[rescue] Fully-Ejecting DVD Writer Recommendations?

[Jonathan Sturges]

(re-sending with correct Subject: line... sorry!)


> Message:  1
> Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:38:24 -0400
> From: Barry Callahan <barryc at rjlsystems.com>
> To: The  Rescue List <rescue at sunhelp.org>
> Subject: [rescue]  Fully-Ejecting DVD Writer Recommendations?
> Message-ID: <4D88DE90.9060905 at rjlsystems.com>
> Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
> I've got an old robotic  CDROM duplicator that I want to update to be 
> able to read & write  DVDs.
> I'm replacing the 486 shoebox PC that was the standalone controller  with 
> a linux PC.
> I've already written scripts to handle controlling the  robot and open & 
> close the drive at appropriate  times.
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty finding a usable drive. The  tray 
> needs to eject far enough that when the robot arm comes down to pick up 
> the disk, it can lift it straight up. Every DVD burner I've got still 
> leaves a couple mm or so of the disk inside the drive. Normally that's 
> not a problem, since people naturally insert and remove disks at 
> somewhat of an angle, but it renders the drive completely unusable for 
> my application.

Some observations from drives I have handy:
*  The two Lite-On DVD burners laying around here don't eject fully.
*  An older Toshiba/Samsung (TSST) drive, TS-H552U, might work.  It's really 
close though.  You can place the disc in the tray for sure, but if the disc were 

to be slid a little forward in the tray during removal, it might be a few mm shy 

of clearing the front bezel.
*  The old Toshiba CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs that Sun used eject fully.  My SunBlade 
2000 has the SD-M1401, but it's SCSI; find the IDE equivalent of that generation 

and you should be fine.
*  If you are looking through the closet for drives more likely to eject fully, 
without looking for a specific model, I'd probably stay away from the 
short-depth drives that most manufacturers are putting out these days.  An 
older, full-depth drive is more likely to work.  The full-depth types are 
approx. 1.5" longer than the short ones.

good luck,
Jonathan