History (1988): NEC 180MB HDD

5.25-inch HDD, model D5655 for ¥450,000 from NEC (Japan) adopts the 2-7RLL writing method to achieve a 179.8MB capacity.

A lightweight magnetic head and a voice coil motor have been used to obtain a mean access time of 18ms. An auto-retract mechanism automatically moves the head to the inner most circumference of the disk when the power supply is cut off, enhancing shock resistance.

The unit has four disks, eight heads (including one servo head), a 1,250KB/s data transfer speed and measures 146×203,2×41,3mm.

It weighs 1.7kg and has an ESDI interface.

Initial production is 5,000 units per month, and NEC expects to sell 100,000 drives in the first year.

This article is an abstract of news published on the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter on issue ≠6, volume ≠1, published on July 1988.