====== Quest Floppy Disk Drive ======
The Quest Floppy Disk Drive was an early floppy disk drive interface plus disk drive system from [[qlwiki:Quest Automation Ltd]]).


The disk interface was large (270 x 30 x 120mm), supplied in a matt black metal casing, resting on two plastic feet, and could handle 3", 3 1/2", 5 1/4" and 8" floppy disk drives


The interface actually allowed for you to add on an O/S card, which was required if you wished to run the [[qlwiki:CPM 68K Operating System]].


Quest also offered their own disk drives to go with the interface - which were housed in high quality ribbed black plastic moulded cabinets (with the dual 5 1/4" drives measuring 410x190x140mm), providing room for a fan inside the housing.


As with the [[qlwiki:Micro Peripherals Floppy Disk Interface]], the Quest interface did not conform to the [[qlwiki:QJump]] "FLP" system used by most companies at the time (it used the name FDV to access the disk drives).  It also lacked direct sector access and had no built in extra commands other than FORMAT.


The implement of FORMAT was also non-standard, as it was:


FORMAT number_type_name


allowing you to specify the type of format (80 tracks double sided, 40 tracks single sided or double sided for example).


There was also a formatting command (QFORM) which was supplied on microdrive cartridge, along with the floppy disk driver (which does at least mean that you could patch the driver to use FLP).


Prices were:


  *O/S Card: £49.50
  *Single 180K 5.25" Disk Drive £295
  *Dual 180K 5.25" Disk Drive £469
  *Single 360K 5.25" Disk Drive £419
  *Dual 360K 5.25" Disk Drive £579
  *Single 720K 5.25" Disk Drive £499
  *Dual 720K 5.25" Disk Drive £695



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Title: **Quest Floppy Disk Drive**\\ 
Interface Type: Disk Interface\\ 
Connection: Sinclair QL Expansion Bus\\ 
Through-Connector: No\\ 
Manufacturer: [[qlwiki:Quest Automation Ltd]]\\ 
Year First Sold: 1985\\ 
Original Price: From £295 (see above) \\ 
Reviews: QL User May 1985\\ 
Download Manual: Unknown\\ 
Accompanying Software: None\\