Replacement Microdrive Rollers

rwap

I have a small supply of brand new replacement rubber rollers for the QL and ZX Microdrive - they sit on a spindle on the left hand side of the microdrive unit, and often wear down, causing issues with reading cartridges.

See http://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/Replacement-Sinclair-QL-%25-ZX-Microdrive-Rollers-2630

gtsamour

I'd love to get some but 4 pounds each? Too much for me... Maybe if there was a discount like "you buy two and get one for free" I would get like 5-6 of them...

rwap

Unfortunately, I can't offer a discount - they are expensive to get made in order to get high enough quality.

Macc

Rich, is this for two (as pictured) or just one?

ZnorXman

Does the "2011" stamp indicate the year they were made?

Aside from that, what sort of care/liquid/oils do you recommend to keep the rubber non-brittle (well, ok, oils can cause issues but I've heard people use WD-40 with good results as long as you let it "soak", then dry thoroughly).

rwap

It is ?4 for EACH roller.

The date they were made was 2012 - the pictured one was an early sample.

rwap

ZnorXman wrote: »

Aside from that, what sort of care/liquid/oils do you recommend to keep the rubber non-brittle (well, ok, oils can cause issues but I've heard people use WD-40 with good results as long as you let it "soak", then dry thoroughly).

I would not recommend putting any sort of lubricant on the rubber roller, it is this which moves the microdrive tape past the heads, so you face the danger of getting lubricant onto the tape itself, and it would surely also affect the constant tape speed required by the microdrive mechanism (as parts of the tape would be slightly lubricated and pass by the roller that little more easily than non-lubricated parts).

Maybe the constant tape speed is not quite so critical on the Spectrum microdrive cartridges, but it certainly is on the QL and One Per Desk drives.