Digital RX50-AA DEC RX50 5.25 Floppy Drive Rev B Vintage For Parts

Digital RX50-AA DEC RX50 5.25 Floppy Drive Rev B Vintage For Parts

The Digital RX50-AA is a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for use in their personal computing and workstation systems of the early 1980s. This example is Revision B, bearing part number 3619833-01, and carries UL and CSA safety certifications on its label. The drive connects via a proprietary 34-pin ribbon data interface and a 4-pin power connector visible on the rear panel.

Specifications & What's Included

• Manufacturer: Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
• Model: RX50-AA
• Revision: Rev B
• Part Number: 3619833-01
• Drive Type: 5.25-inch floppy disk drive
• Form Factor: Full-height 5.25" drive module in standalone housing
• Data Connector: 34-pin ribbon interface (rear panel)
• Power Connector: 4-pin connector (rear panel)
• Certifications: UL, CSA (per label)
• Condition: AS-IS — unable to test; sold for parts or collector use
• Drive unit only — no cables or media included

Applications

The DEC RX50 was the standard floppy drive used in Digital Equipment Corporation's early-1980s personal systems, including the Rainbow 100 desktop computer, the DECmate word processing workstation, and certain VAX and PDP-11 configurations. It used a proprietary 400KB single-sided format on standard 5.25-inch media. During this era DEC relied on the RX50 as their primary removable storage medium for system software distribution, user data, and application programs. Today the RX50-AA is primarily of interest to vintage DEC collectors and restoration enthusiasts maintaining legacy Rainbow, DECmate, or PDP systems, as working examples are increasingly scarce.