The XF551 Enhancer

The Atari XF551 disk drive was the first to use an industry standard drive mechanism and be capable of true double sided operation. This is fine for those who use its double sided, double density mode. However, many 810 and 1050 owners use the back sides of their disks by simply flipping the disk over and notching a write protect hole.

Since the XF uses the index hole on the disk (which the 810 and 1050 did not use), flipping a disk over and formatting it is not possible. The XF551 Enhancer provides a switch to put your XF551 into "1050 mode." This restores 100% compatibility with the 810/1050 for creating these "flippy" disks. In fact, you don’t even have to notch the disk! A write protect disable is built in.

The XF551 Enhancer sells for only $34.95 plus $5 shipping/handling.

European Customer: Please request the 50Hz version of the XF551 Enhancer.