#SCSI = SCSI?
4 messages in this thread
How uniform is SCSI? With a SCSI controller (Trumpcard Pro), what do I
need to watch out for when considering SCSI media from non-Amiga
merchants? (Case in point: CD-ROM drive with "twin 50 pin SCSI
connectors" from MacWarehouse).
Bart
Bart,
No problem. The CD drive is in a case which has a passthru connector
for the daisychain. The cabling is normal. Not all SCSI software is the same,
that is some controller software may not implement certain calls, but usually
they all implement the ones that are necessary. Sometimes you find strange
things with termination. Some drives may work well unterminated where others
don't, but beyond that you shouldn't have any serious problems. The Trumpcard
Pro does have the ability to specifically set the card's SCSI ID number. You
may find that if the card has been pre-configured to ID=0 and your drive is
jumpered for ID=0 you may have a problem. You can ease that by simply using
the SCSI software to change the Trumpcard ID to something else to avoid
conflicts. "Normally" the SCSI interface is set for ID=7. I used (and still
have) a Grandslam, which is basically the Trumpcard with RAM and it came
preconfigured at ID=0. I did have to change it since I happened to have a drive
in the system which was already set at ID=0.
Steven,
Many thanks for your clarification re SCSI and CD-ROMs, especially
the tips about how to solve what would have looked to me like
incompatibility problems if they came up (possible need to reset IDs).
Something else I keep wondering. How many of those inexpensive CD-ROMs I
see advertised for peecees are really SCSI and the interface boards that
come with them are mininal SCSI boards? Only safe assumption is none, I
guess.
Bart,
If the drives are being sold for PC machines they may not be scsi
drives. If they are for Macs, they will be scsi. Some are even proprietary
interfaces requiring a controller card which only works in PC machines. You
would be best only buying a drive sold for the Amiga or for the Mac. However,
depending on what CD-ROM software you will use, you may need to check that
software for drives it supports.
Most of the Toshiba drives will work in the 320x and 340x models, but I
don't know anything about the newer drives. The NEC CD33 and CD34 drives don't
work with some software. Chinon drives are supposedly very compatible, also.
If you plan to use the Asim CD Filesystem, check with them first for drive
compatibility.