On Wed, 26 May 1999, Richard Erlacher wrote:
> Well . . . I'd really never considered using an SMD <=>SCSI bridge. I used
> to have a CDC LARK drive on my CP/M system because I've always loved
> removable media. That was back when my elder son wasn't tall enough to get
> on the table, though. Now I use SCSI drives in trays. All of them are 1GB
> 3.5" drives. The frames are set to hold the device ID, so the drives are,
> by the grace of God, hot-swappable. Those little frame/tray combo's cost
> $15! It's the best $15 I've spent, for sure!
>
> I was aware of the ESDI drives, having used a number, and having them around
> the house as doorstops, etc. The most interesting ones are the 380 MB size,
> which, in both MINISCRIBE and MAXTOR incarnations, allow their converson
> from ESDI to SCSI with the swap of a single board.
I rather prefer the 760mb ones, and have several running even now. The
same ESDI to SCSI comment is equally valid with them as they came in both
versions.
> Complete software packages, e.g. FPGA/CPLD support software from
> conceptualization to programming tools want more than that, particularly if
> you want schematic entry software with it. I find 1GB about right.
> Libraries can be left on the server unless they need to travel to a client's
> site.
>
> I fought quite a bit with the MAXTOR 1140's. They just didn't work reliably
> with RLL/ERLL encoding, though they were rock solid when used with MFM. I
It may have been a controller/drive compatibility thing, as I ran one of
those in RLL mode for a number of years until it apparently 'shed a head'.
That's when I replaced it with a 2190.
- don
> don't know why this was . . . I bought two of these babies about ten years
> ago for use with a PERSTOR (remember them?) only to find that the controller
> and drives didn't like each other.
>
> My system drives ( also removable ) are EIDE models. I saw 10.5 GB drives
> for $199 (new) at Costco this morning. I'm sure one can do better, but that
> certainly would discourage me from paying $150 for used SCSI drives. I
> guess I am just too frugal . . .
>
> Dick
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com <CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> <classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 6:27 PM
> Subject: Re: non-SCSI disks on a SCSI disk interface (was Re: Space, the
> next frontier)
>
>
> >>I've had decent results with the ADAPTEC 4070's too. What I'm mainly
> >>interested in is having a boxed drive, in this case, complete with bridge
> >>controller, which moves from system to system, as I do with my native SCSI
> >>drives. Unfortunately, there aren't any MFM/RLL drives big enough to be
> >>interesting.
> >
> >Someone should correct me if I'm wrong (I'd be interested in knowing that
> >I'm wrong!), but the largest capacity MFM geometry is that of the Maxtor
> >XT2190 (1024 cylinders * 15 heads), giving you just under 150 Mbytes
> (M=10**6)
> >after formatting at 19 sectors/track. And the RLL version gets
> >another 30% or so of capacity.
> >
> >Hitachi ESDI drives are available up to 1.5Gbytes or so, and work well on
> >Emulex ESDI<->SCSI controller.
> >
> >All the above was assuming you meant size=capacity. If you meant
> >size=cubic feet or pounds, I'm sure you could put a 14" CDC SMD drive
> >on the other side of a SMD<->SCSI controller.
> >
> >Of course, large embedded-controller SCSI drives are readily available on
> the
> >surplus market these days. 9 Gbyte drives start below $150.00, and
> >2 Gbyte drives seem to get around $40.
> >
> >--
> > Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa_at_trailing-edge.com
> > Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
> > 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
> > Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
>
>
Received on Wed May 26 1999 - 23:38:54 BST