One of the things I love about Commodore 8-bits is their hackability. Innumerable things can be modified straight on the mainboard, with tools that you can easily work with at home. New hacks and modifications continue to come out even in this day. It's really great.
Of course, these hacks and modifications are not limited to the computers themselves. There are also drive hacks. Commodore disk drives are just special purpose, 1980's-era, 8-bit computers after all. Why not?
The SuperTracker II from CBM Stuff is a small board that sits into the VIA socket in the 1541 that intercepts its signals. The original VIA is inserted into the socket on the top of the SuperTrack II controller board, and continues to do what it normally does.
The controller board is then wired to a small LED screen and a push button that you mount on the front panel of the drive case. NOTE: This requires cutting some precision holes in the drive case.
The display then provides realtime information about various operational states of the disk drive. Such as, the current track, the write protect status, density level and more. See the complete description below. It also has a detailed installation and usage manual as a PDF.
Note, the SuperTracker II is only compatible with the 1541. However, there is an alternative version, SuperTracker II w/ 6522 VIA, that includes a replacement VIA chip, for an additional $5.00, that is compatible with the 1541-II and 1571 disk drives.
Make sure you get the right version for your drive. The links in the standard information block above are only for the 1541 compatible version.
Order 1541-II/1571 compatible version here.
1541-II/1571 compatible version Installation and Usage Manual.