Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!van-bc!rthurlow From: rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Hard drive kits Message-ID: <2160@van-bc.UUCP> Date: 21 Jan 89 19:03:15 GMT References: <11275@ihlpa.ATT.COM> <6458@cg-atla.UUCP> <874@cacilj.UUCP> Reply-To: rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) Organization: Wimsey Associates, Vancouver, BC. Lines: 86 In article <874@cacilj.UUCP> paul@cacilj.UUCP (Paul Close) writes: >As far as I know, formatting a MFM drive for RLL use voids the warranty. Could be. I've been told that formatting a drive for RLL can result in the drive failing to reformat under MFM, and most drives are only spec'd to MFM. I have a kit with a Priam V170 60 Meg, and I won't format the thing to RLL unless I have real data indicating that it will work, since it is more demanding on the media and the analog electronics of the disk drive. >I'm waiting for my order from Berkeley Microsystems (BMS). It's not a kit >per se, but you can buy everything you need (save the drive) from them. >I'll know more once I get the parts, so email if you're interested. The >cost breakdown is (roughly): > > BMS-200 (Atari-SCSI) $150 > MFM Adaptec controller $115 > Case w/power supply $ 80 > 80mb, 28ms Seagate 4096 $565 > ---- > Total $910 > >I think this is even cheaper than the ICD kit. Oh, we can do better than that. ICD sold us their host adaptor with software and documentation for $115 US, I think. We were actually quoted more like $99 US as I remember, but the bill was higher, so ask carefully. And Timeline Inc., Gardena CA sold us some Adaptec 4000A MFM controllers for $60 US (!), and they're still advertising that great price in this month's Computer Shopper, p544. As for the mechanism, I lucked out; I bought a refurbished Priam V170 mechanism for $300 CDN (~ $240 US). That is a 60 Meg MFM drive which I've seen advertised new for $700 US. I'm not sure of the speed rating, but the IBM CORETEST said it was 15 msec average and 8 msec track-to-track. (No, I can't get any more deals like that!) And I got my PC-XT case for $45 CDN and a used 150 Watt power supply for $20 CDN, so with cables my total damage comes out to about $625 CDN. So: ICD host (Atari-SCSI) $115 US or $155 CDN MFM Adaptec 4000A cont $ 60 US or $ 80 CDN (Adaptec 4070 for RLL) Miscellaneous cables $ 20 US or $ 25 CDN Case w/power supply $ 50 US or $ 65 CDN 60mb, ~22ms Priam V170 $240 US or $300 CDN ---- Total $465 US or $625 CDN The system worked first time, but some people up here have had trouble with the Adaptec controllers - one fellow went through two from Best Electronics which didn't work, although we've had great luck with the ones from Timeline. It all still has to be mounted in the case, but it will be soon. I liked this approach in general because the investment in the mechanism and possibly the Adaptec controller is secure, because I can use the Adaptec with a Macintosh, and I can use the drive with a Macintosh or with a IBM PC clone running Xenix. And the drive is fast! A note about cables - you need a cable with 50-pin female dual-inline connectors on either end to connect the ICD and Adaptec boards, and you need a 34-pin edge-card to edge-card connector plus a 20-pin dual-inline to edge-card connector cable to connect the Adaptec controller to the meachanism. You get these with the full ICD kit, but you have to buy them separately if you just buy the host adaptor like I did. It turns out that the 34-pin cable, which carries signals common to both mechanisms in a two drive system, is very like the normal IBM-PC floppy connector, rather than the normal IBM-PC hard drive connector, while the 20-pin is exactly like the IBM-PC connector. To plug in two drives, you use two 20-pin connectors and you modify the IBM 34-pin floppy cable to *not* have the usual twist of seven wires between two of the connectors. You can but all this stuff from ICD, but it's probably cheaper from Jameco Electronics; a 50-pin 12" cable was about $3 US from them I think, and I know they have the PC type cables in their catalog also. So if you buy the boards like I did, and collect the cables, you can afford a better hard disk mechanism. This is what you *don't* skimp on. One final idea is that you can buy a Seagate ST277N with a *built-in* SCSI-to-ST506 (i.e., forget the Adaptec controller) for $450 US from Hard Drives International in Tempe, AZ. This drive is RLL-rated, and formats to 65 Meg at a speed of 40 msec, which is pretty nice. That could make a VERY nice compact system. I'm a little surprised I haven't heard of more Mac types wiring this sucker up to their systems. It has to be one of the better values in new drives right now. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- "There was something fishy about the butler. I think he was a | Pisces, probably working for scale." - Nick Danger | Robert Thurlow uunet-----\ | Vancouver, BC, Canada !van-bc!rthurlow | In the heart of Kitsilano ubc-cs----/ | ----------------------------------------------------------------