Micropolis (Vector) controller mod for drive motor on/off

[MarsMan2020]

I have heard that there is a modification that can be made to the Micropolis/Vector floppy controller board that will allow the drives to stop spinning when they are not being accessed.

Currently the board I have does not have this modification, so the drives spin all the time.

Is there documentation of this modification somewhere? In the interest of maintaining the life of my limited supply of hard sector floppies, I would like to make it on my board.

 

[deramp5113]

See pages 49-54 of the FDC manual (http://altairclone.com/downloads/vector_graphic/vector-archive.org/Manuals/Micropolis FDC.pdf)

 

[MarsMan2020]

See pages 49-54 of the FDC manual (http://altairclone.com/downloads/vector_graphic/vector-archive.org/Manuals/Micropolis FDC.pdf)

Hm, that's more involved than I imagined. Maybe I should just try and find a Rev 1 card.

 

[deramp5113]

I'm not sure if the Rev 1 board as documented in the manual was ever manufactured. I do have a newer version of the board than the common Rev 0 board, but it still does not match the schematic shown for the Rev 1 board in the manual I linked you to. Unfortunately, no version information is imprinted on the original boards or on the newer board I have.

The newer board does have the motor off feature built in, but the "Drive Ready" mod (which is required when the motor off mod is present) is not implemented. Further, neither the new jumper area "A" or "B" (for turning the motor mod and drive ready mod on or off) are present.

Mike