Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ukma!gatech!gitpyr!byron
From: byron@pyr.gatech.EDU (Byron A Jeff)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Need 1541 info
Message-ID: <5314@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Date: 4 Apr 88 14:27:33 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology
Lines: 41

I'm homebrewing a 68010 based system and I've decided I need some
form of mass storage. I want to use a 1541 for the following reasons:

1) I have two in my apartment.
2) The interface is simple and inexpensive.
3) The drive is intelligent (well kinda) so I don't have to write
   drivers from scratch to use it initially.

Unfortuantely the only info I have is the disk user's guide and
half remembered items from a C64 programmers reference manual that
I no longer have.

So I have a few questions about the drives. Please email all responses
to me. Thanks.

First the hardware:
1) What is the pinout for the DIN connector?
2) I remember that the interface is syncronous serial with handshaking.
   What are the signals (clock, data, handshaking etc.) that have to
   be sent to and received from the drive?
3) What is the maximum clock rate?

And software:
4) How does the software that speeds the data transfer rate work?
5) What is the format of the data transferred? All commands have a
   drive and channel number along with commands and data. How is
   this info packaged? How does the drive send back a block of
   data?
6) Is it possible to get a particular sector without having it in a file
   (random access) short of rewriting the DOS in the drive?

I'm sure there are also several books on the subject. Any references to
any that can answer any/all of my questions?

Thank you.

-- 
Byron A. Jeff
ICS Programming Lab, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
Internet:	byron@pyr.gatech.edu
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