🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1970@osu-eddie.UUCP> pritch@osu-eddie.UUCP (Norman Pritchett)
writes:
>I have been under the impression that the floppy controller for the Color
>Computer (the one sold with the slim-line drives if it makes a difference)
>supported 4 single-sided drives.  After adding my fourth drive I found that
>it wouldn't select the 4th drive but it would select the second side of my
>double-sided drives.
>                  Norm Pritchett, The Ohio State University

  Radio Shack did a funny thing when they made that controller. They used the
first 3 drive select lines on the bus, then connected the /D3 select line to
the side select. If you buy your disk cables from Radio Shack you find that
they've connected each of these four lines, in turn, to the /D0 select line
on one connector. All the drives are jumpered as drive 0, and the drive on
the first connector actually responds to the /D0 select. They want you to buy
THEIR cables you see (at $30 a shot too). Actually, you're better off with
three double-sided drives anyway (3 * 2 == 6, 4 * 1 == 4) IF both your drives
and your software will support it. None of Radio Shack's standard software,
including OS-9, will support double sided disks.

  While I will readily agree that they picked a strange way to handle the
thing it does make it simpler to rewrite their software for double sided
drives.

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		Dave Lewis    Loral Instrumentation   San Diego

    sdcsvax--\     gould9 --\
    ihnp4 ---->-->!sdcc3 ---->--->!loral!dml  (uucp)
    sdcrdcf -/     crash ---/

 "...got the most in you and use the least. Got a million in you and spend
pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel
empties."

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