F3 align the head to track 42 in a better way than other programs do.
F5 moves the head to track 1

How to correctly align a drive:

1) gently unscrew the screws of the track 1 "stop"
2) press F3
3) press F5
4) gently move the track 1 block so there is 0.25 mm (a hair or little more) between the block and the head the head.
5) screw the screws tight carefully checking the block is still at 0.25mm from the head.

Regardless of how "elite" the users here are (and rest assured, there's lots of less knowledgeable people here too), you should make sure not to confuse two completely different things such as alignment and track 0 stop/calibration. This can confuse others, or even mislead them.

This constant mixing up and/or imprecise use of certain terms seems to be a reoccuring problem. Just using the correct terms will help :)

Again mixing up the terms. Fine :)

An alignment problem may develop gradually or suddenly. Most alignment problems
are caused by the slipping of the drive wheel on the shaft of the stepper motor which
is used to move the record/play head from track to track. Slippage occurs because the
drive wheel is only press fit on the stepper motor shaft. There is no set screw or
keyway to maintain the correct alignment. When the 1541 has been operating for
long time, it gets hot inside, the metal parts expand and the drive wheel may slip if
stress is applied. Normal accessing of files does not produce enough stress to cause
problems. However, slippage will occur if there is bump to track 1. When the drive
does bump, the stepper motor attempts to move the head outward total of 45
tracks. This is done to ensure that the head is positioned over track 1. lobe on the
stepper motor drive wheel hits mechanical stop to prevent the head from moving
past track 1. It is the hammering of this lobe against the mechanical stop that causes
the clatter each time you format diskette or when the drive is attempting to recover
from an error. If bump occurs when your drive is hot, some slippage is likely.

Alignment is what you adjust by moving the stepper motor position, not the track 1 stop. And the above quote doesn't say otherwise. The track 1 stop only defines which stepper position is track 1, no more no less.

Quoting Groepaz

Alignment is what you adjust by moving the stepper motor position, not the track 1 stop. And the above quote doesn't say otherwise. The track 1 stop only defines which stepper position is track 1, no more no less.

Is this another of your famous brain farts?
Read again.
Adjusting the track 1 stop is a way to compensate for the "slipping of the drive wheel on the shaft of the stepper motor".
And by the way it is also possible to realign the drive using the same (opposite) method and without touch the track 1 stop.

You did your research, you did your program, it's cool, works. But you can't actually tell Groepaz to "do something useful"

I'm also marking the day in the calender, with a link to IANs post :=)

Regarding Commodore and alignment, one need to check the "Commodore Diskette Diagnostic Manual" and/or its equivalent to 1571.

1541
1571

this is too fun :) keep it going!

I got the equipment to make a "factory quality" alignment with AAD and oscilloscope, It's the standard procedure for any drive really.. that's my recommended way of doing it.

I use the 1541diag alignment to get a hunch if the alignment might be an issue or not. (instead of pulling out an oscilloscope++)

A software solution will however be aligned to the drive which the disk, you use as reference, was written on.

Moving or adjusting the TR0 stop is not equal to aligning the drive. You may get a drive working that way if something has drifted, but its not aligning, and possibly not the root cause.

A software solution will however be aligned to the drive which the disk, you use as reference, was written on.

Uhm.. yeah, the head stops into the Track 0 stop. But you won't know if that is correctly positioned. Also, even if track 0 stop is correctly set and you truly cannot push the head any further, the alignment itself may STILL be off and affect how far out you can read/write on the physical floppy.

If you dont fix the root problem, moving the head stop will only make the problem even worse (after a short time). As said, it's the bedroom tinkerer method. You only ever even touch the head stop *after* you have properly aligned the drive using testdisk and scope (and that is what happened in service centers). and what sailor said :)

I have read them before you even knew they exist. It's getting boring.

it got boring since you hijacked the thread about my application trying to justify your useless and horrible rpm program

Thanks to Groepaz who recently modified VICE (r38422) giving a bigger (way too big) speed range to the 1541 emulation

It's very easy to spot an emulator otherwise.

There's also a public test result matrix where no emulator passes each and every test, iirc.

this was the exact reaction i was hoping (and expecting) to receive. you didn't fail to disappoint me or others, zibri. :D

> I don't care about ranking at all!
> *50yo man proceeds to cry like a child to everyone that his lame tool got downvoted*
> 8 million people think otherwise!!!1111

:D absolutely beautiful. cry harder, lamer.

Quoting Krill

There's also a public test result matrix where no emulator passes each and every test, iirc.

Where? I am curious to see that.

Groepaz
without I open a ticket, check the VICE code about the "Wobbling".
As it is is totally unreal.

Quoting Zibri

Groepaz
without I open a ticket, check the VICE code about the "Wobbling".
As it is is totally unreal.

It would certainly be useful to collect some statistics on how real drives with inconsistent speeds actually behave in practise - even just a typical oscillation period would be nice to know. You mentioned a sinusoid, but are we talking rising and falling every few seconds, or multiple times per revolution, or?