Re: floppy disk reader ?

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, juan gelt <juangelt@...> wrote:

>
> hi. floppy media deteriourate thru time. i just threw
> out all mine. they were about 10 years or older and of
> the heap i managed to find only a few that were
> formattable even.
> therefore they all went in the trash so as not to
> distract me from things more winnable. i got cf cards
> nowadays anyway.
> As for floppy drive parts... the reading stuff is so
> crude i go for a hd fo real parts there. only the
> little motor is worth having out of the floppy drives
> that i can use..
> i guess i'm suggesting to run away rather than dive
> in...lol

I don't know how much is salvagable, but, some of the stuff needs to
be archived on some permanent medium. I have heard that CD's also
have a rather limited life, in the 10-20 years period. less if you
use a Sharpie or glue a label on them.

I anticipate that some error checking will be necessary, but that
would be software.

I think a gripper would be needed to grab one, hold it, insert it,
release.

then grab after eject, move to the proper stack (good, un-readable or
mechanicaly not able to insert) and then all the good ones are
considdered done and ready for the trash can.

but, the mechanics of the operation with steppers and servo's should
not be that big of a problem. no major issues of alignment or backlash.

I guess the first step is to try a couple dozen by hand to see if the
files are readable.

Dave