> On May 1, 2023, at 09:20, W2HX via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > Ok thanks guys. Here is a better picture of the inside cover > https://w2hx.com/x/VintageComp/Platter-Device/insidecover.jpg > > I would love to find a manual to this. There are lots of extra bits stored > inside a compartment. But I am not near the unit at this time. > > Anyone have any idea about where to find documentation? Or even what the > name/model of the product might be for googling? > > > 73 Eugene W2HX > Subscribe to my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@w2hx/videos > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Paul Koning via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> > Sent: Monday, May 1, 2023 8:33 AM > To: cctalk@classiccmp.org > Cc: Ethan Dicks <ethan.di...@gmail.com>; Paul Koning <paulkon...@comcast.net> > Subject: [cctalk] Re: DEC RL device > > > >> On Apr 30, 2023, at 10:27 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> >> wrote: >> >>> On Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 8:47 PM W2HX via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> >>> wrote: >>> Can anyone tell me what I picked up at a NH hamfest this weekend for $20? I >>> see it says RL01/RL02. I have two RL02 drives and some platters. None of >>> which I have gotten around to trying. Other than a copious amount of pine >>> needles, what can this be used for? Or maybe the right question is, should >>> I not use it for fear of destroying an RL platter? >>> >>> https://w2hx.com/?prefix=x/VintageComp/Platter-Device/ >> >> Wow! Pretty neat - looks like a pack inspector for RK05, RL01/02, and >> RK06/07 based on the (blurry) instructions. Runout, at least, and >> certainly a few other measurements - would probably identify a pack >> that had been dropped hard enough to bend something (before you stuff >> it in a drive and ruin both). >> >> It doesn't look like a cleaner - I've seen an RK05 cleaner and it's a >> bit different - more about running a Texpad over the surface while >> slowly rotating than measuring anything. >> >> Cool find! > > It would be nice to get a non-blurry photo of the instruction plate. It does > seem to say that it's both a cleaner and an inspection device. The > inspection part includes mirrors to let you view the platter surfaces (look > for scratch marks) as you rotate the pack slowly by hand. > > Yes, cleaning for packs of that vintage is fairly simple, a lint-free pad > like Texwipe, isopropyl alcohol as the cleaning solvent. High purity would > be good; 70% "rubbing alcohol" from the corner drugstore is not the best > option. :-) > > I can't quite figure out what the "runout" thing is. Runout seems like a > factory parameter, not something you'd check in the field. Or might it mean > vertical distortion (warping) of the platter? That's not the normal meaning. > I have seen bent platters, but I'm not sure how you'd get runout in the > normal sense of the word even if a pack were dropped fairly hard. (The bent > platter I remember was on an RP04 pack that was shipped to me for a customer > on-site support call; it was packaged badly by so the pack cover was banged > which in turn pushed against the bottom platter and bent it upward. Oops.) > Runout was often checked in the field ( at least for my RM05 disk packs) by a professional disk pack service using a dial gauge to see if any platters had warped. Don’t know about Rl or Rk devices as i didn’t have any.
> paul >
