[Color Computer] [Coco]Re: Transfer utilities

[Gene Heskett]

On Sunday 09 October 2005 11:54, Glen VanDenBiggelaar wrote:
>Roger,
>Are you saying that you had to do NO modding to the controllers (ether
> the FD 500 or 502?)? If so that would be great, and a project for next
> weekend! Yes, I did mean the DISTO controller, I was always under the
> impression that the WD 1773 chip, was incapable of supporting a 3.5"
> drive and that is why Tandy never officaly released a 3.5" drive for
> the CoCo, not that they weren't avalible.
>-Glen

Thats correct as long as you are using DD media Glen.  With DD media,
made from hens teeth these days, its just another 5.25" drive running at
96 tpi, and gives a disk format of 720k.

I've not had any luck at all, with the 3.5 drives I have, by taping over
the HD hole and trying to use them as DD disks.  I may, or may not, not
far more likely, get thru a format operation without a read error.

Use os9's dmode command to set cyl=50(its a hex value) on a regular 40
track descriptor for that drive address & format away. On DD media.

>>Rumor has it that Glen VanDenBiggelaar may have mentioned these words:
>>>Robert,
>>>I would love to get a 3.5" drive, but my controllers wont suport it,
>>
>>Which controller won't support what???
>>
>>3.5" Double-density drives are electrically equivalent to 5.25"
>>Double-density drives; and 3.5" High/Quad Density drives will also work
>>fine as long as you 1) use double-density media, and 2) the drive
>> itself does not ignore the status of the High-Density hole.
>>
>>I've used them interchangeably on my CoCos for years; I don't think
>> I've ever had anything but a 3.5" HD drive on my CoCo, and it's always
>> worked fine; you just need one of those card-edge to IDC connector
>> adapter thingys. [[ Yea, that's a technical term. ]]
>>
>>Or, if you have access to an IDC crimper, you can add a 3.5" connector
>>thingy right to your existing cable. You can get them at Mouser, I have
>> a few kicking around the shop "just in case." ;-)
>>
>>That was with FD-500 & FD502 controllers.
>>
>>>  I am watching for a distro on e-bay, but then again, everone else is
>>>also.
>>
>>Are you talking Linux, or do you mean "Disto?" Myself, I'd *much*
>> rather have an "Eliminator." ;-)
>>
>>I also have a few unpopulated Disto Super Controller 2's yet...
>> unforch, no dox to fill 'em up; and 1773's are almost made of 
>> unobtanium now. :-/
>>
>>Laterz,
>>Roger "Merch" Merchberger
>>
>>--
>>Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- SysAdmin, Iceberg Computers
>>zmerch at 30below.com
>>
>>What do you do when Life gives you lemons,
>>and you don't *like* lemonade?????????????
>>
>>
>>--
>>Coco mailing list
>>Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco

-- 
Cheers, Gene
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Copyright 2005 by Maurice Eugene Heskett, all rights reserved.