[Coco] Tandy Radio Shack Color Computer Burke OS9 Hard Drive Interface

[Gene Heskett]

On Tuesday 09 April 2013 21:58:43 Luis Fernández did opine:

> This use IDE HARD DRIVE?
> Tandy Radio Shack Color Computer Burke OS9 Hard Drive Interface
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tandy-Radio-Shack-Color-Computer-Burke-OS9-Hard-
> Drive-Interface-/321101228382?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123
> 
Not that I know of, and I have had 2 of them, down to 1 now.  It takes a 
western digital 1002-27 isa slot card that then uses an MFM drive, like a 
Seagate ST-225 or ST-238.  The ST-238 was a run length 2-7 encoded drive 
which gave the basic ST-225 package a 30 meg capacity instead of 20.

It was also the single most mistake prone drive I ever had, but I don't 
think it was the drive, nor was it the controller because I changed it 
twice.  I think there was a bug in the early B&B driver, or some sort of a 
timing glitch in the Original black sandwich B&B kit.  If they were serial 
numbered, I think I had serial #2 at the max.  This was in 1986 maybe?

The problem was that when it needed to read the FAT looking for enough 
clear space to create the next file, somewhere in the reads, this thing 
handed os9 a sector full of zero's.  So os9 happily re-used what it thought 
was free disk space.  I have a later one, in the gold colored folded sheet 
metal case, that has never ever dropped a bit.

Repairing the file system damage that led to was what made me the os9 file 
system expert I was in the late 80's.

It also seems like at least an eon ago.  Sigh...  Someone redefined the 39 
and holding thing the other day, so I now claim I have 39 years of 
experience at being 39. ;-)

Cheers, Gene
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