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Hi! I just rejoined this group after several months absence. When I was
participating a few months ago, there was a spirited debate about how the
TP750 group could best put together a third-party hard drive for the TP360
and TP75X machines. Anyway, in the interim, I've purchased a brand new CMS
520Mb hard drive for my 360C and thought I would pass along my impressions.
First of all -- there is NO PLASTIC CASE for the drive itself. They just
took some sheet metal, bent it into a 3-sided bracket-thing, spray painted
it robins-egg blue, and bolted the HD inside. It covers only three sides of
the drive -- the top and the left and right sides. Then bottom and ends are
exposed. The connector at the top is also connected to the bracket. The
fit and finish is OK, but not up to IBM standards. After you put the drive
in the bay, there is a slight wiggle in the unit (about 1mm) side-to-side.
I don't think it is enough to damage the AMP connector, but it could be
better.
My favorite part, though is the replacement for the "lift bar" -- the little
wire thing that you grab when you are lifting the HD out of the machine.
One the CMS drive, they took a 2" piece of green electrical wire, put wire
connectors on the ends, and screwed them to the top of the metal bracket.
Upon first glance, I thought it was the most cheesy thing I had seen in a
while. But after using it, I realized that it is actually quite durable --
and if it ever breaks, I can easily repair it (unlike the IBM drive).
Anyway, that's my $0.02. Anyone else have experience with third party HDs?
Cheers!
Ted Phillips phillipst@bah.com