Commodore PC-20-III

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Apr 29 16:57:55 2002

--- Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > The disk seems to be around 20MB. I'm assuming this is *not* IDE.

What do the cables look like?

> I would guess it's an old ST506-interfaced drive. Alas the diagrams I
> have don't mention a hard disk at all (it probably wasn't a Commodore
> design, but a standard part).

I have a "Colt" - it has a 40-pin *XT* IDE. It was a flash in the
panopoly of disk variations in the 1980s... existed in only, IIRC,
20MB and 40MB varieties. Seagate models have an A/X at the end of
the part number, WD end with X, ISTR. I can dig out exact part numbers
if needed, but if you post your part number, it'll be easier to
tell.

For reasons I can't recall, I couldn't get a particular XT IDE drive
to work on the internal 40-pin connector of my Colt, so I removed a
hard-card from its frame (it was a later model _with_ XT-IDE) and
put the short XT-IDE card in one of my three ISA slots, and mounted
the WD drive where it would have gone if I'd hooked it up directly.

Perhaps I missed a switch or something, but I could *not* get anything
to work with the native controller. OTOH, the machine _was_ free, so
perhaps the onboard controller is/was defective.

XT IDE drives also appeared in the A590 and _could_ be stuck to an A2091,
but you had to clean out the solder from the connector spot and install
your own 40-pin header. I'm sure in this case it was the classic
Commodore management cry to the Engineers to use up whatever parts
they had 10E+06 crates of (cf. 2114 SRAMs in the VIC-20, et al.)

-ethan

ObLore - today is the 8th anniversary of the day Commodore "voluntarily"
entered bankrupcy (29-Apr-1994 - check your "Deathbed Vigil" shirts).




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Received on Mon Apr 29 2002 - 16:57:55 BST

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