Sinclair QL Microdrive Troubleshooting Guide: Difference between revisions

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# Use the signal test program for the write, read and erase checks.

# Only then substitute IC30/IC29, then the ZX8302 (IC23), then the ZX8301 (IC22).

== Community-reported faults ==

Alongside the Service Manual's fault tables, these are the problems QL owners actually report on surviving drives today.

* '''The cartridges are usually worse than the drives.''' Forty-year-old tape loops shed oxide, the felt pressure pad hardens or falls off, and the lubricant dries out. A drive that fails every cartridge may be faulty; a cartridge that fails in two known-good drives is simply finished. Sort your cartridges before condemning a drive.

* '''The drive roller is the usual mechanical culprit.''' The rubber goes hard, glazed or sticky, which produces exactly the speed instability and read errors that the signal test shows as a waveform unstable in the X axis.

* '''A dead ZX8302 stops both drives.''' If neither MDV1 nor MDV2 will even spin, the Service Manual's remedy is to renew IC23 rather than to look at the mechanisms.<ref name="sm" />

* '''One bad drive can disable the other.''' Some early Microdrive ULAs fail to tri-state their data lines when inactive, holding them at about 4.5 V and preventing the other drive from working — while themselves appearing to work normally.<ref name="sm" />

* '''Formatting to a low sector count''' is a worn-tape symptom rather than a drive fault. A healthy cartridge formats to a little over 200 sectors.<ref name="froschle" />

== Modern alternatives ==

Because Microdrive cartridges are consumable ~~and~~ increasingly scarce, ~~many~~ owners ~~fit~~ a solid-state replacement ~~such as~~ '''QL-SD''', ~~which presents~~ SD-card storage to QDOS.<ref name="wp" /> ~~This does not~~ repair the ~~drives, but it removes~~ the need to rely on them for ~~day-~~to~~-day~~ use ~~while~~ the ~~original mechanisms are preserved~~.

Because Microdrive cartridges are consumable, increasingly scarce and unreliable even when serviced, most QL owners in practice move their day-to-day storage to a solid-state replacement and keep the original drives serviced but lightly used. Several are actively produced:

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"

|+'''Microdrive replacements and emulators'''

! Device !! Form !! Notes

|-

| '''QL-SD''' || Internal, SD card || Presents SD-card storage to QDOS. Often supplied together with a Minerva ROM upgrade.<ref name="qlsd">[https://theqlforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4772 "SD Card Reader"], The Sinclair QL Forum.</ref>

|-

| '''vDrive QL''' || External, SD card || Self-contained and needs no external power; one SD card presents as multiple external Microdrives. Tested on standard 128K QL hardware with JM, JS or Minerva 1.97/1.98 ROMs.<ref name="vdrive">[https://www.tindie.com/products/charlieingley/vdrive-ql-microdrive-hardware-emulator/ "vDrive QL — Microdrive Hardware Emulator"], Charlie Ingley.</ref>

|-

| '''MicroPicoDrive''' || Internal, SD card || An internal Microdrive emulator built around a Raspberry Pi Pico, with an external module carrying the SD card, an OLED display and buttons for selecting cartridge images.<ref name="mpd">[https://github.com/gusmanb/micropicodrive "micropicodrive"], gusmanb on GitHub.</ref>

|-

| '''OqtaDrive''' || External || Emulates Microdrives using a connection to a host computer rather than an SD card.<ref name="oqta">[https://oqtadrive.org/10.other/alternatives/ "Alternatives"], OqtaDrive.</ref>

|}

None of these repair the original mechanisms — they remove the need to rely on them, which is usually the right approach for a machine you want to actually use. Servicing the real drives remains worthwhile for originality and for reading old cartridges.

== Related pages ==

@@ Line 230: / Line 230: @@
 # Use the signal test program for the write, read and erase checks.
 # Only then substitute IC30/IC29, then the ZX8302 (IC23), then the ZX8301 (IC22).
+== Community-reported faults ==
+Alongside the Service Manual's fault tables, these are the problems QL owners actually report on surviving drives today.
+* '''The cartridges are usually worse than the drives.''' Forty-year-old tape loops shed oxide, the felt pressure pad hardens or falls off, and the lubricant dries out. A drive that fails every cartridge may be faulty; a cartridge that fails in two known-good drives is simply finished. Sort your cartridges before condemning a drive.
+* '''The drive roller is the usual mechanical culprit.''' The rubber goes hard, glazed or sticky, which produces exactly the speed instability and read errors that the signal test shows as a waveform unstable in the X axis.
+* '''A dead ZX8302 stops both drives.''' If neither MDV1 nor MDV2 will even spin, the Service Manual's remedy is to renew IC23 rather than to look at the mechanisms.<ref name="sm" />
+* '''One bad drive can disable the other.''' Some early Microdrive ULAs fail to tri-state their data lines when inactive, holding them at about 4.5 V and preventing the other drive from working &mdash; while themselves appearing to work normally.<ref name="sm" />
+* '''Formatting to a low sector count''' is a worn-tape symptom rather than a drive fault. A healthy cartridge formats to a little over 200 sectors.<ref name="froschle" />
 == Modern alternatives ==
-Because Microdrive cartridges are consumable and increasingly scarce, many owners fit a solid-state replacement such as '''QL-SD''', which presents SD-card storage to QDOS.<ref name="wp" /> This does not repair the drives, but it removes the need to rely on them for day-to-day use while the original mechanisms are preserved.
+Because Microdrive cartridges are consumable, increasingly scarce and unreliable even when serviced, most QL owners in practice move their day-to-day storage to a solid-state replacement and keep the original drives serviced but lightly used. Several are actively produced:
+{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
+|+'''Microdrive replacements and emulators'''
+! Device !! Form !! Notes
+|-
+| '''QL-SD''' || Internal, SD card || Presents SD-card storage to QDOS. Often supplied together with a Minerva ROM upgrade.<ref name="qlsd">[https://theqlforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4772 "SD Card Reader"], The Sinclair QL Forum.</ref>
+|-
+| '''vDrive QL''' || External, SD card || Self-contained and needs no external power; one SD card presents as multiple external Microdrives. Tested on standard 128K QL hardware with JM, JS or Minerva 1.97/1.98 ROMs.<ref name="vdrive">[https://www.tindie.com/products/charlieingley/vdrive-ql-microdrive-hardware-emulator/ "vDrive QL — Microdrive Hardware Emulator"], Charlie Ingley.</ref>
+|-
+| '''MicroPicoDrive''' || Internal, SD card || An internal Microdrive emulator built around a Raspberry Pi Pico, with an external module carrying the SD card, an OLED display and buttons for selecting cartridge images.<ref name="mpd">[https://github.com/gusmanb/micropicodrive "micropicodrive"], gusmanb on GitHub.</ref>
+|-
+| '''OqtaDrive''' || External || Emulates Microdrives using a connection to a host computer rather than an SD card.<ref name="oqta">[https://oqtadrive.org/10.other/alternatives/ "Alternatives"], OqtaDrive.</ref>
+|}
+None of these repair the original mechanisms — they remove the need to rely on them, which is usually the right approach for a machine you want to actually use. Servicing the real drives remains worthwhile for originality and for reading old cartridges.
 == Related pages ==

Sinclair QL Microdrive Troubleshooting Guide: Difference between revisions

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