DQ614 and other Q-Bus questions

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_at_infinet.com>
Date: Mon Aug 10 05:42:26 1998

>
> Hmmmm, now this sounds ponentially very cool! According to the Field Guide
> this is a "Dilog ST-506 emulation of four RL01/02".

So I've been told.

> Any one have info on
> this, and will it work in a system that has actually RL02 drives attached?
> It would make it a lot easier to get data on to the Hard Drive if I can
> just copy it from a RL02 to a fake RL02.

Presuming that it can be strapped at the alternate address (DLB0 on a uVAX,
for example. Dunno the CSR), it should work fine. I always wanted to do
this, but never had the jumper map to try it out. I figured I'd have to
boot off of floppy, build a disk image on the DQ614 and then put a real
RLV12 strapped to the alternate address on the system to copy data.

> What kind of Hard Drives will work with it?

The one I have used to have a Rodime 10 Mb 5.25" full-height MFM drive
attached to it. I'd love to hear if an ST-251 would work.
 
> Is there any kind of setup for it? There is a funky 20-pin connecter
> marked J3 that might be for jumpers or a ribbon cable though I don't really
> want to try to attach a ribbon cable to it, as it's rather wierdly attached.

It's an ST-506 interface - 20 pin for analog data (one per drive, up to 4
supported, depending on the exact nature of the controller in question),
and 34 pin (digital signals) for control (one per controller, including
up to 4 drive select wires).

> Does it have any kind of boot ROMs?

Almost certainly not. It is a register-level emulation of the RLV11 or RLV12
(don't know which one). It would use the regular DL boot ROM on your system.

> Any idea on how well it would co-exist with a DQ606?

No idea.

If anyone out there has any data on this controller, please step forward.
I've already checked with the RSX BBS web page, where several Dilog boards
have had their documentation scanned in, but not the 614. I've had this
card for over 10 years, known what it is, but unable to use it. I got it
for free in a discarded "Dataram" PDP-11 clone. My former employer bought
this as a tiny RSX system, w/11/23+ CPU, and DQ614 and half-height 8" floppy
(with 3rd party controller), and it never worked right. Dataram weaseled
out of supporting it under warranty, and I got to take home the corpse. After
I fixed the lifted lead from the power connector, the 8" floppy booted much
faster ;-)

The box itself is kinda nice. It's rack mountable (10.5" tall) or table-top,
with the included sides. There's a hole in the front panel for a half-height
8" floppy, and room inside for a 5.25" disk. It was the first enclosude that
I ever saw for a DEC CPU, but for industry-standard peripherals. Other than
the 8" floppy, a BA-23 is probably a better box.

-ethan
Received on Mon Aug 10 1998 - 05:42:26 BST