[continued from previous message]
- Data/clock separator circuit for 1980-1981 810 drives without Atari's
Data Separator Board
Right-Write, by Gardner Computing, 1983
- Write to side 2 of any disk without notching out a hole in the disk
DS-810 Disk-Switch, by Computer Software Center (CSC), 1983
- Write to side 2 of any disk without notching out a hole in the disk
- Write protection to any disk
Protector, by Computer Software Services (CSS), for 810/1050/Indus GT, 1983
- Includes hardware and software
- Bad sector generator; also move/rearrange data, scramble directories Silencer, by CSS, for 810/1050, 1984
- Eliminates loud drive sounds when reading bad sectors
- Write to both sides of any disk without notching disks
Over-Write [810 version], by Computer Support, 1985
- Write to side 2 of any disk without notching out a hole in the disk
Bad Sector, by Computer Support, 1985
- Write bad sectors to any diskette; can back up some protected disks Electronic Phantom Sector Maker, by CSS, 1987 (Antic 9/87p28)
- Installs into any drive, no other modification needed
- Can be combined with other upgrades including Happy and
The Chip/Archiver
- Make fuzzy/phantom sectors or fuzz portions of sectors
- Find/Display valid data, CRC errors and phantom sectors
- Deluxe version: Allows you to switch between CRC and phantom sectors
without having to readjust hardware module each time
------------------------------
Subject: 3.2.2) What is the Atari 1050 Disk Drive?
Portions of this section developed by Laurent Delsarte from the 1050 Field Service Manual.
The Atari 1050 disk drive was introduced in June 1983 as a replacement for
the 810 disk drive. The 1050 is fully backward compatible with the 810, with the addition of a new "double density" mode of operation offering 130KiB of data storage per diskette. The "double density" mode works with a standard
(of its time) 5.25 inch soft-sectored diskette ("floppy disk") which is certified for double density (Modified Frequency Modulation encoding method) use.
While Atari called the new 1050 mode "double density", the 1050 is not capable of the 180KiB double density standard offered in many third party Atari disk drives. Thus, the 1050's "double density" is usually referred to as "enhanced density" or "dual density."
Like the 810, the 1050 drive has only one drive head, so it can only read/ write to one side of the disk. Also like the 810, the 1050 ignores the index hold/timing hole, so the reverse side of a disk can be accessed by inserting the disk into the drive upside-down.
- Connectivity: 2 Atari SIO ports for direct connection to Atari computers
- Shipped with SIO cable CA014122 (3-foot)
The front of the 1050 features a Power on/off switch, a Power indicator
light, and a "Disk busy" indicator light. The rear of the unit includes two SIO ports ("I/O Connectors"), a Power In jack, and Drive Select switches:
Black & White left: Drive 1
Black right, White left: Drive 2
Black & White right: Drive 3
Black left, White right: Drive 4
More features/specifications of the 1050 disk drive:
- 6507 MPU (MOS Technology MCS6507 or equivalent) @ 1MHz, C010745
- ROM, Custom 2732 FC100541
- 6810 128 x 8 bit static RAM (1KiB) (Motorola MCM6810), C014328
- 6532 PIA (MOS Technology 6532 RAM-I/O-Timer (RIOT) or equivalent), C010750
- Western Digital WD2793 Floppy Disk Controller (FDC) @ 1MHz, FC100542
- Late production units (fall 1985) substituted:
Western Digital WD2797 FDC, FC100817
- These units require 1050 ROM Rev L and do not work with earlier 1050
ROM versions.
- Media used is the same as for the Atari 810.
Single Density "Double Density"
(Read/Write) (Read/Write)
- Tracks per surface 40 40
- Tracks per inch 48 TPI 48 TPI
- Recording density (Track 39, max) 2,878 BPI 5,757 BPI
- Flux density (Track 39, max) 5,757 FCI 5,757 FCI
- Encoding method FM MFM
- Capacity unformatted
o Per track 3,382 bytes 6,510 bytes
o Per surface 135,280 bytes 260,400 bytes
- Capacity formatted
o Sectors per track 18 26
o Bytes per sector 128 bytes 128 bytes
o Bytes per track 2,304 bytes 3,328 bytes
o Bytes per surface 92,160 bytes 133,120 bytes
- Transfer rate 125,000 bit/s 250,000 bit/s
- Read/Write head 1 1
- Write protect sensor Yes Yes
- Track 00 sensor Yes Yes
- Rotational speed 288 RPM 288 RPM
- Rotational speed accuracy +/-3% +/-3%
- Average latency 110 milliseconds 110 milliseconds - Access time
o Track to track (max) 40 milliseconds 40 milliseconds
o Head settling (max) 30 milliseconds 30 milliseconds
o Motor start (max) 1000 milliseconds 1000 milliseconds - Power Consumption
Standby: 1.5 watts (maximum)
Operating: 30 watts (maximum)
Start Up: 50 watts (maximum)
The 1050 drive features a horizontal slot with latch bar door mechanism.
To complete the insertion of a disk, turn the latch bar clockwise ninety degrees. To release the disk, turn the latch counterclockwise.
1050 industrial design (case): Tom Palecki
The 1050 disk drive is used with an external 9 volt AC transformer power
supply rated for at least 50 watts; Atari CA017964 or equivalent.
The 1050 was made for Atari in Singapore by Atari-PCI Enterprises Pte. Ltd. from May 1983 to December 1984 (very common), in Hong Kong by Atari-Wong Co. from November 1984 to February 1985 (fairly rare), and again in Singapore by Atari-PCI Enterprises Pte. Ltd. from October 1985 to December 1985 (also
fairly rare).
1050 drives made in Singapore use a Tandon drive mechanism, while 1050 drives made in Hong Kong use a World Storage Technology (WST) drive mechanism.
Several different 1050 ROM (Atari part FC100541) versions have been documented by Atari users, with no practical differences among them. 1983 units shipped with Rev J, 1984 Singapore units shipped with Rev K, 1984-1985 Hong Kong units shipped with an alternate version of Rev K, and 1985 Singapore units shipped with Rev L. See:
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/156462-1050-roms/?p=3580891
1983 production units shipped with DOS 2.0S and in North America only, units produced winter 1984 to winter 1985 shipped (worldwide) with DOS 3, and units produced fall 1985 shipped with DOS 2.5.
Manuals:
- Atari 1050 Disk Drive Owner's Guide C061509 (6 pages)
- Atari 1050 Disk Drive Owner's Guide C024321 (international; 37 pages)
- Atari DOS 2.5: 1050 Disk Drive Owner's Manual C072033
Technical manuals: Atari 1050 Disk Drive Field Service Manual FD100330
- REV. 01 October, 1983
- REV. 03 October, 1985
Third-party upgrades for the 1050 (grouped by "family") =================================
Happy 1050 Enhancement, by Happy Computers, Inc. (Richard Adams), 1984
- Board includes a 6502 microprocessor and a RAM buffer:
Up to 36 sectors (SD mode: 2 tracks / 4608 bytes)
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- "Happy" Warp Speed standard high speed reads disks up to 500% times faster
than standard 1050 with any software; supporting software also supports
buffered fast write with verify
- Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks
- Warp Speed Software disk included, contains Warp Speed DOS
(modified Atari DOS 2.0S), Diagnostic, Sector Copier, Happy Backup, Happy
Compactor, Multi Drive Happy Backup, Tracer
- (Rev 2 ROM) ICD US Doubler emulation for UltraSpeed software compatibility
- IBMXFR IBM Transfer Program included, 1988- (Warp Speed Software v. 7.10)
- Adds SS-DD "IBM format": 40 tracks, 9 sectors of 512 bytes = 180KiB
- Software sold separately by Happy Computers:
- Warp Speed DOS XL, including under cartridge, under ROM and Axlon RAM
versions (modified DOS XL by Optimized Systems Software (OSS))
- TOP DOS version 1.5, by Eclipse Software
- Software sold separately:
- Happy Version Archiver/Editor, by Spartan Software of Minnesota, 1984
- Also marketed by B&C ComputerVisions as: Scan-It!/1050 Happy, 1987
- Fuzzy/Phantom Sector Maker, by CSS, 1986 (Antic 9/86p48)
- Archiver Enhancement, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1987
- Super Archiver/Editor 3.0 and The Archiver Tracer
- Happy Doubler, by Innovative Concepts, 1989
- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable (software solution)
- Ability to configure drives as D5: through D8:
- Hardware upgrades for Happy 1050 Enhancement:
o Happy 1050 Controller, by Happy Computers, Inc., 1986
- Hardware switch to select Happy Fast or Slow mode
- Hardware switch to control write protection, with LED indicator
- Write to reverse side of disks without punching holes
o Imitator Controller, by Innovative Concepts, 1987
- Hardware switch to select Happy Fast or Slow mode
- 3-position switch for write protect mode:
1) As normal, 2) Do not write, and 3) Will write to any disk
- Two-color LED for write-protect status
o IC Chip, by Innovative Concepts, 1988-11-11
- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable (replacement Happy ROM)
Happy 1050 Maximizer, by Happy Computers, Inc.
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Happy 1050 Controller upgrade compatible
- Maximizer to Enhancement Upgrade available from Happy Computers
High Speed Board 1050, by Irata Verlag, 1985 (West Germany)
- Happy 1050 Enhancement clone
1050 Lazer Enhancement, from Utility House (1986) (UK)
- Happy 1050 Enhancement clone
- Shipped with The Lazer Drive Supercharger software from Utility House
1050 IS Plate, by Innovated Software (Robert Perry), 1986
- Add-on board includes 6502 and 16KiB RAM buffer. Plugs into 6507 socket.
- Happy 1050 Enhancement compatible/near-clone
- Emulation of: IS Doubler, US Doubler, standard 1050, Archiver/810
(UltraSpeed and Archiver software compatible)
- System supports up to 16 drives
- Shipped with 2-sided disk including IS Doubler/US Doubler emulation, high
speed disk copiers (standard and 130XE versions), file loader, custom disk
formatter (including bad sectors), track tracer
- Late units: Software instead built-in on ROM
- Sold separately for use with early units: ISP Gremlin Grabber
- Most units shipped with Gremlin Grammer II or Gremlin Grabber III
Klone, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1986 (USA)
- Happy 1050 Enhancement clone
- Happy Warp Speed Software (pre-7.0) included
Klone II, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1987 (USA)
- Happy 1050 Enhancement clone
- Happy Warp Speed Software (7.0) included
Copy Card 7.0, by ????, year ???? (Europe)
- Happy 1050 Enhancement compatible/near-clone
Hyper Drive, by Chaos! Computers (UK), 1994
- Happy 1050 Enhancement clone
- Shipped with software package (Ver. II): Hyper Fast DOS, Hyper Sector
Copier, Hyper Back-Up System, US Doubler Emulation, HyperCompaction,
Diagnostic Tester, Archiver/810 Emulation, Multi Drive Back-Up
- See review & ad, Page 6's New Atari User #75 pp. 30-37, 39
US Doubler, by ICD, 1984
- ROM replacement chip and 128 byte RAM chip; some drives require moving two
jumpers also
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- "UltraSpeed" standard high speed "54K baud" via sector skewing; supporting
software required for high speed (initially: SpartaDOS)
- Many units shipped with ICD SpartaDOS
SuperMax, by Super Products
- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable
- Add-on board, switch between standard and replacement drive ROM
IS Doubler, by Innovated Software (Robert Perry), 1985?
- US Doubler clone
Warp Drive, from Stocksoft (UK), 1986
- Add-on control board replaces two chips
- Back up including most types of bad sectors
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Shipped with public domain backup software, double density Menu Maker
- Archiver/810 compatible (Rev 2 and up)
Super Archiver, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1987
- Add-on board, known as: "Super Archiver Mod", "1050 Super Archiver Chip"
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Archiver/810 compatible; US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable
- Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks
- Included software: Super Archiver/Editor 3.0, Super Archiver (skew) 3.1,
Super Archiver Fuzzy Sector Maker, The Archiver Tracer, Super Archiver
Diagnostic
- Also sold without software (B&C ComputerVisions)
- Bit-Writer upgrade sold separately by CSS (1988):
- Writes bits rather than sectors, for increased copy capabilities
Super Archiver II, by CSS, 1988
- Enhanced density version of CSS Super Archiver
- Sold complete or as a software-only upgrade for CSS Super Archiver
- Software: Super Archiver/Editor 3.03 (enhanced density), Super Archiver
Fuzzy Sector Maker (enhanced density), The Archiver Tracer, Super Archiver
Diagnostic
Reproducer, by Gardner Computing, 1984
- Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks
- Software included
Density Doubler 1050, by Duplicating Technologies (DT), 1986
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Whole track buffering (18 sectors / 8KiB) "up to three times faster"
1050 Duplicator, by Duplicating Technologies (DT), 1986
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Whole track buffering (18 sectors / 8KiB) "up to three times faster"
- Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks (including enhanced density)
- Includes copying software
- Sources (Jim Patchell):
http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/atari/duplicator.html
- CheerUp Upgrade, by Happy Computers, Inc., 1987
- Changes 1050 Duplicator to Happy 1050 Enhancement software compatible
1050 Turbo, by Bernhard Engl for Gerald Engl Computertechnik, 1985-1988
- Hardware includes replacement ROM (no microprocessor; no RAM buffer)
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- "Turbodrive" standard high speed 68200 bit/s ("70000 baud") via sector
skewing; high speed supporting software NOT necessary for high speed,
instead supporting software is loaded from drive ROM
- Software on ROM: Backup Machine II, Magic Formatter, Maintenance Box
-
http://www.strotmann.de/~cas/Infothek/1050Turbo/
Top Drive 1050, by Ataserw (1987 or 1988)
- 1050 Turbo clone (ROM by P.Z. Karen, brand of of LDW)
- Software: TURBO DOS ("TUR-DOS") disk or cartridge. Known versions:
- TURBO DOS (c) 1989 ver 2.5 (disk?)
- TUR DOS - (c) 1990 rev 4.0 (cartridge)
wszelkie prawa JS & ATASERW Tychy
- Available upgrade project converts to Happy 1050 Enhancement compatible
- Details here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/npla4t6
Speedy 1050 (Mini-Speedy), by Compy-Shop, 1986
- Includes 65C02 microprocessor, 8KiB RAM buffer, 8KiB program ROM space
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- "Speedy" standard high speed; supporting software required for high speed
- Speedy 1050N: Internal add-on
- Speedy 1050NE: External add-on
- Speedy 1050T: Internal add-on with (external) track display
- Speedy 1050TE: External add-on with track display
- Above models: Optional hardware switches for write-protect and
fast/slow mode control
- Mini-Speedy S: Internal add-on with 8KiB Sector Copy program in ROM
- Mini-Speedy D: Internal add-on with 8KiB mini-Bibo-DOS in ROM
- Mini-Speedy DS: Internal add-on with both Sector Copy and mini-Bibo-DOS
programs in ROM, hardware switch selectable
- Super-Speedy prototype: equivalent to Mini-Speedy DS plus track display
and 192KiB RAM buffer, requiring special software support
- System disk includes: Speedy Test, Sector Copier. Mini-Speedy system disk
also includes: Speedy Backup, Speed Init, DiskMapper, HSS Copier
- Sold separately by Martin Reitershan Computertechnik:
- Turbo-Speedy DC -- Upgrade replaces mini-Bibo-Dos with the company's
Turbo-DOS XL/XE, also new firmware; 24KiB ROM space total
Mega Speedy (Guus Assmann & Matthias Reichl, 2014)
- Out-of-the-box it supports the original 1050, Speedy, Super Speedy,
a new Mega Speedy, 1050 Turbo and 1050 Duplicator modes.
- Hardware can also emulate Happy, US Doubler, Super Archiver, and Supermax,
but you need to provide the ROMs for these upgrades yourself.
- More info:
http://www.realdos.net/MegaSpeedy.html
- Software and firmware:
http://www.horus.com/~hias/megaspeedy/
- Documentation:
http://www.realdos.net/MegaDocs.html
Tygrys 1050, by Marek Bojarski of Navitron (1988)
- Version 1.0: US Doubler clone?
- Version 2.0: US Doubler and 1050 Turbo compatibility?
TOMS Multi Drive 1050 (1990)
- Adds single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation (Percom compatible)
- Adds SS-DD "IBM format": 40 tracks, 9 sectors of 512 bytes = 180KiB
- Compatibilities: Happy 1050 Enhancement, 1050 Turbo, 1050 Duplicator
- Software: TOMS Copier, Track Master, Tracer, Get Track, Weak Writer,
Bad Formatter, Track Writer, IBM DOS, IBM 360, Turbo Drive Kopier
Other:
-----
Protector, by Computer Software Services (CSS), for 810/1050/Indus GT, 1983
- Includes hardware and software
- Bad sector generator; also move/rearrange data, scramble directories Silencer, by CSS, for 810/1050, 1984
- Eliminates loud drive sounds when reading bad sectors
- Write to both sides of any disk without notching disks
Over-Write [1050 version], by Computer Support, 1985
- Write to side 2 of any disk without notching out a hole in the disk
Bad Sector, by Computer Support, 1985
- Write bad sectors to any diskette; can back up some protected disks Write-Right, by Duplicating Technologies, 1986
- Write to both sides of any disk without notching disks
Electronic Phantom Sector Maker, by CSS, 1987 (Antic 9/87p28)
- Installs into any drive, no other modification needed
- Can be combined with other upgrades including Happy 1050 Enhancement,
Archiver, and Duplicator
- Make fuzzy/phantom sectors or fuzz portions of sectors
- Find/Display valid data, CRC errors and phantom sectors
- Deluxe version: Allows you to switch between CRC and phantom sectors
without having to readjust hardware module each time
IC1050 Controller, by Innovative Concepts, 1989
- 3-position switch for write protect mode:
1) As normal, 2) Do not write, and 3) Will write to any disk
- Two-color LED for write-protect status
------------------------------
Subject: 3.2.3) What is the Atari XF551 Disk Drive?
The Atari XF551 disk drive was introduced in June 1987 as a replacement for
the 1050 disk drive. The XF551 is fully backward compatible with the 1050, with the addition of two new modes of operation: a true "double density" mode offering 180KiB of data storage per (single-sided) diskette (fully compatible with 3rd party double density drives for the Atari), and a "double-sided
double density" mode offering 360KiB of data storage per (2-sided) diskette.
Unlike the 810 or 1050, the XF551 drive has two drive heads, so it can read/write to both sides of a 2-sided floppy disk (in double-sided double density 360KiB disk mode). The 360KiB mode of the XF551 writes "backwards" to the second side of the disk in comparison to the way data would be stored on the reverse side of a disk, inserted into the drive upside-down, in single- sided double density 180KiB mode.
When working with double-sided double density 360KiB disks, the XF551 is also capable of communicating with the computer at about twice data rate of the earlier Atari 1050 or 810 drives. This XF551 high speed mode is supported by: DOS XE, SpartaDOS X, XDOS, MyPicoDos, Micro-SpartaDOS, SuperDOS, Turbo-DOS, BW-DOS. A patch was also developed for SpartaDOS 3.2d.
- Connectivity: 2 Atari SIO ports for direct connection to Atari computers
- Shipped with SIO cable CA014122 (3-foot)
The front of the XF551 features a "Disk busy" indicator light. (Notably,
there is no power indicator light on the XF551.) The rear of the unit
includes a power on/off switch, a Power jack, two SIO ("Peripheral") ports,
and Drive Select DIP switches:
Left & Right down: Drive 1
Left down, Right up: Drive 2
Left up, Right down: Drive 3
Left & Right up: Drive 4
More features/specifications of the XF551 disk drive:
- 8040/8050 MPU. One of:
- Intel 8040 microcontroller (MCU) @ 8.3333MHz, CB101393
- Intel 8050 microcontroller (MCU) @ 8.3333MHz, C070235
- The 8050 has provision for 4KiB on-board ROM.
(Initial Atari and media reports incorrectly indicated a 6507 MPU.)
(The DOS XE: XF551 manual incorrectly indicates 18.3333MHz.)
- 4KiB ROM firmware
- Contained within the 8050 MCU of some units, while other units with the
8050 and all units with the 8040 use ROM located on a separate chip.
- Western Digital WD1772 Floppy Disk Controller (FDC) C026028
- Late production units substituted: Western Digital WD1770
- SIO Data rate (normal): 19,040 bit/s (NTSC), 18,688 bit/s (PAL)
(high speed): 38,908 bit/s (NTSC), 38,553 bit/s (PAL)
- High speed available in DS/DD 360KiB mode operation only
- Rotation rate: 300 RPM
Virtually all other Atari-specific drives spin at 288 RPM. This results in
rare compatibility issues. Specifically, these commercial disks do not load
in, and can possibly be damaged (!) by the XF551:
- Flight Simulator II (subLOGIC)
- Blue Max (Synapse) (I have personally destroyed multiple Blue Max
disks with the XF551 drive! -mc)
- Bank Street Writer (Broderbund). Conflicting reports about this one.
- Boulder Dash II (Databyte release?)
- Inside (Spektra, 1990?--original Polish version?)
- Media used is the same as for the Atari 810.
Operating modes Single Dual Double Double
Encoding Method FM MFM MFM MFM
Number of sides 1 1 1 2
Total tracks 40 40 40 80
Sectors per track 18 26 18 18
Bytes per sector 128 128 256 256 (total capacity)
Total Bytes 92,160 133,120 184,320 368,640 (total capacity)
The XF551 drive features a horizontal slot with latch bar door mechanism.
To complete the insertion of a disk, turn the latch bar clockwise ninety degrees. To release the disk, turn the latch counterclockwise.
XF551 drives were manufactured for Atari in two versions, both made in Japan.
- Mitsumi XF551 (most units)
- Earlier production; common in North America and Europe.
- Disk Busy light is rectangular, green, and is located below the
"straight" drive latch
- See:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4669794021_de721aa12d_b.jpg
- When the drive latch is opened, an inserted disk stays in place until
removed manually.
- Inserting a disk does not cause any drive activity.
- Like the Atari 810 and 1050, the Mitsumi XF551 ignores the disk's index
hole/timing hole when reading/writing, so the Mitsumi XF551 CAN read
from, and write to, the reverse side of a disk in single-sided (90KiB,
130KiB, or 180KiB) mode if the disk is inserted into the drive upside-
down ("flippy" disk with second index hole/timing hole not needed).
- Chinon XF551 (Chinon FZ-502 mechanism) (uncommon/rare late production units)
- Disk Busy light is round, red, and is located directly to the left of the
"non-straight" drive-latch.
-
http://www.atarimax.com/jindroush.atari.org/data/hardpics/xf551__f.jpg
- Opening the drive latch causes an inserted disk to be ejected.
- When a disk is inserted, the drive motor briefly spins and the Disk Busy
light flashes accordingly.
- Unlike the Atari 810 and 1050, the Chinon XF551 utilizes the disk's index
hole/timing hole when reading/writing, so the Chinon XF551 CANNOT read
from, nor write to, the reverse side of a disk in single-sided (90KiB,
130KiB, or 180KiB) mode if the disk is inserted into the drive upside-
down (unless the disk is a "flippy" disk with a second index hole/timing
hole corresponding to the reverse side).
Unlike the Atari 810 and 1050, the XF551 (both Mitsumi and Chinon) utilizes
the disk's index hole/timing hole when formatting the disk. As a result, the XF551 CANNOT format the reverse side of a disk in single-sided (90KiB, 130KiB, or 180KiB) mode if the disk is inserted into the drive upside-down (unless the disk is a "flippy" disk with a second index hole/timing hole corresponding to the reverse side).
The XF551 disk drive is used with an external 9 volt AC transformer power supply rated for at least 50 watts; Atari CA017964 or equivalent.
The XF551 shipped with DOS 2.5 (1987-1988) or DOS XE (from 1989).
Manuals:
- Atari DOS 2.5: XF551 Disk Drive Owner's Manual C033537
- Atari DOS XE: XF551 Disk Drive Owner's Manual C300557
The key engineer/designer of the XF551 was Jose Valdes at Atari.
Third-party upgrades for the XF551:
XF35 Kit, by Innovative Concepts, 1988-11-11
- Developed by Bob Woolley
- A standard 3.5" 720KiB drive mechanism (not included with Kit) may replace
the 5.25" drive of the XF551, or it may be added to the drive making it
possible to select one or the other using a toggle switch.
- Dual drive option requires several additional parts, not included with Kit
- Kit also includes replacement drive ROM: (thanks Bob Woolley for details)
- Changes the number of tracks to 80,
- Tweaks the track seek timing to match a typical 3.5,
- Adds (or deletes) spin-up delay that improves write reliability, and
- Provides for density retry.
- XF551 high speed remains available
XF Single Drive Upgrade, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1991
-- Replace the 5.25" drive mechanism with a 3.5" drive mechanism
-- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable
-- Can read:
- 3.5" SS-DD MS-DOS format 360KiB floppy disks
- 3.5" DS-DD MS-DOS format 720KiB floppy disks
- Shipped with IBM/ST Transfer Utility disk, containing IBMREAD.COM
http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFsingdrup.htm
XF Dual Drive Upgrade, by Computer Software Services (CSS), 1991
- Same as XF Single Drive Upgrade, except keep using the XF551 5.25" drive as
well. Result is two disk drives; the new 3.5" drive assumes the next drive
number higher than the 5.25" drive.
http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFdualdrup.htm
XF551 Enhancer
- By Computer Software Services (CSS)
- Provides a switch that allows the XF551 to read/write/format, in single-
sided mode, the back side of a disk that has only one index hole/
timing hole corresponding to the front side of the disk.
- No need for the disk to have a second write protect hole.
- A write protect disable is built in.
- 60Hz version for North America or 50Hz version for Europe
http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XF551enh.htm
XF Update
- By Computer Software Services (CSS), 1992
- Replacement drive operating system (ROM)
- "Runs more commercial software"
- Changes density properly
- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable
- Improved/optimized interleave in high speed formats
- Can read:
- 5.25" SS-DD MS-DOS format 180KiB floppy disks
- 5.25" DS-DD MS-DOS format 360KiB floppy disks
- Shipped with IBM/ST Transfer Utility disk, containing IBMREAD.COM
http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFupdate.htm
XF Speedy
- (c) 1994 Klaus Peters Elektronik + Software
- Converts drive to a Speedy 1050 clone with a DSDD 360KiB mode
- Replaces the 8040 MPU with a 65C02 + ROM + Memory
Hyper-XF (or HyperXF)
- (c) 1998 Stefan Dorndorf
- Replacement drive operating system (ROM)
- Hyper-XF 1.0A is for original XF551 with 5.25" drive
- Hyper-XF 1.0B is for the XF551 with replacement 3.5" drive installed
- US Doubler compatible/UltraSpeed capable
- "Hyper Speed" is an UltraSpeed support routine in ROM
- Allows the drive to support UltraSpeed using DOS versions that
otherwise lack such support
- XF551 standard high speed is removed
- Can use disk partitions (2 on 5.25", 4 partitions on 3.5") with mixed
Densities (S/E/D) or standard 360KiB (5.25") / 720KiB (3.5")
- Can theoretically read/write ST/PC 720KiB disks (software is missing!)
- Improved double density detection
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/84017-xf551/#entry1023935 (XFTOOLS.ZIP)
Reimaged XF551 Disk Drive Controller
- By Bits of the Past (Dropcheck / Lenore Underwood), 2014
- With Modern Power Supply or with Original Power Supply
http://www.bitsofthepast.com/
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Subject: 3.2.4) What were the Atari 815, XF521, and XF351 Disk Drives?
Introduced in June 1980, the Atari 815 Dual Disk Drive featured two single- sided, double density (MFM encoding) disk drives. The 815 would not have a single density (810-compatible) operation mode (a shortcoming that would inspire Percom to invent the "Percom configuration block" which became a standard for density-configurable Atari disk drives).
- Total storage capacity per diskette:
40 tracks x 18 sectors/track = 720 sectors/disk
720 sectors x 256 bytes/sector = 184,320 bytes/disk (180KiB)
- While most 815 sample drives utilized the same Tandon drive mechanism found
in late-production Atari 810 drives, there were also 815 sample drives built
that used the MPI drive mechanism found in earlier 810 drives (including all
810 drives manufactured while the 815 was under development).
- Manual: Atari 815 Operator's Manual C016377 (CO16377)
- The 815 disk drive has a built-in power supply (plugs directly into the
wall, 120V AC).
- 815 accessories from Atari:
o CX8201 Master Diskette II
(DOS II version 2.0D, or DOS 2.0D; version of DOS II supporting both 815
and 810 disk drives; prototype box exists, but never shipped)
o CX8202 5 Blank Diskettes. (unformatted; for 810/815 disk drives)
Minimal production, see:
http://www.myatari.com/ebay/815dt.html
- Atari continued to promote the 815 through the summer of 1981 (see Company
Store price list for 8-24-81 for a late reference); it was dropped from
the product line by October 1981. Prototype units exist (according to
Atarimuseum.com: 60 units were produced), but the 815 never shipped.
http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/400800/815/815.html
Previewed in January 1985, the Atari XF521 disk drive was to be a 5.25", 130KiB, XE-styled, feature-equivalent, and gradual replacement for the Atari 1050. The XF521 never shipped, and no more than a handful of prototype units may exist.
Pictures:
http://www.atari-computermuseum.de/pics/zubehoer/xe/xf521.jpeg
http://www.rhod.fr/ataripics/Xf521_xegs.jpg
The Atari XF351 disk drive was previewed several times from March 1986 through January 1987. With ADOS (would ship as: DOS XE), the 3.5", single-sided
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