

Surely one can just buy a replacement drive somewhere? Is Tek the
only place? It isn't by any chance just a garden variety "PC" type
floppy drive is it?

TIA
Click to expand...
Take the drive out and have a look at it - I'm sure there will be a makers name somewhere -
probably TEAC or Sony. Note that link settings may differ from those needed in a PC.

If it is head alignment, this is not usually too hard to adjust - there will be a couple of test
points on the drive's PCB to monitor the differential head signal, which can be peaked using a
known-good disc while adjusting the alignment.

I don't know the vintage of this scope but could it be a non-high density (720K) one ? This would
llikely cause problems interchanging if you used a HD disk with it.
Easy way to tell would be to look to see if it has a switch to detect the density hole (other side
to the write-protect one)
..
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Mike Harrison
<mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote (in
<p316g19gm2okmlh6bvq3tfnrgtkriljtm4@4ax.com>) about 'Where to but a
floppy drive for a TEK544 O-Scope?', on Wed, 17 Aug 2005:

I don't know the vintage of this scope but could it be a non-high
density (720K) one ? This would llikely cause problems interchanging if
you used a HD disk with it.
Easy way to tell would be to look to see if it has a switch to detect
the density hole (other side
to the write-protect one)
Click to expand...
.... and remember that 'double density' (720 K) is not as dense as 'high
density' (1.44 M).
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
 
mc wrote:

It might possibly need some jumper settings changed. I believe small
diskette drives still have some options that PCs don't use. But most
likely, Tek uses it right out of the box. Look at the connectors on it...
it won't cost much at all to *try* a PC diskette drive.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. I believe the interface on the drives was
originally designed around the idea of using jumpers to select the
drive. But on the PC, IBM jumpered all drives for the second channel,
and flipped the cable around before it got to the drive that was
supposed to be on the first channel, so that it would fulfill that
function even with the jumper in the second position. I remember
having to change this some when salvaging some high quality half height
drives out of an old CPM machine (and then briefly bringing it up again
with an IBM-labeled full height drive).

What I don't know is if the cheap modern 3.5" drives still have the
jumpers, or if they are all hard wired for the second channel. If so,
and TEK uses the jumper option, you could use an old PC-style floppy
cable as a guide for which wires to swap to get it working.
 
"John Woodgate" <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote in message
news:eek:SYwTEHAhxADFwCa@jmwa.demon.co.uk...
I read in sci.electronics.design that Mike Harrison <mike@whitewing.co.uk
wrote (in <p316g19gm2okmlh6bvq3tfnrgtkriljtm4@4ax.com>) about 'Where to but
a floppy drive for a TEK544 O-Scope?', on Wed, 17 Aug 2005:

I don't know the vintage of this scope but could it be a non-high density
(720K) one ? This would llikely cause problems interchanging if you used a
HD disk with it.
Easy way to tell would be to look to see if it has a switch to detect the
density hole (other side
to the write-protect one)

... and remember that 'double density' (720 K) is not as dense as 'high
density' (1.44 M).
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
Click to expand...
Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with PC's. No
hardware difference at all.

Ken
 
...TEK TDS544 O-Scope
with an apparent "out of alignment" floppy drive.
When a disk is formatted with Windows, the scope can't read it.
When formatted with the Scope, Windows can't read it.
Homer.Simpson

Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with PC's.
Ken Taylor
Click to expand...
Nope. FAT12.
Many a time I've popped the floppy disk out of the scope
and into a Windoze box to import the CVS files into Excel.

If you couldn't, it wouldn't make much sense to have a floppy.
..
..
I did have to clean the heads of the drive in the scope now and then.
 
"Ken Taylor" <ken123@xtra.co.nz> wrote in
news:aVMMe.3567$iM2.345183@news.xtra.co.nz:

"John Woodgate" <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote in message
news:eek:SYwTEHAhxADFwCa@jmwa.demon.co.uk...
I read in sci.electronics.design that Mike Harrison
mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote (in
p316g19gm2okmlh6bvq3tfnrgtkriljtm4@4ax.com>) about 'Where to but a
floppy drive for a TEK544 O-Scope?', on Wed, 17 Aug 2005:

I don't know the vintage of this scope but could it be a non-high
density (720K) one ? This would llikely cause problems interchanging
if you used a HD disk with it.
Easy way to tell would be to look to see if it has a switch to
detect the density hole (other side
to the write-protect one)

... and remember that 'double density' (720 K) is not as dense as
'high density' (1.44 M).
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with PC's.
No hardware difference at all.

Ken
Click to expand...
I am not certain this is true for the TDS scopes.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
 
Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with
PC's. No hardware difference at all.

I am not certain this is true for the TDS scopes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the feedback from everyone. For the record, this type
of scope is more than happy with a 1.4MB windoze floppy.

It appears this particular floppy writes on the "ragged edge" of
alignment. Some PC's can see the floppy, some can see the directory,
and a chosen few can actually get data off the drive.

I've got my lab buy querying Tech for a drive. I've also got my eyes
on an old Tech monochrome scope which has a working drive. I figure
a drive swap may be in order.

Looks like I have several options. If I learn anything from this
I'll post some info.
 
On 18 Aug 2005 00:07:51 GMT, the renowned "Homer.Simpson"
<Homer.Simpson@SpringfieldBB.com.INVALID> wrote:

Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with
PC's. No hardware difference at all.

I am not certain this is true for the TDS scopes.

Thanks for all the feedback from everyone. For the record, this type
of scope is more than happy with a 1.4MB windoze floppy.

It appears this particular floppy writes on the "ragged edge" of
alignment. Some PC's can see the floppy, some can see the directory,
and a chosen few can actually get data off the drive.

I've got my lab buy querying Tech for a drive. I've also got my eyes
on an old Tech monochrome scope which has a working drive. I figure
a drive swap may be in order.

Looks like I have several options. If I learn anything from this
I'll post some info.
Click to expand...
Is there any reason to suppose that it's not an ordinary Sony or
Panasonic floppy drive, which might be worth $15 or so brand new?


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
 
"Jim Yanik" <jyanik@abuse.gov.> wrote in message
news:Xns96B5C35ADDA47jyanikkuanet@129.250.170.84...
"Ken Taylor" <ken123@xtra.co.nz> wrote in
news:aVMMe.3567$iM2.345183@news.xtra.co.nz:

"John Woodgate" <jmw@jmwa.demon.contraspam.yuk> wrote in message
news:eek:SYwTEHAhxADFwCa@jmwa.demon.co.uk...
I read in sci.electronics.design that Mike Harrison
mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote (in
p316g19gm2okmlh6bvq3tfnrgtkriljtm4@4ax.com>) about 'Where to but a
floppy drive for a TEK544 O-Scope?', on Wed, 17 Aug 2005:

I don't know the vintage of this scope but could it be a non-high
density (720K) one ? This would llikely cause problems interchanging
if you used a HD disk with it.
Easy way to tell would be to look to see if it has a switch to
detect the density hole (other side
to the write-protect one)

... and remember that 'double density' (720 K) is not as dense as
'high density' (1.44 M).
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
There are two sides to every question, except
'What is a Moebius strip?'
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

Tektronix uses a proprietary format which isn't compatible with PC's.
No hardware difference at all.

Ken




I am not certain this is true for the TDS scopes.

--
Jim Yanik
Click to expand...
<sigh> So it appears. The Tex stuff we've had in various places were
proprietary, but I guess they've learnt a lesson.

Cheers.

Ken
 
John Woodgate wrote:
... and remember that 'double density' (720 K) is not as dense as 'high
density' (1.44 M).
Click to expand...

And neither are as dense as some of the of the trolls around here. :(

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
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