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→TM 100-2
<big>'''Take a Tandon for a drive'''</big>
The TM 100-2 Miniseries floppy disk drive is an outstanding piece of equipment.
Not only does it read and write to both sides of a double-sided floppy disk, but it has the capacity to read and write to double-density disks. While this is not a consideration as far as the TI99/4A is concerned, it may be if you ever decide to purchase a system by another manufacturer. For example, the TM 100-2 is compatible with the IBM PC and other computers.
Those with the TI Disk Manager II module may be puzzled by the fact that prior to initializing a disk a prompt asks whether the disk to be initialized is single density. Although the prompt will not allow the user to choose anything but single density, it was included in the DMII cartridge so that TI wouldn't have to rewrite it if the company decided to provide a controller card that writes and reads double density disks. Of course, that consideration is moot at this point.
===Performance===
This review will touch only briefly on the technical specifications of the TM 100-2 disk drive. Those who hunger for more may visit a dealer for product information materials. Suffice it to say diskette ( 40 per side), has an unformatted double density storage capacity of 500 kilobytes per disk and operates at 300 RPM. The heads are guaranteed for up to 20,000 hours of use. The track-to-track access time is 5 milliseconds. The average access time is 75 milliseconds. All of this information comes from the manufacturer.
I have found the drive to be very reliable, having used one for the past year. Only once have I had a mechanical problem, that involving the No. 2 head. The repairman couldn't figure out why it went out, but because most
such problems involve the No. 1 head he had plenty of No. 2 spares. He switched it out for the service charge only, which was $35. I have not had any problems since.
You might ask, why would anyone want to buy this particular disk drive when there are so many to choose from? Well, for one thing, this drive allows tne user to exploit fully the disk storage capacity of the TI system. Because it can read and write to double-sided disks, you have twice the storage capacity of a single-sided drive.
By initializing disks using TI's Disk Manager II cartridge, this double-sided drive provides the user with about 180 kilobytes of storage, double TI's own single-sided drive.
===Ease of Use===
Connection to the computer is simple, requiring only a screwdriver. The most difficult part is threading the ribbon cable from the PEB disk drive compartment to the disk drive controller card.
===Documentation===
The TM 100-2 comes with a comprehensive manual detailing its features and specifications. A manual describing how to use disk drives with TI home computers is included with the manual that accompanies TI disk controller cards.
===Value===
At $275 or less (I know of one dealer who sells them for $240), the TMl00-2 is as affordable as any double-sided drive. Manufactured by the world's largest disk drive maker, the drive has proven to be a reliable and efficient mass storage device. Since this drive is compatible with a number of other computer brands I consider it to be a long-term investment, one that I am likely to continue using regardless of the type of computer
system I use.
'''— JK'''
