Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!qucdn!leek Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: Sony MPF11 to A1000 Organization: Queen's University at Kingston Date: Monday, 9 Apr 1990 13:42:21 EDT From: Message-ID: <90099.134222LEEK@QUCDN.BITNET> References: <3342@uwm.edu> In article <3342@uwm.edu>, dannys@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Daniel Shurilla) says: > >This weekend I sucessfully interfaced two Sony MPF11 3.5" disk drives >to my A1000. The motor-on latch and autoconfigure circuit was obtained >from a local BBS but was evidentally grabbed from a Commodore schematic. >The Sony MPF11 drive can be purchased from Jameco Electronics for $49.95. >That's $100 + $20(small parts) for a dual drive! > >The question : >The Sony drive provides the diskchange signal (CHNG pin11) but doesn't >provide the ready signal (RDY pin1). The RDY line should become active >500ms after motor on. I left the RDY line connected to the autoconfigure >part of the interface circuit but not connected to any drive signals. >Why does this work? Does software wait 500ms after motor-on before doing >any read/writes? I would think you would wait for the RDY line to become >active before doing read/writes but this must not be the case. I wonder >what the recommended method is, wait for the hardware RDY line or wait in >software for 500ms to pass. > >Another Question : >What is software doing to make the drives click? (stepping past trk0 when at >trk0 ?) Is there any hardware modification I can add to my interface circuit >to stop the #%$@ing clicking ? > >thanks > >dannys@csd4.csd.uwm.edu I had my homebrew dual SONY drives since last summer and they have been working fine for me. They would run most of the copy protected programs -games without any problems. All I did was to route the SELn* signal back to the RDY* pin by using a $0.05 diode. (I build the hack into one of the SONY drives and use the drive selection signal coming out of the switch at the far right hand corner. This allows me to select the drive number at will.) The diode makes the autoconfig software as well as some of the copy programs (such as Marauder (sp?)) happy. Other programs simply ignore the RDY* and didn't care whether or not I put it in. The only software that dislike my SONY drives is TRANSFORMER. It totally disregard the TRK0* signal when it do a SEEK to TRK0. It didn't run with Lucas/Frances anyway. The only complain I have for the SONY drive is that it don't do too well on marginal disks. Mine won't read AMAX minitransfer disks created on a MAC. (I had SONY drives as DF0: & DF1: ) K. C. Lee ( Happy owner of the A1000, Lucas/Frances, internal Hard drive & Sony drives. )