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@node floppymeter, getfdprm, floppycontrol, Commands
@section floppymeter
@pindex floppymeter
@cindex rotation speed
@cindex raw capacity
@example
@code{floppymeter} [@code{-f}] [@code{-w} @var{warmup-delay}] [@code{-W} @var{window}]
[@code{-c} @var{cycles}] [@code{-h}] @var{drive}
@end example
The @code{floppymeter} program measures characteristic parameters of a
floppy drive and floppy controller, such as the rotation speed of the
drive, the data transfer rate of the controller, and the resulting raw
capacity of a disk track. To use this program, insert a disposable
floppy in the drive, and type @code{floppymeter --}@var{density}, where
density describes the density of the disk used for the test. (Should be
one of @code{dd, hd} or @code{ed}). @strong{CAUTION: the data on the
disk will be erased}. This program should be used to verify whether the
drive and controller are out of tolerance if you experience problems
with some high capacity formats. It only needs to be run once per
drive: although a disk is needed to perform the measurements, the
measured data only depend on the drive and the controller, and not on
the disk.
To measure the raw capacity of the disk track, the floppymeter program
formats the first track of the drive in a special way that allows it to
read the raw data (gaps and headers) of the disk. @strong{Thus, all data
previously stored on that disk is lost}.
The rotation speed is measured by timing the return time of a
@code{readid} command. In order to gain more precision, the command is
issued many times in a row. During this phase, the number of rotations
since the start of the test, the average time per rotation since the start,
and a sliding average of the times of the last 30 rotations is printed,
and updated continuously.
The data transfer rate is deduced from the two parameters above.
At the end of the program, all parameters (raw capacity, duration of one
rotation, and data transfer rate) are printed again, as well as their
relative deviation to the standard value. Finally, it suggests a
capacity deviation description line, which can be directly pasted into
the drive definition file (@xref{Drive descriptions}.).
Usually, the data transfer rate should not deviate more than 150 ppm
from the expected value, and the rotation speed of the drive should not
deviate more than 3000 ppm from the expected value. If these deviations
are bigger, you may get problems with certain high capacity formats.
If the raw capacity of the drive is too small, some high capacity
formats may become unformattable on this drive/controller combo.
If on the other hand, the raw capacity of the drive is too big, you may
get problems when writing to a disk formatted by this drive on another
drive with a smaller raw capacity. In order to avoid this, increase
superformats gap parameter (@code{-G}).
@table @code
@item -h
Prints a short help
@item --dd
Tells the program that we use a Double Density disk.
@item --hd
Tells the program that we use a High Density disk.
@item --ed
Tells the program that we use an Extra Density disk.
@item -f
Runs the measurement non interactively. With this option, the program
doesn't ask for confirmation, and doesn't display the continuously
updated values during the rotation speed measurement.
@item -W @var{Window}
This value describes how many rotations are used for the computation of
the sliding average. Default is 30.
@item -c @var{cycles}
Describes the number of rotations clocked during the rotations speed
determination test. Default is 1000.
@end table
@subsection Bugs
This program is quite new, and may have bugs. Here are a few suggested
tests to check its sanity:
@itemize @bullet
@item
The deviation of the data transfer rate solely depends on the
controller. It should not be different between two drives connected to
the same controller. However, the drive rotation speed may be different
for different drives.
@item
All data transfer rates (for double, high and extra density) are derived
from a same master frequency. Thus the @emph{deviation} of the data
transfer rate should be independent of the density used.
@end itemize
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