FDS Drive Alignment Guide (single picture)

[HVC-Man]

I'd like to start on the right foot here in Famicom World, so here's this handy dandy alignment guide I made. I tested this information on three different FDS consoles and all of them worked perfectly on the first try. So far it's the easiest guide I've ever seen online, a lot less dangerous too. The only hard part is juggling the belt, the metal triangle thing and the position of the plastic spinner all at once. That and finding a rubber belt that won't slip constantly.



It was meant to be a single pic guide so it's a bit skimpy on details.

[fredJ]

the ebay bands "sucks"... okay... I wonder why? Maybe "sucks" is a canadian scientifical term.

Everyone +1 has their ideas regarding this, so okay.

[zmaster18]

the ebay bands "sucks"... okay... I wonder why? Maybe "sucks" is a canadian scientifical term.

Everyone +1 has their ideas regarding this, so okay.

I've used the yellow bands from ebay, they don't totally "suck"(A slang term for bad quality). They're just so thin... I've gotten stronger, transparent clear bands from ebay that were not only cheaper, but also a bit thicker than usual.

I used to have the problem with the bands slipping off the wheel all the time. I think you just may have accidentally gotten grease on the wheel and/or belt. As soon as I thoroughly cleaned the wheel with alcohol and cleaned the affected greasy belts, everything had grip again. Slipping belts are such a pain in the bum, especially since you need to waste sooo much time to get the thing reassembled, only to fall off in seconds. So many aspects of FDS repair are really annoying. I basically gave up trying to sell them on a regular basis and now only fix FDS's for myself, or to rescue a Twin Famicom

[fredJ]

I thought the yellow and transparent bands were the same?

I keep on losing the transparent bands so I asked him for yellow bands... but he only had transparent, so I bought them and have them loose in a little box so i don't lose them. Well they work perfectly...
The problem with using rubber bands is that they don't last long.  If you have a piece of rubber band around some cables or such, you might know that it becomes fragile after 1-2 years. Maybe it is different inside the console but i don't know... these plastic bands should last for a much longer time, I think. Also I never found a rubber band of the right size that managed to spin the system but okay. 

I still sell disk systems. But only in the EU, otherwise it is too expensive with shipping etc, and I don't want to sell on ebay...

[RetroFixes]

Thanks for posting this.

Working on FDS drives is hit or miss. New tricks are always welcome.

[SegaSonic9]

If you want a detailed version of this "guide", watch this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fOY1G3Sg11Q

That's what I used when I fixed my first Twin.  It's a pain in the bum alright, but it worked very well for me.

[HVC-Man]

Bumping this in case some people didn't see it. Replacing FDS belts doesn't have to be rocket science.