MiniScribe 3438P jumpers?

From: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca <(jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca)>
Date: Fri Dec 19 14:18:26 1997

> Has anyone got a service manual handy for a MiniScribe 3438P?
> I yanked one from an XT clone to use with my SwTPC S/09, but
> it won't format, and the most obvious possible problem is the
> jumper settings. There are four that are obviously for drive
> selects 0..3, and three others that might be the troublemakers.
>
> I've tried some random settings, and in most of them it comes
> up to speed okay, selects, and then after about three seconds
> starts a probably unhealthy wobbling, sounding as if it is rapidly
> seeking a million different tracks, one after the other. In
> at least one setting, it doesn't always recognize when it has
> got up to speed, and continues ramping up to a frightening pitch.
Bill,

Did you get the LED attached? This uses bi-color 2 lead type.
That will give us better clues! Orange is auto-park when not used
for a while enabled or disabled by a jumper, flashing red in morse
fashion - TROUBLE! Green when accressing/data r/w. Jumper all JP1
to JP3 and put one jumper on either 4 selections as marked DS0 to
DS3. I have a Miniscribe 3650 (40mb MFM) if you want it as well as
Priam V185 (appox 65mb)? I want both out to get space back!

Miniscribe is tad troublesome usually compared to other hd's that I
have experienced. Oh, REMEMBER to LLF it first to marry both hd and
controller properly. And, I have lot and lots of 64k and 256k
DRAM's from 200ns to 100ns, many of them are matched.

Jason D.

PS: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

>
> With the jumpers set as they were in the XT, it selects okay,
> but I get error messages any time I try to read, write, or
> format the thing. It still works okay in the XT though.
>
> Anyway, help would be appreciated. I've already searched the
> web quite a bit. Found some specs, and a thread in which people
> were looking for the right settings to use in a PC, but nothing
> about what the jumpers mean (or how to set them for an S/09!).
>
>
> In other news, I recently realized that I can upgrade my S/09's
> memory just by slapping 4164's into the unused IC sockets. I
> had a few lying around, so it got an immediate 64K upgrate. 192K
> more is on order. I can still remember when this would have
> cost money! :-)
>
> Cheers!
> Bill.
 
Received on Fri Dec 19 1997 - 14:18:26 GMT

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