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WANTED: Tandy 1000 RL HD Keyboard/1000 TX FDDs

jcniest5 said:
The "1.44" Eject button looks professional, no individual person could do that without investing in expensive machine.
Click to expand...
There were plenty of drives manufactured with 1.44 on the button. Tandy would not have installed such a labled drive in their machines that could only handle 720k. The users base would have flipped that the drive was labled 1.44 but only handled 720k. Someone put a drive in there that was non stock. The TX, although a 286 machine, only supported 720k drives from the factory and no officially supported Radio Shack/Tandy option would have the 1.44 on the button.

See ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/faxback/01297.txt for more detail. Please, read over the two PDF documents about the TX and RL I mentioned in a previous post. They will answer a lot of your questions.
 
kb2syd said:
There were plenty of drives manufactured with 1.44 on the button. Tandy would not have installed such a labled drive in their machines that could only handle 720k. The users base would have flipped that the drive was labled 1.44 but only handled 720k. Someone put a drive in there that was non stock. The TX, although a 286 machine, only supported 720k drives from the factory and no officially supported Radio Shack/Tandy option would have the 1.44 on the button.

See ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/faxback/01297.txt for more detail. Please, read over the two PDF documents about the TX and RL I mentioned in a previous post. They will answer a lot of your questions.
Click to expand...

Yeap, just read through the two manuals. I didn't clarify it, but the 1.44MB Eject Button drive is on the RL, not the TX. Regardless, the RL can only support 720K. Who knows...the previous owner must have swapped out the Tandy drive or something.
 
Okay, guys...just found another problem. I got a keyboard from Ebay for the RL, but then I realize that the floppy drive isn't working because a 1.44MB is installed and the RL wouldn't recognize it. I see the light comes on when it's accessing it, but it just errors out saying "Unrecognizeable..." blah blah. So, I need a 720K floppy drive if someone has one. Maybe I can try to sell this one on Ebay and see if someone buys it.
 
jcniest5 said:
Okay, guys...just found another problem. I got a keyboard from Ebay for the RL, but then I realize that the floppy drive isn't working because a 1.44MB is installed and the RL wouldn't recognize it. I see the light comes on when it's accessing it, but it just errors out saying "Unrecognizeable..." blah blah. So, I need a 720K floppy drive if someone has one. Maybe I can try to sell this one on Ebay and see if someone buys it.
Click to expand...

Here are two possible solutions without changing the drive :

Use drivparm=/f:2 in config.sys to tell DOS it is a 720K drive.
Use true 720K media.
 
Great Hierophant said:
Here are two possible solutions without changing the drive :

Use drivparm=/f:2 in config.sys to tell DOS it is a 720K drive.
Use true 720K media.
Click to expand...
Or #3 - Cover the media sense hole in the HD media. The HD drive tries to behave as HD if it thinks it has HD to play with.
 
Cloudschatze said:
I have a Tandy RLX that, for whatever reason, arrived with a 720K drive installed. I'd be more than happy to swap drives, if you want to go that route.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna try the three options above, if none of them works, then we'll trade floppy drives.

I will let you know in a few days after I have time to try them out.

Thanks!
 
According to the Tandy1000-FAQ the Floppies are a bit difficult:


II.C.5. Where do I get a replacement floppy drive?

The following systems use special 3-1/2" 720k floppy drives that draw power through the data cable: 1000HX, RL's, RLX's, RSX's, SL/2 (drive A: only), TL's, and TX. You must replace those drives with another Tandy-style drive. No company, to my knowledge, has Tandy-style floppy drives for sale any more. As with systems that use the old Tandy keyboard (see section II.E.1.), probably the best way to get a replacement is to buy another whole system that has the drive you need in it; 1000-series systems are found for sale on eBay routinely.
The original 1000, A, HD, EX, SX, and SL use standard 360k floppy drives. Computer Reset still sells them; see section IV.G. You might need to replace the floppy cable if you replace the drive.

The RLX's and RSX's use 1.44M floppy drives that draw power through the data cable. Like the 720k versions, these Tandy-style drives are no longer available. Tandy used these type of drives in many later models, so you can probably find a system for sale on eBay that has the drive you need (check the Radio Shack support site to find out the specifications for a given system).
Click to expand...

II.C.2. Can I take a floppy drive out of <insert machine here> and use it in my 1000?

If it's a 5-1/4" drive, generally yes. Note that the data connector may be upside down. It needs to be the right-density drive for the machine.
For 3-1/2" drives, maybe. The HX, TX, SL/2, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's use a special floppy drive that draws power through the data cable. Connecting a standard 3-1/2" drive not designed to do that can damage both the drive and the computer. If your existing floppy drive does not have a four-wire (red, red, black, yellow) power cable going to it, you MUST NOT replace it with a standard drive (unless you modify the floppy cable, see below). Tandy-style drives were made by Panasonic, Teac, and Sony. Here are some low-density ones:

Sony MFD-63W-70D
Sony MP-F11W-71
Sony MP-F11W-72
Sony MP-F11W-72D
Sony MP-F63W-01D
Teac FD235-136U
Teac FD235F-105U
Teac FD235F-106U
And here are some high-density drives:

Panasonic JU-257A213P
Sony MFD-17W-72
Sony MP-F17W-70D
Sony MP-F17W-71
Sony MP-F17W-72
Sony MP-F73-70D
Teac FD235HF-106U
Tandy continued using the drives long after the 1000-series ended (my 4033LX had one in it - high density of course).

In the case of systems with drives that draw power through the data cable, you can connect a standard drive if you modify the cable. You need to punch holes in the data cable to cut the power; look at the 5-1/4" cable in the same machine. Specifically, +5V is supplied on pins 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, and +12V is supplied on pins 29, 31, and 33. All of these are ground pins on a standard floppy cable, so you need to cut them. Use a Tandy-style (straight-through, not twisted) floppy cable, like the original that came with the machine. NOTE: If you don't feel confident about modifying your floppy cable in this way, don't. If you make a mistake, you can blow out your power supply, your motherboard, your floppy drive, or all three.

To fix the cable, extract the wires you need to cut by cutting the cable lengthwise between the wires with a utility knife, taking care not to cut the wires themselves. Pin 1 is marked on the cable in red. On a standard floppy drive, all the grounds are connected together, so you don't need to worry about connecting an actual ground wire to the pins you cut. If you want to continue to use a Tandy drive in the same machine, place the standard drive at the end of the cable and the Tandy drive in the middle, and make the cuts above the connector for the Tandy drive, so that the power coming from the motherboard gets to the first (Tandy) drive but not to the second (standard) drive. Of course, you need to connect a power cable to the standard drive.

Another problem you might have with 3-1/2" drives is that the drive may not physically fit in the machine due to the placement and length of the eject button, since the drive bezel is built in to the case. If that is so, some people cut away the built-in drive bezel with a hacksaw to make a "standard" drive bay.

Finally, note that unlike most every other PC, the floppy cable in the 1000-series is not twisted, so you need to set the drive select jumper or switch on the drive. Be aware that some newer drives don't have a drive select jumper (in a Tandy, you could only use them as drive A:). Also, if you put a high-density 3-1/2" drive in a machine that doesn't support one, it works, but only as a low-density drive.
Click to expand...
 
Note that if you happen to have one of the special Tandy-spec 1.44 MB floppy drives (power through the data cable), it is backwards compatible with a model whose onboard floppy controller only supports 720 kB, the same as a standard 1.44 MB is backwards compatible. Just cover up the "1.44" on the button with some blue paint, or replace it with the unlabeled button from a dead 720 kB drive. :)
 
I do have floppys with Power over the cable on my EuroPC/TowerAT (Schneider) but they have less Pin's then the Tandy Drive.
 
If youre still interested I have a keyboard, mouse and floppy drive from a 1000rl. THe kyboard has a semi broken spacebar though (It is missing the metal crossbar). the mouse and fdd seem to work fine though.
IMG_0274[1].jpg
 
I already own the mouse and keyboard, both are working fine, BUT I am interest in the floppy drive.
How much will it be inculding shipping-costs to germany ?

Thx and greetings
Doc
 
3000 NL Help

3000 NL Help

[I need help concerning 3.5 Drives I have 3000 NL and 1000 RL without good drives
Can anyone make me a modified cable?
 
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