Brother MDI-30/MDI-40/PDC-100

J.B. Wood

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Jun 1, 2017, 7:21:00 AM6/1/17

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Hello, all. The above referenced ca. 1980s MIDI sequencers (termed
"Disk Composers" by Brother) all appear to use the same internal 3.5"
FDD. The spindle is belt rather than direct driven. I can't find any
specific belt info for these devices on line except for the FB-100
Brother drive which was intended for use with their line of knitting
machines. I have the MDI-30 and I think a 8.5" or 9" circumference flat
belt might work but if anyone can provide some additional detail it
would be most welcome. Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,
--
J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_1...@hotmail.com

John Fanelli

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Jan 18, 2018, 7:37:07 PM1/18/18

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responding to
http://www.electrondepot.com/repair/brother-mdi-30-mdi-40-pdc-100-171199-.htm
, John Fanelli wrote:

I just replaced the belt on a PDC-100. I got it from
https://www.turntableneedles.com. A 9.8" small square belt worked just fine -
their part # SBS9.8. Cost $5.

tabb...@gmail.com

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Jan 18, 2018, 9:16:02 PM1/18/18

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On Friday, 19 January 2018 00:37:07 UTC, John Fanelli wrote:
> responding to
> http://www.electrondepot.com/repair/brother-mdi-30-mdi-40-pdc-100-171199-.htm
> , John Fanelli wrote:
> > arl_123234 wrote:
> >
> > Hello, all. The above referenced ca. 1980s MIDI sequencers (termed
> > "Disk Composers" by Brother) all appear to use the same
> > internal 3.5"
> > FDD. The spindle is belt rather than direct driven. I can't find any
> > specific belt info for these devices on line except for the FB-100
> > Brother drive which was intended for use with their line of knitting
> > machines. I have the MDI-30 and I think a 8.5" or 9"
> > circumference flat
> > belt might work but if anyone can provide some additional detail it
> > would be most welcome. Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,

> I just replaced the belt on a PDC-100. I got it from
> https://www.turntableneedles.com. A 9.8" small square belt worked just fine -
> their part # SBS9.8. Cost $5.

I expect he's long gone. If not a stationery belt should do the job.

NT

J.B. Wood

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Jan 19, 2018, 2:45:39 PM1/19/18

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On 01/18/2018 07:37 PM, John Fanelli wrote:

> I just replaced the belt on a PDC-100. I got it from
> https://www.turntableneedles.com. A 9.8" small square belt worked just
> fine -
> their part # SBS9.8. Cost $5.
>
>

Hello, and I was the OP on this. I subsequently solved my dilemma with
a replacement flat belt from Suburban Electronics. They have quite a
selection of these small drive belts and at very reasonable prices.
Shipping cost is somewhat less reasonable. Sincerely,

Spare Change

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Mar 4, 2019, 1:42:01 AM3/4/19

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> Hello, and I was the OP on this. I subsequently solved my dilemma with
> a replacement flat belt from Suburban Electronics. They have quite a
> selection of these small drive belts and at very reasonable prices.
> Shipping cost is somewhat less reasonable. Sincerely,

JB,
why not replace the disk drive with one of these? ::

<https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=thumb+drive
++3.5"+floppy+drive+emulator%2Csimulator&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_od
kw=thumb+drive++3.5"+floppy+drive+%28emu>

It eliminates the diskette altogether and instead you use a USB flash drive
“memory stick” to move songs to your computer.

These USB floppy drive replacements are drop-in, plug-in replacements with
apparently no fuss.

Lucifer

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Mar 4, 2019, 3:31:05 AM3/4/19

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I have a "real" floppy drive that plugs into a USB port.
I needed it to install Windows Server 2003 on a Sunfire server.