"New" RL02 on the way - how to power up?

[Ethan Dicks]

On 7/27/05, Patrick Finnegan <pat at computer-refuge.org> wrote:
> The pack is held onto the spindle with a fairly strong magnet.  As long
> as the heads aren't extended into the pack (which would be very bad
> anyhow), he should be able to just pull harder and get the pack to
> release.  When I first removed an RL02 pack, it required more force
> than I was expecting.

Yes, but it's also possible that the pack thumb latch is sloppy or
broken.  I have seen that.  With experience, you can tell that the
release mechanism has or has not engaged and try another cycle of the
latch and handle.  For someone who is not used to it, it may or may
not be easy to tell on a dodgy pack.  This is presuming that they know
how to use the handle in the first place, a "skill" that I wouldn't
assume of someone who has never seen an RL02 drive before (no idea if
the seller is an old user selling stuff, or someone who has zero
experience with 1980s DEC hardware)

-ethan