Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!jarthur!nrossi
From: nrossi@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Nick Rossi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: 1581 Hardware Questions
Message-ID: <8664@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Date: 26 Sep 90 07:44:18 GMT
References: <8150@aggie.ucdavis.edu> <450@news.nd.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
Lines: 24

In article <450@news.nd.edu> treesh@darwin.helios.nd.edu writes: 
>Did you know you could use an IBM hard drive on a 64?  The parts are kinda 
>tricking to find, but I have done it with mine.  You need a Tandon
>Dos Controller board, and an Omti SASI to MFM converter board.  Both these
>can be found in the old Commodore 9060 hard disk units.
> 
>I have gotten 19441 blocks free out of a 'lil 10 megger IBM drive.

I once had a 5 meg IBM hard drive interfaced to my 64.  It was manufactured
by a company called JCT, which used to operate in Oregon.  I think they
went out of business some time ago, but they used to make 5, 10, and 20 meg
drives for the Commodore by interfacing an IBM hard drive controller and
a Commodore floppy controller.  The drive gave me 18,808 blocks free, and it
came with a modified version of DOS that supported subdirectories with a
D: command.  However, this was an old unit -- the 5 meg drive was a
full-height Seagate 110 (not sure about the number, but it was in the 100s)
and it hooked up to the 64 with a regular serial cable.  The drive was made
to be as slow as a 1541.  It was also very unreliable, as it scrambled data
every so often.  It caused my BBS to crash a lot.  Fortunately, I got it
free from someone at the company, as they sold for $700 or $800.  I unloaded
it for $50 on someone who fried the controller cards a week later by hooking
them up wrong.

Nick