In this follow up to video I look at a new option for repairing a dead Newtronics 1541 https://youtu.be/947pPsSaGOQ

Can't wait for "this 1976 vintage 8 track tape player will DESTROY your 8 track tapes!!!"

I worked for Mitsubishi electronics from 84 to 90, 8", 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives, I was the resident expert at perfect radial and azimuth alignment that had tight screws, as shipping in trucks are bumpy and misaligns heads with not so tight screws. The good ol Brikon FDD tester/exerciser, I knew that equipment like the back of my hand. Good ol memories.

Wow! I didn't realize that someone actually read my blog posts from 2017! btw. I still didn't say the last word on this topic and want to sort this case out. I am slowly gathering knowledge ... like really slowly as I am kinda overwhelmed by other projects lol.  As usual, this was an EXCELLENT VIDEO!

Wow, the prices went up insane! In Germany you can buy 1541 drives for 30-50 Bucks in working condition.

it is not shorted but open. They can be "repared" if one of the two coils is working you can bridge the other coil with a resistor. It will be slower, but will work.

My 1541-II drives with Chinon mechanisms are still going strong 30 years later.  I was aware of the Newtronics issues, but did not know that the Mark IIs had a direct correlation between the external case design and the internal mechanism.  That is a brilliant tip for buyers!  -- JC

I literally just purchased a 1541 MKII 2 days ago, thankfully the condition of the drive was stated and it was fully working, serviced and head aligned and for 67.00UK ie a really good price. But when I heard you say that they can just go with fault my heart sank, BUT when I looked at the drive it had the recessed lever, cue a big smile. I was lucky, I got a proper retro commodore seller and the product was fully documented before sale. As you say, the little games that some sellers use, ie the powers on or untested is just annoying and usually deliberate, trying to get money for their old dead crap......Thanks Matt, great short video..

Never heard about the bad drive head issue before. Thank you for making the video.

I never worked with Commodere drives but back in the days I repaired lots of FDDs. You can use any head coil from drive with similar geometry. The hardest part is to glue it properly. After you'll need a special disk where zeros are written on track 0 and 1 on other track according to your geometry. Then you have to position head on each track with low level commands and control the alignment with oscilloscope connected to head preamp.

I had the 1541-C model I believe.  I also bought the C-64-C with cash from my part time job.  Somewhere around $400 I think.  I remember playing a ton of Ultima IV.

There is an "open" on pin 1 of the bad drive, not a "short". The DMM reads infinite ohms on the pin 1 measurements. Pin 1 = OPEN.

OL means overload. It is telling you that the resistance value exceeds the range of the meter. A short circuit is one with a lower than normal resistance. This head has a very high resistance (considered open circuit). There is no short in the head. The corrosion has eaten the enameled wire away

Man I miss my c64. What a great system

We could afford a C64 in the 80's but never a diskette drive. Some of my friends had one but I kept using tapes till the end. It felt like being a secondary citizen of the C64 universe. Even today when I see a 1541 I feel the same desire to finally have one.

THANK YOU! Great information. I did not know this tip. As soon as you mentioned the recessed lever,  I hit pause,  turned my head to look at my 1541-II sitting to my left and cheered when I saw that my drive lever was not flush!

Excellent video.  I had the original tab 1541 and never had a problem back when.  I emulate now.  At some point I’d like to require my old setup.  All I’d care about is cosmetics.  Wouldn’t care if it functioned just for display.  We are entering a time where these will start to consistently fail so anything that says powers on not tested and they can’t even jury rig it to test on a new TV is telling you it’s broken.  And like you say even if it works at this instant during shipping something could happen.

I actually learned this from Ray Carlsen when he was helping me troubleshoot a faulty 1541 I got. I got a Alps drive mechanism from Germany for cheap listed as working and swapped them out. The DOS ROM was also bad on that drive, but I got that working

I have 1541's coming out my ears... Luckily about 90% of them I have been able to get working!

I guess I got really lucky with my 1541C then. Works like a charm, looks almost new (no yellowing at all) and was spanking clean on the inside as well as on the read/write head when it arrived. And it it only cost me €70.