Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a218
From: a218@mindlink.UUCP (Charlie Gibbs)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: ST-506 controllers (cheap)
Message-ID: <949@mindlink.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jan 90 21:34:54 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Lines: 35

In article <1990Jan16.053837.14871@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> big@shumv1.ncsu.edu
(Alan Porter) writes:

[Wedge pricing omitted]

>    That is $458 !!!  for a 10-meg drive !!!

Hold on a minute.  That's $458 for an interface to any ST-506 drive
(actually any two drives) you want to hook up.  It's an unfortunate
fact of life that there's more to a hard disk subsystem than just
the drive itself.  And yes, you need the DTC controller in addition
to the Wedge, which itself is just an interface to an IBM-style bus
into which you plug the controller.  The seemingly high price of the
Wedge is a bit more reasonable when you consider that unlike boards
for the IBM PC, they're not being manufactured by the thousand.
There just aren't as many potential customers over which to spread
the cost of developing the hardware and writing the driver which is
included (and is designed to work with the DTC controller).

     Still, the Wedge enables you to use dirt-cheap drives and
controllers intended for the IBM PC (and which _were_ manufactured
by the thousand).  At the time the Wedge was designed, people were
still paying $2000 (at least up here in Canada) for Tecmar's T-Disk.
The Wedge represented quite a breakthrough for those of us who, like
you, could only dream of having a hard disk before it came along.

     If you manage to scrounge a box and power supply, you should
be able to get the cost down to $300 or so.  And if you ever come
across another ST-506 drive, you can hook it up and start using it
right away for nothing more than what the drive costs you.

     Peace, love, and all that hippie stuff...

Charlie_Gibbs@mindlink.UUCP
Not affiliated with RSI, just a satisfied Wedge owner.