8" floppy drive for PC, RS/6000, 68k Mac or Alpha

From: Doc Shipley <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Sat Jan 24 21:55:34 2004

   I want one. I can use a PCI, ISA, EISA, MCA (PS/2 or RS/6k), NuBus
or QBus adapter. The main requirement is that hardware + software be
able to low-level format disks to RX02.

   I have a YE Data YD-180 drive from an AS/400 that looks brand new.
According to a couple of comp.os.cpm posts, it's a standard interface
DSDD 1.2MB drive with DC24V/DC5V input. So far so good, and I have a
couple of older ISA floppy controllers that should talk to it (right?),
but I need a controller cable and power pinout for it. For that
matter, between the DE9 power connector on the IBM sled and the power
input on the drive itself, there's a small PDB that looks like it might
be a transformer or step-down. Anybody know what voltage the AS/400
feeds it? Anybody happen to have an 8" enclosure and PSU they don't
want?

   And, most importantly, that drive *will* format a disk as IBM 3740
format, right?

   I have 3 computers with RX02 drives, about 300 bulk-erased floppies,
and no way to make the floppies useful in those drives*, and that's
starting to p_ss me off.

* a couple of places I can trade degaussed disks for formatted at
varying ratios, and that's probably the cheapest way to go, but that's
hardly the point, right?


        Doc
Received on Sat Jan 24 2004 - 21:55:34 GMT