Subject: Re: Stop it! Re: Where can one find 2.5 inch floppy disks, and other odd sizes

From: "Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Apr 19 13:19:14 2003

On Wed, 16 Apr 2003, Joe wrote:
>    You guys are going to give the poor guy a nervous break down! :-)

Actually, it's an excellent way to start collecting.  It's like filling in
a "Lincoln Cent" folder.  With half a dozen, you can have an interesting
collection, but as the collection matures, there are virtually endless
additional different ones to add to the collection.  And even a giant
collection doesn't need much of any storage space!

Anyone else have any Amlyn diskettes?  (besides Sam)  It's an EARLY 1.2M
with 5 disks in a holder and a mechanism for changing disks under software
control.  The diskettes are usable as 1.2M, but have extra holes for the
changing mechanism.

--
Fred Cisin                      [email-masked]
XenoSoft                        http://www.xenosoft.com

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From: "Rob O'Donnell" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Apr 19 13:27:36 2003

>control.  The diskettes are usable as 1.2M, but have extra holes for the

I remember back in my early BBC days, when the floppy drives were often 
single-sided, being able to buy "flippable discs" - they had extra holes in 
them so you could insert the disc into the drive either way up, and use 
both sides!

You could also buy some natty little punches to allow you to modify stock 
floppies in the same way.

Rob

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From: "Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Apr 19 13:41:15 2003

> them so you could insert the disc into the drive either way up, and use 

The extra holes in the Amlyn included a large rectangualr hole near 
the corner to give the changer something to grab.

> floppies in the same way.

That was one of my first retail products 25 years ago - a plexiglass jig
for marking the location for the index hole and write enable notch, with a
punch for making the holes.  The deluxe model also had a jig onthe side
for applying hub reinforcing rings.
I have discontinued the product, and at the last VCF, I couldn't even sell
NOS ones.

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From: [email-masked] (Tony Duell)
Date: Sat Apr 19 13:42:04 2003

> them so you could insert the disc into the drive either way up, and use 

I've seen a 5.25" signle-head drive that had the option of 2 index 
sensors and 2 write-protect switches so that any normal disk could be 
flipped over.

3" single-head drives normally allowed you to insert the disk both ways 
up too, so as to use both sides. Double head drives had an extra bracket 
so that the disk would only fit the right way up. Which meant that 
double-head drives could not normally read disks written on single-head 
drives (since the 'flup side' was recorded backwards...)

-tony

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From: Vintage Computer Festival <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Apr 19 13:42:41 2003

> I have discontinued the product, and at the last VCF, I couldn't even sell

If I'd have known you were selling them I would have grabbed one.  I'm
usually too busy running around to notice cool little things like that
sitting on the table.

-- 

Sellam Ismail                                        Vintage Computer Festival
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