Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!jgreco
From: jgreco@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Joseph E Greco)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Parallel Disk Interface
Message-ID: <268@csd4.milw.wisc.edu>
Date: 7 Jan 89 00:01:56 GMT
References: <420@manta.NOSC.MIL> <316@hal.UUCP>
Sender: news@csd4.milw.wisc.edu
Reply-To: jgreco@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Joseph E Greco)
Organization: UW-Milwaukee
Lines: 46

In article <420@manta.NOSC.MIL> mitch@manta.NOSC.MIL (Ray Mitchell) writes:
>Does anyone know anything about any modifications to the Commodore 64
>to permit the use of a parallel interface to the disk drive? Anything
>would be appreciated.
>				Thanks,
>				Ray Mitchell
>				.
>				.

Depending on what your meaning and intent is, there are several alternatives:

(1) Several devices add a parallel cable to the 1541.  Most notable in my mind
is Skyles Electric Works' "The Flash."  That particular product is relatively
old, and I know there are newer products available, but they all seem to suffer
from the same problem:  Overall lack of compatibility with certain programs.

(2) I believe there is a product available that lets the 64 use the Burst Mode
available on the 1571/1581 drives.  Considering the data transfer rates
involved, there's no reason that this shouldn't be considered - since the 
serial data rate is about what a parallel interface could handle anyways.

(3) Various enhancements are available to make the 64/1541 faster with little
or no hardware modification (Fastload and Mach-5 were the first generation of
these enhancements, current packages offer a LOT more).  I'm mentioning this
and (2) only to suggest less expensive alternatives.

(4) If you can't get what you want with these means, there's always IEEE-488.
While you won't be able to use a 1541/71/81, there are plenty of old Commodore
CBM class drives out there for cheap.  They are approximately 400-600% faster
than serial drives (transfer rate), depending on the IEEE interface you select,
and many internal operations are faster as well.

(5) If I've misinterpreted what you're interested in, and you're looking for
a way to directly connect a disk drive module to a 64 with a disk interface
chip or something, I not only admire your courage but would also like to hear
more.

If you're interested in more information on any of these topics, let me know
and I might be able to dig something up.

Happy Hacking!
--
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