Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ccivax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!amd!vecpyr!lll-crg!seismo!rochester!ritcv!ccivax!rb From: rb@ccivax.UUCP (rex ballard) Newsgroups: net.micro,net.micro.atari Subject: Re: ST Hard Disk Port (FASI) ? Message-ID: <279@ccivax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 23-Sep-85 23:42:06 EDT Article-I.D.: ccivax.279 Posted: Mon Sep 23 23:42:06 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 27-Sep-85 07:24:41 EDT References: <123@apr.UUCP> Organization: CCI Telephony Systems Group, Rochester NY Lines: 22 Xref: linus net.micro:10843 net.micro.atari:1117 > > Somewhere not to long back I read that the ST had an industry standard > FASI(?) hard disk interface. At the time I passed it off as being a typo > meant to say SASI. > The port configuration looks very similiar to what the NCR > 5385 SCSI protocol controller chip provides but without enough address > lines to get at the full set of control/status ports. > I don't know where you got FASI, but the hard disk port is supposed to be SCSI, with a 1.33 mb maximum transfer rate (almost faster than the 68000 can "copy" from a RAM disk). The pins available are the same type that the HABBA drive uses on the MAC (inside the machine). There a few drives that support the SCSI interfaces already available. In fact, the developer's hard drives are apearently modified MAC drives (different cable). From the AMPRO "Little Board" ads, it also appears to enable interfacing to networks, I/O expansion... SCSI interface boards are also available for the IBM PC. (Could there actually be a standard developing here?). Now, if we could just get someone to explain SCSI to us, we would know what the limits are. Could you tell us more about the 5385 chip? What lines does the ST seem to be missing? Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com