Chinon 354 - strange cable

mattkarma · 14 November 2021, 11:51

Long time lurker, first post.

Swapping drive in my Amiga 500, as it reads poorly.

The replacement drive I found looks like this:

https://i.postimg.cc/sfpnY2K6/Chinon354.jpg

It has a weird cable soldered on, I have no clue what it does. Tried to Google, with no luck.

I'm pretty sure I could just cut the wires, but maybe the cable is there with a purpose?

lesta_smsc · 14 November 2021, 11:58

Is that an Amiga drive or PC variant (as Chinon made for both platforms)? I think that's HD detect switch by the looks of it. Drive would work without but only if Amiga compatible otherwise mods necessary to make the PC drive into one which is Amiga compatible.

mattkarma · 14 November 2021, 12:09

It's supposed to be an Amiga drive (from 1988 Amiga 500), has "Amiga 500 OK" written on it (ok proves nothing) but I've had it in storage for 20+ years, and who knows. The cable doesn't look very professional.

Maybe someone (in vain obviously) tried to HD-mod it, there is no HD detect switch on the drive of course.

Update: Drive works, and I got rid of the cable, probably a misguided attempt by someone to read HD disks.

https://i.postimg.cc/1zVXgXwM/20211114-113254.jpg

Overdoc · 14 November 2021, 21:53

Yeah, it is the HD disk detection switch.
The Chinon 354 is DD only, and the switch is also not needed - the Chinon 354 can read/write HD disks with 880kB without any issues without the need to close this jumper.

That's why I really prefer this drive

14 November 2021, 11:51	#1
mattkarma Registered User Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Sweden Posts: 4	Chinon 354 - strange cable Long time lurker, first post. Swapping drive in my Amiga 500, as it reads poorly. The replacement drive I found looks like this: https://i.postimg.cc/sfpnY2K6/Chinon354.jpg It has a weird cable soldered on, I have no clue what it does. Tried to Google, with no luck. I'm pretty sure I could just cut the wires, but maybe the cable is there with a purpose?

14 November 2021, 12:09	#3
mattkarma Registered User Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Sweden Posts: 4	It's supposed to be an Amiga drive (from 1988 Amiga 500), has "Amiga 500 OK" written on it (ok proves nothing) but I've had it in storage for 20+ years, and who knows. The cable doesn't look very professional. Maybe someone (in vain obviously) tried to HD-mod it, there is no HD detect switch on the drive of course. Update: Drive works, and I got rid of the cable, probably a misguided attempt by someone to read HD disks. https://i.postimg.cc/1zVXgXwM/20211114-113254.jpg Last edited by mattkarma; 14 November 2021 at 18:14.

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14 November 2021, 11:58	#2
lesta_smsc Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 3,175	Is that an Amiga drive or PC variant (as Chinon made for both platforms)? I think that's HD detect switch by the looks of it. Drive would work without but only if Amiga compatible otherwise mods necessary to make the PC drive into one which is Amiga compatible.

14 November 2021, 21:53	#4
Overdoc Commodore Collector Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Austria Age: 53 Posts: 944	Yeah, it is the HD disk detection switch. The Chinon 354 is DD only, and the switch is also not needed - the Chinon 354 can read/write HD disks with 880kB without any issues without the need to close this jumper. That's why I really prefer this drive

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