#Add-on for SupraDrive
13 messages in this thread
I have a 40 Mb SupraDrive with WordSync in my 2000. I just purchased a
bare Quantum 105 Mb drive to expand my hard disk capacity. I thought I
knew how I was going to install the new drive, but when I opened the case
expecting to find an open connector or cable I could plug into the new
drive, everything seems to be tied up. If I want to keep both drives, how
do I connect them into the SCSI interface?
Also, if I want to save space on one of the disks for future use with a
Bridgeboard and AMAX, how should I format the drive(s)? I thought I could
figure this out, but I'm not sure where to begin.
Mike
A couple of quick guesses on your questions (I have a WordSync, but I'm not
very up on it). I don't believe the WordSync offers more than one internal
connector for the SCSI drives — the expectation is that you would chain
the drives, but I haven't done this, so I'm not sure what to look for. The
WordSync does have an external connector that you could use if you use the
Q105 as an external hard drive (get a Mac hard drive connector).
As to set up, the Bridgeboard just needs some room on the hard drive to
store the AmigaDOS file that acts as the PsuedoAutoBoot drive for the
Bridgeboard. I'm not sure what Amax requires, but I imagine its similar.
David – via Whap!
I've figured out that I can assemble a cable to connect the 50-pin
connector on the drive to the 25-pin connector on the controller. A more
interesting possibility would be piggybacking the 50-pin connectors. Is
there any reason they couldn't share that same bus? It doesn't matter I
don't think in terms of the final result – I can still mount my 105 in the
open 5-1/4" drive bay and keep it internal. But it would be a lot more
convenient just to make a flat, 3-connector, 50-conductor ribbon cable and
not have to match the 50- to the 25- pin-to-pin (I finally found the
pinouts in my WordSync documentation).
As for the BB and AMAX, it's clear I'm going to have to study up on this
further and plan things out in advance. Thanks for the suggestions.
Mike
Mike,
Yes…you can add more connectors to a single cable.
Don
I'm not sure but I think the 3 connector approach should work. It works
for ST-506 A connections, but that's not necessarily the same. The 50-pin
to 25-pin cable seems to be a standard Macintosh type cable for external
drives (at least mine was), so any Macintosh dealer should have one.
David – via Whap!
Mike… To add a second SCSI device to your host adaptor you will need to
modify or replace your 50 pin ribbon cable. If your current cable is long
enough to reach both drives, you can have another 50 pin connector crimped
on to the cable. If it isn't long enough, get a new cable made with three
connectors. ( one for the host adaptor) Then, you need to set the address
on your new drive so it doesn't conflict with either the host adaptor
(usually 7) and the supradrive (probally 1). So, I would set the address on
the Quantum to 2. The final step before screwing everything down is to
remove the terminators from the device in the middle of the cable. Now
everything should work fine.
Your wordsync should have partitioning and formatting software… If so, it
should show how to make partitions. Set aside a partition for MS dos, and
perhaps one for Amax. Format ONLY the partition(s) you assign to Amiga dos.
When you purchase either Amax or the Bridgeboard, they will come with
utilities for formating partitions on a hard drive. Personally, I would
format the entire drive for the Amiga now, and later you can go back and
change it. No sense having unused hard drive space.
Hope this helps
Karl
Karl,
Useful information, succinctly presented. I thank you. You even answered
one of my follow-up questions, whether both drives could live on the 50-pin
bus.
Now, a couple of additional follow-up questions: Where do I set the
address on the drives? And if the controller is in the middle of the
cable, I assume I don't need to remove any terminators, right? The easiest
cabling would be to cable from the connector on one drive, THROUGH the
conector to the board, and on to the connector on the other drive, like
this:
40 MB Quantum Controller 105 MB Quantum
XX——————-XX————-XX
XX——————-XX————-XX etc.
Is there any problem with that?
Mike
Mike;
I assume you can place the wordsync in the middle of the cable. If you do,
you will need to remove the terminators from the wordsync, assuming it has
them. If it doesn't have removable terminators, you will definately NOT be
able to place it in the center.
As for addressing on the drives, with scsi you can really choose any
address except 7. 7 is (usually) reserved for the host adaptor (wordsync).
Most host adaptors allow 6 devices on the bus, any combination of tape
drives, hard drives, worms, etc. The address just difrentiates between
them, and as long as two devices don't have the same address, no problems
should be encountered. Personally, I would leave the 40MB at what it is
currently, and set the 105MB to the next numerical address. The
documentation that (hopefully) came with the quantum should tell you what
jumpers to change. If you don't have the documentation, I do for both the
40MB and 105MB quantums.
I will look up the docs and send another message showing what address
jumpers to change.
Karl
Mike,
I found the docs for the 105MB drive… I assume the jumpers are the same
for a Quantum 40MB drive also, as these docs also cover the 52MB drive.
On the bottom of the drive, near the scsi connector, is a set of six pins
with a jumper over two of them. The jumper is probally over A0 on both of
the drives. Leave it over A0 on the 40MB, and move it to the next set of
pins (A1) on the 105MB drive.
The terminating resistors on these drives are between the jumper block and
the scsi connector. Remember to remove the resistors from the device in the
middle of the cable, and you should have no problems.
Karl
Once again, thanks for the timely help. I thought that jumper might be the
one but I didn't want to disturb it until I was sure. My drive board came
already installed and I have no idea how complete the documentation I got
is. Now, if it were only this easy to scare up some 50-conductor ribbon
cable and connectors….
Mike
Michael–
I can help you with adding the extra drive. I assume that you were
looking for another connector like the ribbon cable (probably pretty short)
that hooks the drive to the card. You simply need a new cable with more
connectors on it – you can probably get it from the folks that sold the
drive to you; many vendors will make them up custom for you, so be prepared
to give them some measurements about the spacing between connectors.
Jonathan
Jonathan – from Albany, NY, via whap!