Hi, this is my first post, sorry it's in English. I'm Canadian! I recently made a video about estimating the number of 1581 drives by using the "German Tank Method" (which I hope isn't an offensive phrase!) and based on my current data and assumptions, the total estimate is around 60,000.
Here's the video:
Since releasing that video I've been sent a lot more data by viewers and by Facebook group members, but there are still some holes which may mean Commodore skipped certain ranges of numbers, or we just don't have enough data yet. Here's all the numbers:
https://docs.google.com/spread…srzfD5US1TJexpwFYLVVPp88/
It's been suggested to me that there might be many 1581 drives owned by forum members here. If you'd like to contribute, please post photos of the serial number badge on the bottom of the drive here or email robin (at) 8bitshowandtell.com. If you feel like opening your drive up, serial numbers from the motherboard (usually starting with JA or JE) and drive mechanism are also welcome as they can be used for alternate estimates. I am of course sharing all data I'm sent.
If sending a photo isn't possible, text submissions are okay too; make sure you include the prefix (such as JA1, JE1, HB or other similar). I've been tracking them separately. Thanks.