Date   : Sat, 28 Apr 1990 03:24:55 GMT
From   : usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!mailrus!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ncoast!mikes@ucsd.edu (Mike Squires)
Subject: 8" drives and BBSes

In article <1563@mindlink.UUCP> a577@mindlink.UUCP (Curt Sampson) writes:
>> peter@ficc.uu.net writes:
>> 
>> Has anyone got some data on BBSes running on 8" drive machines? I'd think
>> with the floppy spinning all the time you'd expect to have a big problem
with
>> disks wearing out. Is this a real problem in practice, or am I inventing
>> reasons not to run a BBS?
>
>An 8 inch drive loads and unloads the read/write head.  Thus, though the disk
>is always spinning, the head is only touching the disk when data is being read
>or written.

The Tandon 848 1/2 height 8" floppy (used in the RS 16/6000 system, among
others) can be set to stop running after a period of time.  The BIOS has to
wait, of course, for the drive to speed up when a head load request comes
in.  It's been years since I did it, but I had a Tarbell DD controller
driving two 848-2's which were very reliable.  The same is true of other
late design drives, such as the Shugart 860, I believe.