RK05 disk drive
| RK05 | |
| Manufacturer: | Digital Equipment Corporation |
|---|---|
| Drive Controller(s): | RK8E (Omnibus) RK11-D (UNIBUS) RKV11-D (QBUS) |
| Capacity: | 2.45 Mbytes (most versions) |
| Transfer Rate: | 102 Kword/sec (RK8E) 90.1 Kword/sec (RK11) |
| Average Access Time: | 70 msec |
| Revolutions per Minute: | 1500 |
| 1/2 Revolution Time: | 20 msec |
| One Track Seek Time: | 10 msec |
| Average Seek Time: | 50 msec |
| Maximum Seek Time: | 85 msec |
| Total Surfaces: | 2 |
| Tracks per Surface: | 203 (nominally 200 plus 3 spares; many systems used all 203, as reliability was high) |
| Sectors per Track: | 16 (RK8E) 12 (RK11) |
| Words per Sector: | 256 |
| Tracks per Inch: | 100 |
| Density: | 2200 bpi |
| Recording Method: | Double Frequency NRZ |
| Physical Size: | 19" W x 10.5" H x 26.5" L |
| Weight: | 110 pounds |
| Power Consumption: | 230 VA (running); 1150 VA (starting, 2 sec) |
The RK05 was moving-head magnetic storage disk drive, most versions of which used removable packs. They were designed and manufactured by DEC, and were based on, but not completely compatible with, the earlier RK02 and RK03 drives (which were sold by DEC, but not manufactured by them), which in turn were inspired by the IBM 2315 drive and pack.
The pack contained a platter 14 inches in diameter, coated with iron oxide. Since the disk was hard sectored (using narrow slots cut through a projecting cylindrical ring in the hub, with its axis parallel to the platter's rotational axis), packs used in the PDP-8 were physically incompatible with those used in the PDP-11, although the drives themselves were completely identical for both.
The controller interface on the RK05 was mostly compatible with the earlier RK02/RK03, although it used a different 'drive select' mechanism, which allowed an RK11-D controller to support up to 8 RK05 drives on a single drive bus, as opposed to only 4 per bus with the earlier RK02/03 and RK11-C system. The packs were compatible.
RK05 models
- RK05E - a version which contained many reliability enhancements
- RK05J - the final version
- RK05F - a version using a permanently installed platter, which allowed it to operate at twice the track density of the standard RK05, doubling the capacity of the drive; a single RK05F emulated two normal RK05 drives
Mounting slides
The mounting slide DEC used was the General Devices 'Chassis Trak' C-230-S-122 (22"), which are still available (e.g. from Newark). They're somewhat pricey - the -124 (24") is sometimes slightly cheaper, and can easily be modified to fit an H960 rack, by drilling two extra holes.
Prefilter frame
It is now common to find RK05 drives which are missing their prefilter frame (which holds on the prefilter over the air inlet to the logic assembly area), since it has to be removed to remove the signal cable to the drive, and it's often not replaced afterwards.
For those who wish to fabricate replacements, here are images (from the top, shown to the right, and from the bottom, available here, and measurements.
The overall size is 21.65cm by 13.05cm; the height is 1.05cm. The side/end members are 1.35cm wide; the material is 2.3mm thick (but this includes a rather thick paint coat). The cutout in one side (for the drive signal cable) is 12.0cm by 0.50cm. The hexagonal mesh is 1mm thick, and repeats on a 7mm pattern. The external radius where the side members bend over appears to be about 2.4mm (it's a bit difficult to measure exactly because of the thick, soft paint coating).
The hole locations for the hand-knob bolts can be determined from the drive; the hand-knob bolts themselves are DEC standard (and used elsewhere).
