Post B6CUlVaqjeBjK4HHqi by TechTangents@dialup.space
 (DIR) More posts by TechTangents@dialup.space
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlV7QV2eVqoVmzI by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       I've got another unusual 5.25in drive for you! I've had these in my collection a while after a local pickup but I didn't realize how strange they were until I tried to use one.This is the Remex RFD480, and it doesn't physically fit in any computer you have.
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlVJpkuZqTIJhKK by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       At first blush you'll notice the really unusual disk latch. It clicks in and is held down with a latch unlike Tandon TM100's that have a lame channel system.And when you open it, it is spring loaded to eject and present the disk!https://youtu.be/79UAq5HT9xw
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlVaqjeBjK4HHqi by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       However, if you try to install it into a computer, you're going to notice something odd. It's too big, no wait, it's too small?It is not a standard height. It's not just the bezel being big either, the drive fills in all the space vertically. Using what seems like a full size NEMA stepper in the back probably didn't help.
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlVofuFFO0wkKOm by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       But it gets weirder!This is the only 5.25in drive I have ever seen that is the same vertical size as a Sony OA-D3#V series drive! I have wondered about the origin of their size for a long time and was speculating it was a one-off. But clearly not!
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlW0NCkbYbEDfdI by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       And here's the kicker, the Remex was first!Bitsavers has a manual for it scanned: https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/remex/floppy/Remex_RFD480_RFD960_Product_Reference_Manual.pdfIn the manual there is a mechanical draft, with a date barely legible, I believe 08/12/81. This most likely predates the original Sony OA-D30V drive that was made for a word processor that the was released in late 1981. So this "standard" is earlier than the Sony drives!.
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlWDqOfNdH0WQd6 by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       I still have no idea where this size comes from, but now I know I can stop associating it with the Sony drives. I will be continuing my quest to find more information on this unusual form factor.For now I've added this drive to my wiki so the info is in a more publicly available place: https://wiki.techtangents.net/wiki/Remex_RFD480
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlWQFeXIxtUKKy8 by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       Oh yeah, I left this out. That manual does give the drive form factor a designation. But it is "slimline". So...yeah. I'm not going to find many helpful results searching for "slimeline 5.25in drive" here.
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUlWaX2JWoPN8Xzc by vwestlife@mastodon.social
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       @TechTangents I'd call it "two-thirds height", especially if the remaining gap versus a full-height drive is one inch tall, like most 3.5 inch drives and those strange skinny 5.25 inch floppy drives that some OEMs like Compaq and NEC used in the '90s.
       
 (DIR) Post #B6CUyrnvT0dByOlQBc by TechTangents@dialup.space
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       @vwestlife That's what I'm going with so far for the name on the wiki page. Ironically, the space left between the Remex drive and the normal half height drive is exactly the same height as a modern slimline optical drive.