ST-506 hard drive emulation

[Tony Duell]

> 
> Tony Duell wrote:
> > 
> > That's a secondary issue. Once you have something that looks like an 
> > ST506 drive to any controller you care to name, and which stores the 
> > bitstream in semicondcutor memory, you can then consider a server that 
> > loads images from, say, a SCSI drive into that memory.
> 
> I think you're overthinking this.  I can't see it being that hard to 
> adapt the mechanical bits of a different drive to a given set of 
> electronics.  Come to that, I don't really see how it could be that hard 

Maybe you want to try interfacing the HDA from a modern drive, with 
unknown embedded servo patterns, etc, to the electronics from an ST506. I 
don't think that's totally trivial.


> to repair ST506 drives, assuming they had not suffered a catastrophic 
> head crash.

OK, I have an ST412 (maybe an ST506, it's one of the early ones) where 
the hall effect sensor in the spindle motor has failed. Now, it should be 
possible given a moderate clean room to dismantle the heads and platters 
(and that's the only way that spindle motor will come out), but then 
what? It was put together with a press, there are probably ferrofluid 
seals on the shaft, etc. It's not going to be easy to take apart and get 
togerther again. I know I don't have the tools to do it.

-tony