Vintage Synth Repair

The floppy disk drive on my G-800 has failed. Where and how can I get a
replacement or can the broken one be fixed. The ROLAND people tell me the item
has been discontinued. Does anyone have any advice or has had the same problem??

--- In vintagesynthrepair@yahoogroups.com, "fmagnano" <fmagnano@...> wrote:
>
> The floppy disk drive on my G-800 has failed. Where and how can I get a
> replacement or can the broken one be fixed. The ROLAND people tell me the item
> has been discontinued. Does anyone have any advice or has had the same problem??
>
If you can open up the unit and get the make/model off the drive, chances are that you can easily get one at a computer surplus place.

I can help find stuff if needed.

Scott in Vermont

If I'm not mistaken, most if not all floppy disk drives are identical.  Where they differ is in the interface between the host computer system and the 3.5inch drive itself.  There is a floppy controller chip somewhere between the synth's CPU system and the drive mechanism.  It may be on the Synth circuit board or may be on the drive's circuit board.  
  If it is a lucky day, then it will be possible to use a standard PC 3.5inch drive as a replacement.  With Yamaha synths of the 1990s, only the cable connections were different between a $15 ordinary off-the-shelf 3.5 drive and the custom-special $99 Yamaha drive.  It may be possible that this is true with Roland also.
  Contact Roland and ask if there is a schematic available for synth.  Hopefully in PDF format.  If so and they let you download it, please up load it here.  Maybe someone with PC experience can tell if or how to connect a standard 3.5 drive.
  I know that this reply isn't very helpful, but it's still nice to get any answer to a 'cry into the wilderness'