Disk System Belt: Replacement and Care

[JC]

I don't understand the timing mechanisms of the FDS, but if one works more should work. And it's possible that some will work while others don't, but then that might be a problem with the timing setting, instead of the belt itself.

[Kreese]

I guess you mean the speed that the motor that drives the belt is set to? My father adjusted it slightly and - whoops It worked.

I wasn't totally honest in my earlier post, cause I have one game more, it's SMB2, actually it's Volley Ball that is ON the SMB2 disk. On side B. SMB2 on side A wont start but Volley Ball starts without any problem now. Perhaps the SMB2 on the A side is corrupted. I'm not event sure it works at all, since I haven't tried it in another FDS. Anyway the error message I get when trying to load SMB2 is:
Err. 27 (Block end mark seen but ends prematurely.)

I'm thinking that small games like Volley Ball perhaps loads better cause they are small, and when it comes to games that are bigger (and require more movement of the reading-mechanics) the FDS gets problem?

I'm thinking of getting an official belt, and try it if other games wont work in the future.

What other things is there to do that would make a FDS to work better? Tuning the speed of the motor is one thing, anything else?

[JC]

I'm no expert, but try adjusting the speed again, just slightly, and see if SMB2j works. It's possible that something may be wrong with SMB2j, and remember that pirate disks can be a pain to get working...I don't know if you're messing with pirates at all.

[hehaji]

I think the official belt isn't necessary to change for your FDS. You can find flat belt in cassete radio repair shop. When I tial to replace new belt, I bring my diskdrive to radio spare shop and asked for flat belt diameter to replace on the diskdrive. He tial to replace by change diameter of flat belt and finally I got it. My FDS work great by change these belt. 

[featherplucknfilms]

well, kite seems to have said most things for me.  ive used some different belts from different sellers that vary in price from japan and i found that the really cheap that people sold seemed to work properly about half the time.  i stopped buying those and would buy a bit more expensive ones that always worked.  i've never tried to by belts that weren't specifically sold as disk system belts though so I don't know if you could get something equivalent in some electronics store. 
also, from my experience adjusting the speed of the drive is very important for getting it to work.  The placement of the gear on the spindle and in what position the reading head will rise completely and drop(not sure if this makes sense to unless you've worked on one before, or maybe that doesnt make sense either way since I know no terminology), and also completely cleaning off the outer edge of the gear where the belt rubs against and sometimes has some melted rubber still stuck to it that may mess it up.
But all in all these things are little bitches sometimes.

[kite200]

what you said makes perfect sense, don't worry.

but yeah these drives are basically the worst thing ever made

[jaybepr]

     OK my friend, i have the Err.27 in some of my games ( original & clones), i just replaced the belt on my Famicom Disk. How do i adjust the speed on the disk to see if i can fix my problem.  Another thing where can i find a good replacement belt for my TWIN Famicom.  Thanks

[kite200]

twin famicom belt is the same as the disk system

[Kreese]

Now I have replaced the belt with another belt, that came as replacement, with a friends Disksystems that he bought at Yahoo Japan. And wow! Yeah now we're rocking! All 20 disks I have here works, except for side B of one of the disks.

Halleluljah! Now let's get some cool games for my collection!

[Gao]

I got a Famicom Disk System for Christmas, but whenever I try to play anything, it just hangs at the load screen and makes a buzzing noise.  No error message is given.  Is this just an issue with the belt, or would this be a sign of another problem?

[keiffer01]

Does the buzzing noise come from the tv or the disk system? If it comes from the disk system,it probably means the belt is melted and the motor is spinning nowhere. If the system has no belt, the motor can't move the head, which means that the head can't activate some of the switches inside, making the system ''locked''.

[Gao]

Yeah, the buzzing is coming from the FDS.  Guess I'll be looking for a new belt then.  Is there anywhere around that has them cheap, or should I just be watching Ebay?

[MaxXimus]

I would say just watch ebay. They seem to still have a pretty good supply of belts, but they are kind of growing in price, so I would suggest buying a couple.

[satoshi_matrix]

So this morning around 5am I won an auction for a FDS Disk Drive Belt. I don't need one seeing as how my disk system was completely new when I bought it about a year ago, but due to the age of the system and the drying up supply of belts I fear that eventually the time will come when I need to replace the belt and be unable to due to being unable to aquire a new belt. So quick few questions:


1. What is the average approximite lifespan of the FDS belt? 

2. In the meantime while I wait for the old belt to detererate, where/how should I store the spare belt?

3. Anything else I should know?

[bedgley]

Any tips from experienced members of the community?

These belts are so hard to come by that i don't want to mess anything up.