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From: winston@cubsvax.UUCP (Ken Winston)
Newsgroups: net.periphs
Subject: Using ST506 disks with VAXen
Message-ID: <476@cubsvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-May-86 23:02:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: cubsvax.476
Posted: Mon May 19 23:02:18 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 24-May-86 17:17:16 EDT
Organization: Columbia Univ. Bio. CG Fac., NY
Lines: 23


A while back there was some discussion about this but it seemed to
be inconclusive.

The DEC RD52 and RD53 disks are more or less equivalent to disks you
can buy for IBM PCs. Of course they are a lot cheaper if you buy them
for PCs, for example from the kinds of places that advertise in the
back of Byte magazine.

It's the "more or less" part that causes problems. DEC buys the Micropolis
1325---which also is used on PCs---and calls it an RD53 and charges some
outrageous amount for it.

I called Micropolis and they confirmed that the 1325 was the RD53. However,
they person I talked to volunteered the information that "You couldn't
just go out and buy a 1325 and use it as an RD53." When I asked why, he
said "There are DEC specials in the RD53." When I asked what they were,
he said he couldn't (that is, wouldn't) tell me.

Is this true? Let me repeat the earlier question: Has anyone put such
a non-DEC disk on a VAX?

Ken Winston