Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!mcsun!ukc!edcastle!gtoal
From: gtoal@castle.ed.ac.uk (G Toal)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Hard drive help
Message-ID: <11237@castle.ed.ac.uk>
Date: 22 Jun 91 12:25:16 GMT
References: <1991Jun18.150722.11110@lut.ac.uk> <9106200623.AA14595@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <1991Jun21.101645.24171@fwi.uva.nl>
Organization: Edinburgh University
Lines: 25

In article <1991Jun21.101645.24171@fwi.uva.nl> aroest@fwi.uva.nl (Axel Roest (N)) writes:
>What do you mean by a SCSI plug? The SCSI link is just a list of 50 connections
>No connector type is in the specs. Most SCSI drives have flatcable (IDC) con-
>nectors. Sometimes the external box has a 50-pin centronics-type conn.
>These two are quite easy to interconnect. You can just press a flatcable in
>between, the pin layout is the same.

OK, the particular combination I had to make was an IDC on one end for
the drive and a Centronics on the other end for the Acorn SCSI card.
This is *not* a combination you can get off the shelf, unbelievable as
that may seem. (Believe me, I *TRIED HARD*)

The clamped IDC end has to be done properly.  I tried to make my own
(with a clamp - reasonable competantly I thought) but it just didn't
work.  A very nice guy at Acorn baled me out of trouble, for which
I was very grateful.

Apart from the cable though, the rest is easy.  I used an old Beeb
Winny housing I had spare; a friend (I bought two of the drives at
the same time to save $20 on postage :-) ) housed his in an old IBM
PC which also supplied power for it.

Go for it people.  Worth the effort.

Graham