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Need help with some various 5.25" drives to work in an IBM 5155, starting with a Qumetrak 142 and an Olivetti xm4311/3

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VERAULT

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Ok So I am trying to repair a couple IBM 5155 units that were scavenged for most of their parts. Since the machine has a half height 5.25" opening I need double density 5.25" drives. I have 6 and cant get a single one to work. They are either failed or have been used in NON IBM compatible machines. If so I may be able to get one or two working which would suit my needs.

First off I have a Qumetrack 142 drive and then an olivetti XC4311/3. Is anyone familiar with these drives and setting them to work on an IBM?

Would like to try and resuscitate what I have before dipping into the ebay pool which usually does not end happily.
 
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Ok some progress. I didnt see the qumetrack 142 was set to ds0, I set it to ds1 and got a partial read of command.com. The belt is very very loose. I suspect that might be whats doing it. Anyone have a lead on a new belt for this drive? Preferablly a cloth fiber lined belt.
 
I have a 142 (and several other brands of drives) and I avoid the ones using a belt drive if possible. My go-to for 5.25" HH DD drives is the Teac FD55Bxxx. Good solid drive.
 
Thanks Chuck. I will look for one.

Nevermind on that belt. It is soft and stretched but the belt off my tandon drive fit it and made no difference. I suspect the drive has a fault.
 
heads clean I can do a speed check. Its not really behaving like a speed related issue though,.

IS there an online service manual for these qumetrak 142 drives? There are two pots and It would be good to have more info on the drive.
 
There is a Maintenance manual on the Lo-Tech website https://www.lo-tech.co.uk/wiki/QumeTrak_142_5¼-inch_Floppy_Disk_Drive scroll to the bottom for the link.

My 5155 has 2 QumeTrak 142's and both were Non-working when i got it, It hat been Un-used for a long time and the ' Spindle pulley's ' in both drives were ' Notchy ' and stiff to turn by hand, A good Lube sorted that out and both drives work fine now.
 
Ok. I hadnt done anything since yesterday. I got out my digital tachometer to test out the Qume 142 and it was reporting 296.5 to 297.8. So speed is not the problem. Here is whats funny. It fully booted a DOS 6.22 disk first time. It never did that. It still had the fabric infused belt from the tandon drive but still that wasnt booting anymore than its limp rubber original belt was yesterday.

I tried one of my many DOS 2.10 floppy disks and I could see the belt slipping. I really think @Malc is right about the spindle issue. I need to take it apart and clean/lube. So far I can only get it to boot off that one floppy and all the other known good disks dont boot.. Bad command.com or right to cassette basic.



I wil try some things on this qume drive however does anyone know anything about this olivetti drive? not sure where I even got it.
Malc said:
There is a Maintenance manual on the Lo-Tech website https://www.lo-tech.co.uk/wiki/QumeTrak_142_5¼-inch_Floppy_Disk_Drive scroll to the bottom for the link.

My 5155 has 2 QumeTrak 142's and both were Non-working when i got it, It hat been Un-used for a long time and the ' Spindle pulley's ' in both drives were ' Notchy ' and stiff to turn by hand, A good Lube sorted that out and both drives work fine now.
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What did you do exactly, take the spindle bearings out or just drop oil in them? It does seem to be a friction issue as it cant even spin with a cleaning disk and alot of disks cause slippage.
 
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VERAULT said:
What did you do exactly, take the spindle bearings out or just drop oil in them?
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I didn't take anything off except for the belt, I sprayed lube under the spindle wheel, Turning the wheel by hand, More Lube and left it overnight, More turning and Lube until it turned freely and didn't feel notchy when turning.
 
Ok thank you. Mine isnt grindy or notchy. It just doesnt turn as easily as it should. If I throw the spindle with a finger it might free travel a couple centimeters at best. Its just a bit gummy I suppose. I think the top plastic spindle is worse.

I would pop the c clip off and replace the plastic retainer top spindle bearing if I knew a correct replacement.. But from my experience when you remove the metal cup and/or fly wheel from the metal rod to get to the lower bearings the rod never stays in either cup or fly wheel again. And peening with a hammer seems temporary so does glue.
 
Ok I cant seem to find settings or a pdf to the Olivetti XC4311/3 Floppy Drive. If I remove the top cover it seems all the settings are configured via one jumper block but of course its not labeled.

IMG_20240711_131200.jpg
 
There are not posts on this forum about the Olivetti xm4311/3 Floppy drive. Does anyone in Europe have info on this drive? Is it a pipe dream wanting to use it on an IBM PC?
 
I couldn’t find anything either. Do you think it’s possible that it’s actually made by another company and that it’s been rebranded? Is it a drive for an M24? If so the AT&T manual lists a few different floppy drives near the end. Maybe it’s one of those? I don’t know. https://bitsavers.org/pdf/att/6300/
 
That's not rebranded, that's original OPE drive for M21/M24. It should be well documented in the Olivetti pocket service guide for floppy drives. (I can't have a look in it to verify, I am not at home.)
 
Ill have to find and look at the service guide.

Not sure where I got this drive. I do own a Xerox 6060 but this did not come with it.
 
1ST1 said:
Olivetti used different drives for M21/M24, specially later M24 and 6300 and 606x came with other drives than this. (Toshiba/TEAC/Panasonic)
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Most importantly. Have you known anyone to get one of these drives working on a PC that was not made by olivetti?
 
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