Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    Paul:
    
    I don't know what vintage your Amiga is, but I have an October '86
    version, and my drives sound like miniature blenders making a puree
    out of a bunch of nails.
    
    My friend has a February version, and his are just as noisy.  Early
    Amigas shipped with NEC drives, and I heard that the drive head
    stepping rate exactly coincided with a resonance in the drive band.
    
    Current Amiga drives are absolutely silent.  I have heard that one
    can order Hitachi drive mechanisms for about $100 each, and do a
    simple retrofit.  I don't know where to get them, though I would
    consider replacements if I could find a source.  Maybe a call to
    C-A could help us out?  (I don't even have their number)....Better
    yet, I will leave a message with Amiga Engineering on CIS....
    
    By the way, I have had two entire disk failures in 14 months of
    continuous use, so I don't think the noise affects the performance,
    but it sure is nerve-wracking...I usually crank up the volume on
    my 100 watt stereo hooked up to the Amiga...
     
    Ed Acciardi

    Re: .1
    
    I meant to say that I had an October '85 Amiga, not October '86.

    I bought mine three months ago!
    
    I guess some of the chain stores bought large volumes to take them
    through the year. The smaller independent stores with low inventory
    were more likely to have units with the better drives. I actually
    haven't heard a quiet one yet. I also assume that even those units
    with the quieter drives still have the small hole in the bottom
    of the case under the drive (even though there is no speed adjustment).
    
    If you find a deal on quiet replacement drives, please let me know.
    
    paul

    Hmm ... I don't see any speed control for the internal drive on the 
    bottom of my Amiga system box. Does this mean I have a newer drive?
    And, does it mean older systems have drives that are even noiser?
    
    I peeked through the disk slot of both the internal and external
    drive. They appear to be identical in construction.
    
    Paul

    If by chance you're going to replace your driver (internal or external)
    I want to put my 2 �. A hardware guru of our Amiga Club has done
    some testing. NEC has been ranked very bad while the winner has
    been Toshiba ( which I'm using as external drive, home made ).
    Nec was also the noiser one. What's installed inside you're Amiga?
    

    I've seen three versions - very noisy, noisy, and quiet.  I believe
    only the very noisy have the speed control.  My noisy drive doesn't
    have it.
    
    -dave

    KickStart isn't noisy when loading, but Workbench is. I do not know
    the name of the drive manufacturer. Can't see any markings through
    the drive slot.

    re .5
    
    Where did you get the Toshiba drive unit to make your homemade drive?
    
    -Jeff

RE  .8
	Sorry, for both the delay in answering and for previous error.
	My exeternal drive ( homemade ) is NOT TOSHIBA, but PANASONIC. It 
works very well and ..

YOU MAY CONNECT TWO EXTERNAL DRIVES WITHOUT EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY.

	This is due to low current absorbed by Panasonic  drives. This 
( 2 drives, no supply) is also available as commercial product ( brand : BYTEC 
- Italian co.) at 500$. My drives are done using a locally developped circuit 
( Do you remember the H/w guru I mention'd? ) and costed me only 350$.

	The error I made mentioning TOSHIBA is due to the fact that some times 
ago on USENET it was published a schema for connecting two external TOSHIBA 
drives. ( I got copy of it, if you're interested). HOWEVER, we ( he :-)were not 
able to have that circuit work. This could be due to the fact that 
we were not able to find the Toshiba drives and tried using PAnasonic and 
TEAC.

	The autor of the article mentioned that he got his drives at 
Halted Specialties, Sunnywale (CA) for 99$ each.

	Ciao.
    

    Can the Panasonic drive ($99 ?) replace the internal Amiga drive
    without modification?
    
    Paul