<![CDATA[ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built.]]>ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. let's get it working! 🧵

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/5b205f5a-2e9e-4218-9ca9-15a8877338a4/ahh-the-hp-9133a-the-largest-and-heaviest-external-3-1-2-floppy-drive-ever-built.RSS for NodeMon, 25 May 2026 13:50:56 GMTTue, 12 May 2026 01:04:32 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 09:06:53 GMT]]>@tubetime that gives a different meaning if you talk about a head crash.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.ai/users/1024Bytes/statuses/116634420098747726https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.ai/users/1024Bytes/statuses/116634420098747726Mon, 25 May 2026 09:06:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 08:57:04 GMT]]>@tubetime I am wondering as the greaseweazle host software has support for it for some HP drives.

I have not seen any of these in the wild and it's something I want to eventually support in

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chitter.xyz/users/JennyFluff/statuses/116634381503315690https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chitter.xyz/users/JennyFluff/statuses/116634381503315690Mon, 25 May 2026 08:57:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 04:58:47 GMT]]>@tubetime So the shutter just kind of slid open/closed? OK I do not remember those, but the HP machines of I guess 1982-3-4 did use the pinchy ones. I worked in the campus computer store which sold HP, DEC, IBM and Apple.

And I still remember the “snik!” sound those pinchy ones made!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fouroclockfarms.club/users/david/statuses/116633444490840156https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fouroclockfarms.club/users/david/statuses/116633444490840156Mon, 25 May 2026 04:58:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 04:50:14 GMT]]>@JennyFluff iirc it is still just MFM

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633410866664659https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633410866664659Mon, 25 May 2026 04:50:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 04:49:49 GMT]]>@david this one doesn't have that, oddly. but i really do like the pinch-to-close ones.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633409262798685https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633409262798685Mon, 25 May 2026 04:49:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 04:27:18 GMT]]>@tubetime Oh wow I remember those. You had to pinch the corner to close the shutter (there's a spring inside that does it). Didn't last as HP went to the standard Sony spec that Apple used.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fouroclockfarms.club/users/david/statuses/116633320726924847https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fouroclockfarms.club/users/david/statuses/116633320726924847Mon, 25 May 2026 04:27:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 03:29:24 GMT]]>@tubetime well yes obviously, i'm just saying i don't think the standard allows for disks that look like this so compatibility with later drives isn't something i can guarantee]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://soc.megatokyo.moe/objects/a76971e1-772f-4100-a761-563a7856f514https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://soc.megatokyo.moe/objects/a76971e1-772f-4100-a761-563a7856f514Mon, 25 May 2026 03:29:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 03:24:51 GMT]]>@wyatt this disk predates the standard

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633075162714886https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116633075162714886Mon, 25 May 2026 03:24:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 03:06:16 GMT]]>@tubetime lots of the oldest sony 90mm (3.5 inch) disks were like this regarding the shutter being opened manually, but i'm not sure if this is an OEM sony disk or not because I don't know about the oval shaped hole
I can tell you I don't think the oval is necessarily allowed by ECMA-147 (the only standard document I've seen that's publicly available free of charge for 90mm/3.5 inch floppy disk design). From the standard it says the window corner radius should be 0.5mm ± 0.1mm, so I think that makes this diskette non compliant.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://soc.megatokyo.moe/objects/82ad4a2f-ec56-49a7-bc07-39a8b52e340fhttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://soc.megatokyo.moe/objects/82ad4a2f-ec56-49a7-bc07-39a8b52e340fMon, 25 May 2026 03:06:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 03:00:15 GMT]]>@tubetime wow. Are those actually using the MMFM encoding?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chitter.xyz/users/JennyFluff/statuses/116632978441985635https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chitter.xyz/users/JennyFluff/statuses/116632978441985635Mon, 25 May 2026 03:00:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 02:05:06 GMT]]>@tubetime Hey, @nanoraptor, I didn't know you worked for HP! 🙂

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/poleguy/statuses/116632761568670203https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/poleguy/statuses/116632761568670203Mon, 25 May 2026 02:05:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 01:57:16 GMT]]>@tubetime @vwestlife oh cool! I recently picked one of these up. Thankfully the drive in mine spins, havent gotten around to pulling the data off yet.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/errant/statuses/116632730760279753https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/errant/statuses/116632730760279753Mon, 25 May 2026 01:57:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 01:11:39 GMT]]>@tubetime
It's beautiful, that you for sharing your work.

It's a great pallet cleanser in this dark age

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/RyeNCode/statuses/116632551386800221https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/RyeNCode/statuses/116632551386800221Mon, 25 May 2026 01:11:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 01:06:09 GMT]]>@tubetime Boy howdy, this thread is quite the read! But back in the day where things were slow and relatively simple, things were more fixable, too. There's no squeal that lube can't fix--just don't get it on where the data is. I marvel at the post talking about head crashes "from time to time" but resuming use after each time. Good ole days. Anybody perchance own an old computer that used bubble memory? In my lifetime, I've seen only one of those in person.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-196a-13a0-817c-455398519866https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-196a-13a0-817c-455398519866Mon, 25 May 2026 01:06:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 00:53:29 GMT]]>@tubetime @mwichary In terms of data durability, both the single-sided non-HD 3.5" floppy couldn't be beat, running neck and neck with the 5.25" single sided floppy. They retain data for like forever. No HD double sided floppy can make that claim.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-136a-139d-896b-23c895166081https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-136a-139d-896b-23c895166081Mon, 25 May 2026 00:53:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 25 May 2026 00:41:37 GMT]]>@tubetime Verily, it is not a micro floppy disk.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/blakespot/statuses/116632433312158415https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/blakespot/statuses/116632433312158415Mon, 25 May 2026 00:41:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Sun, 24 May 2026 23:40:13 GMT]]>and it actually reads! at least, it recognizes the LIF volume label. the filesystem is for a different type of computer, so the HP85 doesn't show any files.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632191887430409https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632191887430409Sun, 24 May 2026 23:40:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Sun, 24 May 2026 23:38:30 GMT]]>why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632185096336722https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632185096336722Sun, 24 May 2026 23:38:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Sun, 24 May 2026 23:36:23 GMT]]>much better, it actually formats the disk! BTW this 3 1/2" format is very odd. 600 rpm, 66 tracks, 16 sectors per track, single-sided, 270K capacity, 256 byte sectors.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632176809644841https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632176809644841Sun, 24 May 2026 23:36:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Sun, 24 May 2026 23:34:06 GMT]]>got some time to take the drive out again and clean it again. i ended up having to remove this entire sliding side plate because there was still some old crusty lubricant. it is much better now. i also lubricated the head stepper worm gear.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632167776946062https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116632167776946062Sun, 24 May 2026 23:34:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Wed, 20 May 2026 04:55:22 GMT]]>@tubetime

Thanks, got it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116605119529436500https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116605119529436500Wed, 20 May 2026 04:55:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Wed, 20 May 2026 01:03:03 GMT]]>@bsdphk sent you the file in an email.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116604206014885054https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/tubetime/statuses/116604206014885054Wed, 20 May 2026 01:03:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 18 May 2026 21:02:37 GMT]]>@tubetime

If you have an easy way to accomplish it, can you send me listings of some of the programs, so I can work on the BASIC lister code ?

For instance the "BIORHY" program, which I suspect is a HP demo ?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116597598291754552https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116597598291754552Mon, 18 May 2026 21:02:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. on Mon, 18 May 2026 12:02:16 GMT]]>@tubetime so gorgeous and stunning

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://floofy.tech/ap/users/116437150030599301/statuses/116595473536976755https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://floofy.tech/ap/users/116437150030599301/statuses/116595473536976755Mon, 18 May 2026 12:02:16 GMT