>I'm starting work on adding support for a Northstar disk controller
>to my Sol emulator program. Before I start writing code, I figured
>I'd see if anybody could clarify the relationship of the various
>Northstar disk controller boards I have either seen on ebay or I've
>seen mentioned on the web:
>
> 1) "Micro-Disk System MDS-A"
> 2) "MICRO-DISK MDS-A-D DOUBLE DENSITY" (I have the manual to this)
> 3) MDS-AD2
> 4) MDC-A2
> 5) MDC-A3
> 6) MDC-A4 (I have one of these but haven't tried it yet)
> ... and others?
According to the documentation that I have with my North Star
disk system, it is a 'Micro Disk System MDS-A' but the actual
controller board is the MDC-A3. It appears that the MDS-A included
the controller, SA400 drive, and optionally a powerboard that bolted
to the back of the drive and powered it directly from the mains input
vice off the system PSU. Even though my SA400 is mounted in the
system chasis vice an external enclosure, it still has this
powerboard. The MDC-A3 is SSSD with 256byte blocks and 35 tracks at
10 sectors/track. This North Star disk system was purchased 11/77
for $599.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
Received on Sat Feb 24 2001 - 09:24:33 GMT