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floppydeepdive

Posted Sun May 23, 2021 9:51 am

Where is the best place to purchase a new floppy drive for my Amiga 500? I know ebay but I'm looking for a good website who might be selling them. I found one on Etsy -- RetroTekki. Anyone have any dealings with him?

Thanks,
Tom

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fxgogo
Twickenham , U.K.

Posted Sun May 23, 2021 2:37 pm

If you are keen on a new solutuion, I would do some searching on converting PC floppy drives to be compatible to the Amiga standard. It does not look to difficult to do and you could get them cheap and maybe do a couple at the same time for future preservation.

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JoeUser
Dallas, TX

Posted Mon May 24, 2021 5:15 am

floppydeepdive wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 9:51 am
I found one on Etsy -- RetroTekki. Anyone have any dealings with him?
I just looked at that drive you mention on Etsy. The seller has one picture of a black-faced drive, and two of a beige-faced model. They look like standard PC internal floppy drives, so I'd advise to get more info from the seller before buying.

I'd recommend getting the seller to send you the brand and model number of the drive, and go from there. Just because someone states that it fits (which it probably physically does, in the case of the big-box Amigas) doesn't mean that it'll actually function as a plug-and-play solution. Besides, you'd have to remove that faceplate to get it into an A500/600/1200.

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Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Mon May 24, 2021 7:51 am

Converting a PC drive is not difficult, if you get the right model drive. Some only need jumper changes. Some require soldering a wire and cutting a trace or two.

Here are a couple links to get you started:

https://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=ami ... patibility

At the bottom of that page is another link, in German, but you can see some models and how to mod them. There is also a thread on converting floppy drives on English Amiga Board

That said the downside is that most PC drives that i have seen don't line up great with the A500 slot.

Have you tried cleaning and lubricating the drive mechanics? The drive screw, rails and head will need some attention.

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JoeUser
Dallas, TX

Posted Mon May 24, 2021 10:02 am

Well, as fate would have it, here's exactly what the OP needs:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284305159462

Edit: And, another one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203470569370

User avatar
brufnus

Posted Tue Nov 09, 2021 8:46 pm

floppydeepdive wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 9:51 am
Where is the best place to purchase a new floppy drive for my Amiga 500? I know ebay but I'm looking for a good website who might be selling them. I found one on Etsy -- RetroTekki. Anyone have any dealings with him?

Thanks,
Tom
Or, you could do as I did, when I decided to spare my original CDTV drives and use a std. PC floppy instead - I purchased a converter from Poland; they're quite inexpensive and allow you to use both Amiga and PC/converted drives, as well as reconfiguring them as DF0: or DF1: to suit your needs.
Mine was, of course, with the DB23 connector, but I guess they're available for std. A500's as well.





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