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Apple PC 5.25 Drive

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Apple PC 5.25 Drive
Apple PC 5.25 Drive (Apple2Guy, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Manufacturer Apple Computer, Inc.
Type External 5.25-inch floppy disk drive (MS-DOS format)
Interface DB-37 connector on a drive controller card
Compatible Macintosh SE with the Macintosh SE-Bus PC Drive Card; Macintosh II with the Macintosh II PC Drive Card; compatible third-party cards such as the AST 256
Dimensions 7.2 × 16.2 × 20.7 cm (2.9 × 6.37 × 8.3 in)
Weight 2.17 kg (4.78 lb)
Model A9M0110
Power +12 V DC 0.36 A typical (0.9 A peak), +5 V DC 0.5 A typical, from the host
Storage 360K per disk
Media 5.25-inch floppy disks, 360K (double-sided, 48 tpi)

The Apple PC 5.25 Drive is Apple's external 360K 5.25-inch floppy drive for reading and writing MS-DOS disks on the Macintosh SE and Macintosh II. It plugs into a DB-37 connector on an MS-DOS disk controller card: the Macintosh SE-Bus PC Drive Card (M5023/A), the Macintosh II PC Drive Card (M5056/A) or a compatible third-party card such as the AST 256. With Apple File Exchange it converts files between MS-DOS and Macintosh formats, and with an MS-DOS coprocessor or emulator it can act as an MS-DOS drive.[1][2] Apple's Technical Procedures for the drive are dated August 1987.[2]

Specifications

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Apple PC 5.25 Drive specifications[1][3]
Item Value
Capacity 360K formatted; 2 surfaces, 40 tracks per surface, 48 tracks per inch
Average seek time 19 ms
Transfer rate 250 kbit/s
Rotational speed 300 rpm
Average start-up time 500 ms
+12 V ±10%; 0.6 A maximum, 0.9 A peak, 0.36 A typical
+5 V ±5%; 0.65 A maximum, 0.5 A typical
Operating environment 10-40 °C; 20-80% RH non-condensing; up to 3,048 m (10,000 ft)

The drive has no power supply of its own: it takes +12 V and +5 V from the host through its cable, which carries a bus connector and a power connector to J1 and J2 on the drive mechanism.[1][3] Apple's data sheet credits an NEC controller chip with the same data rates as MS-DOS drives and compatibility with copy-protected MS-DOS software.[1]

Hardware

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The drive is a case, a shield case and shield cover, a cable and a drive mechanism. Apple's illustrated parts list gives the drive mechanism as part 661-0393; the full list is on Apple PC 5.25 Drive General Maintenance.[2] Apple's diagnostics for the drive were MacTest SE and MacTest II, which test the drive and its controller card together; the Apple PC 5.25 Drive Troubleshooting Guide covers them and Apple's troubleshooting flowchart.[2]

Apple's Technical Procedures warn against fitting more than one Macintosh II PC Card in a Macintosh II, because the power supply was not designed for two.[2]

Documentation

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Apple Computer, Apple PC 5.25 Drive data sheet, M2242/A, June 1988, hosted as File:Apple PC 5.25 Drive Data Sheet (1988).pdf. Overview and features (DB-37 connector, NEC controller chip, copy-protected MS-DOS software); system requirements; technical specifications; order numbers A9M0110 (drive), M5023/A (SE-Bus PC Drive Card), M5056/A (Macintosh II PC Drive Card).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Apple Computer, Apple PC 5.25 Drive Technical Procedures (sections dated August and October 1987), hosted as File:Apple PC 5.25 Drive Technical Procedures (1987).pdf. Basics 1.2 (product description, connecting the drive); Take-Apart 2.2-2.7; Diagnostics 3.1-3.5; Troubleshooting 4.1-4.3; Illustrated Parts List IPL.1-IPL.3.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Apple Computer, Apple PC 5.25 Drive Service Source, hosted as File:Apple pc 5.25 drive.pdf (see Apple PC 5.25 Drive Service Source). Specifications pp. 1-5 (PDF pp. 3-7); Exploded View (PDF p. 9); Take Apart pp. 1-5 (PDF pp. 11-15).


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