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From: lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: CBM 1541 alignment info requested
Message-ID: <229@uwslh.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Dec-86 11:38:03 EST
Article-I.D.: uwslh.229
Posted: Tue Dec 23 11:38:03 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Dec-86 21:50:04 EST
References: <1750@homxc.UUCP> <60006@ui3.UUCP>
Reply-To: lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka)
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison, State Hygiene Lab
Lines: 40

In article <60006@ui3.UUCP> dickow@ui3.UUCP writes:
>/ ui3:comp.sys.cbm / nms@homxc.UUCP (N.SCRIBNER) / 10:31 am  Dec 17, 1986 /
>
>What is the latest scoop on alignment of old 1541 dis drives?
>Is is cost effective to take it to the local fixit shop? Send it to
>Commodore?  Buy a kit?  Is there public domain SW which would allow
>an "educated", (but not expert) user to align a unit himself.
>Thanks for the advice.
>
>Neal Scribner
>ATT-BL 201-949-2242
>homxc!nms
>----------

	Ahhh, yes...I used to have a lot alignment problems too.  However,
the second time my drive went out of alignment, the repairman I took it to
performed what he called a 'permanent' modification, and swore that the 
heads would never go out of alignment again.  Alas, he was correct...I haven't
had ANY head alignment problems with my drive for about three and a half years
now.
	From what I understand, the older drives had two metal components
'pressed' together, held in place only by friction.  I guess that these two
components controlled some aspect of head movement.  I've looked inside my
drive at what the repairman did, and it seemed he drilled a hole where these
two metal pieces meet and then drove a good-sized screw into the whole.  This
keeps the two metal pieces from slipping.
	The repairman told me that this modification was fairly common...the
best part about it, though, was that it cost the same price as a head 
alignment ($22.50 for half-an-hour's work).  Now, the store I had it done at
has gone out of business since the repair nearly four years ago...however, I
think that it would probably be worth your while to get this done (by someone
who knows what they are doing), because it can save a HELL of a lot in 
alignment fees.  Also, you don't have to worry about writing to disks when the
heads are 'slightly' out of alignment, insuring that you cannot read from those
disks when your heads are back into alignment (this has happened to me more
than once, BEFORE I had the permanent modification).
-- 
Chris Lishka                    /lishka@uwslh.uucp
Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene <-lishka%uwslh.uucp@rsch.wisc.edu
                                \{seismo, harvard,topaz,...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishka