VLOG - Sony MPF920 Z/131 PC 720K Floppy Disk Drive - Convert to Amiga or Atari ST

[@GadgetUK164]

To clarify - for the ST, all you need to do is remove JC31 (SEL 1) and fit the jumper (or just a solder blob) over the JC30 (SEL 0) - as it was at the start of the video. Here's a list from Jope that covers which drives you can mod:- jope.fi/drives/computolio/

[@cevoner]

Hi, I actually have a Sony 420-4 drive and I made the mod Jope describes for the 420-1 which looks exactly the same. Its' the one wire you first made from pin 34 only plus jumpers. It clicks to start. I have not put a disk in so when it hits' my hard drive workbench the drive says df0:unreadable & does not click. I suspect one more wire is needed like yours but I cannot find a motor ribbon on this one. Jope's mod needs something added I suspect. Thanks for any reply.

[@ms-ex8em]

Hello I was going to buy a new pc with floppy drive using new old stock parts but instead I want this arduino board It will save me lots of money but I want it to be an all round solution thanks ….

[@georgelea4297]

what a great way to start the day another quality video Chris thanks for the upload 👍

[@LuckyLizard1979]

Great vid. I purchased an A500+ that didn't have an internal floppy and went ahead and modified an MPF920Z. I've created several dozen floppies from ADF files on a Gotek on DF1 and it works beautifully.

[@drbachler]

I, for one, don't mind the rain. It's calming. Keep up the good work.

[@MorganJustGames]

I love the way you said that at the end, it really is that simple. Not so much for me but I'm sure one day, I'll learn...Yeah right. Another disk drive sorted, you've worked on so many. Cannot beat a good ol English summer huh? Another top notch video Chris.

[@GadgetUK164]

Hehe =D Thanks Jamie! Yeah, it's been a good summer this year!

[@lostindesolation2810]

Neat! I recently did a similar mod on a panasonic drive (JU-257A606P) after struggling for ages on an internal a600 chinon drive that just had too many faults. Works perfectly.

[@vieseharry]

Great video easy as chips and works great for me, only one little problem.The eject button is in the wrong spot to mount it in the Amiga.

[@RetroJay1974]

Many years ago I had a bundle of PC disk drives and they all had jumper blocks that made this kind of thing very simple and easy! But over time such things are phased out, drives began to vanish from pre-built pc's in favour of cd drives, then dvd drives. Infact I documented one such drive way back in the early 2000's. If anyone is interest I can upload the details somewhere, if its of any use.

[@RetroJay1974]

Also just remembered! A few years back I managed to aquire quite a few of these Sony drives. All were NOS - New old stock and unused! The only issue I have encountered so far is the front plastics on some of the drives has gone yellow. But they were all sealed up and packed away!

[@Four_X]

I have one of those drives Chris; it's the (E/131) revision of the drive. Sony MPF920 E/131, it has a slightly different PCB layout but it's the exact same mod for the (E/131) revision. If you Google "Sony MPF920 E/131 Amiga" you'll see the (E/131) revision and its different PCB layout to your revision Chris, not to worry though the mod works just the same.

[@volo870]

Unlike floppies of other makes, Sony drives are easy to mod. Also they fit original mounting holes. You'd need to change standoffs, though: two 15mm M3 and one 5mm M3. And several plastic washers for a snug fit. I am buying a 3d printed eject button to finish the project.

[@brufnus]

I found the answer to the question as to why the heads does the movement every two seconds or so... it's the diskchange feature; as you know, that signal reports back that a disk has been "changed"; however, it has no way of knowing whether the same disk was simply removed and re-inserted, thus no disk change whatsoever. So the drive has to read a track in order to evaluate, whether it's a new disk or just the same one again. I guess it could've been done without the heads moving when no disk is inserted, but what do I know... anyway, that answered a question I've also been asking myself (as well as others regarding the Amiga disk drives... they definitely sounds like no other, perhaps because of the track writing instead of just sector writing). c",)

[@inpurgatory]

If only I'd seen this video back in the 90's :D Got given a damaged A600, had no floppy, I took one from my old ST and used that, but the detect never worked, so was stuck with whatever disk I had in it. Eventually found a friend with a spare a500 drive, which I used the internal connections, but had to mount externally as it wouldn't fit in the A600 lol Still, this will be handy when I eventually get that old A600 out of my parents loft lol

[@keithmcgerr3056]

Another great Vid! A little shocked there was no sticking it in and out the slot 10 to 20 times tho😉! This is my favourite channel on KZbin!!!!

[@GadgetUK164]

Thanks =D

[@tedvanmatje]

You live up north mate - no point in apologising for the weather, lol Thanks for the info and for uploading and be well :)

[@sffpv9671]

Nice mod and video. I use CPC Preston for loads of stuff, they have a great stock.

[@RDJ134]

Another great video, even i dont understand a lot of it, i watch and learn. :)

[@analognexus]

Try and format a disk in WB 1.3 shell (initialize disc). If you don't receive an error saying initialization failed, everything is ok (do this test 3 times). Not all reworked drives are 100% compatible. If your drive has a so called "powersave" mode, you'll get this error. Sony should be ok. You can test it with a Samsung SFD-321B, those drives produces initialization failed error if you format with workbench.

[@9ElevenGamer]

Nice didn't know this was a thing, cheers for the info'

[@jamichi1]

Great video. l'm looking for a video that would show how to turn a 1.44MB one into a 720kb to be used in a really old 8088 PC. Do you happen to know how to do it? Nobody seems to know these things anymore!

[@GadgetUK164]

I could be wrong, but I think some 1.44MB drives will just work as 720KB automatically - provided the disk inserted is 720KB.

[@zulnoth]

Any chance you'll be stepping back into stuff that isn't commodore/amiga sort of thing anytime soon? Big fan, love your videos and have notifications on, just prefer the NES onwards videos! Not criticising just curious! Cheers!

[@GadgetUK164]

Yes, got lots of other stuff line up - I am just needing to get this Amiga backlog out of the way! There will be 3 or 4 more Amiga videos yet, but I will release other stuff inbetween to break it up!

[@nachobeard]

big fan of these videos!

[@MrRobbyvent]

And now some ideas on how to adapt/make the eject button for amiga 500 chassis? (no 3d printed parts because it is not cheap to have a printer just for this...)

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Make a clay or cardboard master and then cast a part? Look at the Smooth-on KZbin Videos etc. for learning about resin casting. Cheers,

[@romariosuave]

Muito bom !!! Obrigado por compartilhar essa excelente dica !!! Abraços.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

Not sure how it worked but I've got a copy of a programme called 'no click' which stops the clicking noise in WB.

[@ms-ex8em]

just thought that (are all floppy drives made by different manufacturers the same?)??? i mean are all fdds the same?? thanx....

[@GadgetUK164]

Some of the TEAC drives were designed to be interchangeable - if the jumpers were set correctly. But most of the time you need a drive specific to the ST or Amiga.

[@josephnealescratchcards]

Awesome video as always ❤️👍🏻

[@stephenbruce8320]

I don't use disk drives all that much thanks to GOTEK Drives which I use primarily for software installation on my Amiga's but should I opt to sell or giveaway one of my Amiga's its important that it has a working drive. I have even bought some PC Drives to have ready for modification should I need one for an Amiga or to use at work on some of my old IPC's but even at work I am planning on using a GOTEK to replace the floppy drives in the IPC's because over time the disks can become unreliable.

[@ms-ex8em]

the same like hard drives (can hard discs be used in Atari or Acorn / Apple be used in Amiga too etc? can an Amiga drive be used in an St or vice versa thanx....

[@GadgetUK164]

Some of the TEAC drives were designed to be interchangeable - if the jumpers were set correctly. But most of the time you need a drive specific to the ST or Amiga.

The title says 720K drive, but then you mentioned the HD-selector, so it is a HD drive. Am I wrong?

[@GadgetUK164]

Yes, I think the Sony MPF920 is 1.44MB! But similar mods can be done to 720K drives too. There are many that can be converted, each in a different way.

[@ms-ex8em]

can Amiga drives be used in an Acorn or Atari St etc? or vice versa? thanx....

[@GadgetUK164]

Some of the TEAC drives were designed to be interchangeable - if the jumpers were set correctly. But most of the time you need a drive specific to the ST or Amiga.

[@gkruntz]

I need to get in contact with you about your soldering station. I think I have the same model but need some pictures of the circuit board inside to repair mine. Please get back to me.

[@GadgetUK164]

The desoldering station is a ZD-195 (super cheap on eBay). For the soldering iron I just use a cheap 15W Antex iron - not temperature controlled or anything. That works for 99% of stuff without issue. When removing components that absorb lots of heat though (on PSUs etc) or shielding - I use the soldering iron and the desoldering station at the same time to provide enough heat.

[@danielson9579]

What do you recon to a brand of solder called Dencon ? I find it quite crap my self 😒

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Just my $0.02, but I stick with the good stuff; - Kester 63/37. - The best stuff I ever had was the brand name Multicore. It boasted multiple "threads" of rosin embedded in the tin/lead alloy. Its apparently still available, I checked Amazon & Digikey. - Circuit-Test is not bad.. not great either.

[@danielson9579]

@@EngineeringVignettes lead in solder is the best I've always thought that with flux separate and a fan to suck the fumes away

[@GadgetUK164]

Never heard of that brand - but I will avoid it lol =D

[@ms-ex8em]

can pc 1.44 meg drives become 1.76 meg Amiga drives??

[@GadgetUK164]

Most likely not, unless you happen to have a Sony drive which is 1.44MB and resembles the same layout as the MPF920. Some other PC drives could also be modified perhaps.

[@ms-ex8em]

if used on an Amiga 4000??

[@GadgetUK164]

Most likely not, unless you happen to have a Sony drive which is 1.44MB and resembles the same layout as the MPF920. Some other PC drives could also be modified perhaps.

[@ms-ex8em]

@@GadgetUK164 hello can u maybe tell me where to get a 16 or 18 tb hdd from ? secondhand?? please let me know if you can thanks....

[@ivanboston6478]

hello I have done the whole procedure but it doesn't work !!!!

[@GadgetUK164]

Double check you definitely made all the correct connections (and broke the connections I did) - I only spotted one of them towards the back end of the video (incase you only did the mods I did at the start - when I thought I was finished). If it still doesn't work, there may be a fault with that drive, or perhaps its a slightly different model.

[@ivanboston6478]

I don't know the connections are made well, if I turn on the AMIGA the disk turns but then stops ... I don't know -------> Sony- model MPF 920 ::::::::: T/b53 NOV2005