DEC Rainbows ...

From: Lawrence Walker <lgwalker_at_mts.net>
Date: Sat Feb 16 13:41:03 2002

 Possibly you could clear up my misconceptions Fred, but TMK the 1st RB
used a disk format that was halfway between the single and DD formats.
Called the Qdss and controlled by the Z80 which controlled the FDDs.
It's the DEC RX50 format.

 This was the base of the problems relating to the incompatability of RB
disks. My RB can read an intro disk to the DECMATE but clogs when it tries
to read the PDP code. Regular MSDOS disks choke of course.

 I've heard that one of the values of an RB (and 370) is the ability to format
RX50 disks for DECs.

 It could run on CPM-80/86, concurrent CP/M and others, and included an
MSDos >>OPTION<<. Not all MSDos programs would run on it.

Lawrence

> > > What is the difference between the 100A, 100B, and 100+ Rainbows ?
> > The 100A could read only disks that used its own proprietary format. The
> > 100+ could read, but not write to, PC-format disks. The 100B was a
>
> That's a software difference, and an important one from a user standpoint,
> but it is not a difference in the hardware.
>



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