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From: phil@vaxphw.dec.com (Phil Hunt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Mac SCSI / TK50  ?
Message-ID: <4486@shlump.nac.dec.com>
Date: 2 Sep 89 23:58:35 GMT
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Followup-To: comp.sys.mac
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
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In article <14733@swan.ulowell.edu>, jkeegan@hawk.ulowell.edu (Jeff Keegan) writes...
}We have a few TK50 drives (for various vax systems) lying around gathering
}dust. They have a SCSI connection on the back. Now up until now I've never
}really thought about how "standard" SCSI was.. is it the protocol as well as
}the hardware connection? I have the cables, that's no problem. Basically I'm
}wondering if it will work as easy as that (I think not, though I'd be
}pleased to find out otherwise), or if software would have to be written.
}If the latter is the case, how big a project would it be? I'd like to
}imagine that if there is some special protocol on the Vax side that Dec must
}provide SOME documentation on it.. and the Mac side would probably be at
}least partially covered in Inside Mac IV or V, correct?
} 

Hi,

I have been playing with connecting TZK50 tape drives to the Mac.  The SCSI
seems to be just fine.....Fastback II sees the drive and understands when a
tape is loaded/unloaded or write protected, but fails with errors when it spins
the tape (yes, it does start the tape spinnning).  Retrospect does NOT even
recognize the drive, SCSIProbe CDEV shows it is tape, but the manufaturere and
version is bogus....

I don't know how hard it would be to write s/w/ to run it...I THINK (notice I
am guessing here), that the SCSI format command is being returned as 'Unknown
command' instead of just 'Completed' and that might be confusing Fastback II

==================================================================
Phil Hunt                      "Wherever you go, there you are!!!"
Digital Equipment Corporation                 Phone: (508)486-2164 
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