CompuServe Thread

#PIONEER JUKE BOX

11 messages in this thread
#168334From: Charles JarrettOct 19, 1994 1:24 AM
Has anyone managed to connect an AMIGA 3000T to a PIONEER CD-ROM Changer? My effort to interface the SCSI Port on my AMIGA 3000T backside to the PIONEER 18 Disk DRM-1804X CD-ROM Changer has me stumped. An "Apple" cable is connecting them together. When I rung out the cable everything on one side matched the other side of the cable. However,… when the Amiga is powered up (with the DRM-1804X already on) the Busy light on the DRM-1804X starts to blink. When the AMIGA is turned off the DRM-1804X Busy light keeps blinking until it is turned off. This is an undocumented error signal that the PIONEER cable expert could not explain. Now I am wondering if this is a cable problem or a SCSI Host compatibility problem. Is anyone using a PIONEER CD-ROM Changer with an AMIGA? If so,… please let me pick your brain.
#168352From: John ChangOct 19, 1994 9:43 AM
Charles, Egads! What are you doing with all that gear? Trying to beat Oracle in providing an inexpensive video-on-demand MPEG server? ;-} Seriously, make sure that all the other drives between the SCSI controller and the Pioneer are unterminated. The Pioneer should be the last device and should be terminated. I suspect that a special CD-ROM driver may be needed. Regards, John Chang Technical Support Manager Scala, Inc.
#168404From: Charles JarrettOct 19, 1994 6:17 PM
Thank you for answering my call for help. The AMIGA 3000T has an external termination module plugged into the external DB-25 SCSI port. This means that the hard drive in the Tower case has no termination resistors. The DRM-1804X CD-ROM Changer is terminated by means of a selection switch located on the rear of the DRM-1804X Housing. With all external SCSI Cable pins open except for the grounding pins and the termination voltage supply pin,… the perpetually flashing BUSY LIGHT error signal does not happen. The SCSI Host IC on the AMIGA Motherboard recognizes all SCSI Daisy Chained units under these circumstances. In order to check for human error,… the hard drive will be pulled and checked for termination resistors. Thanks again!
#168357From: Don Curtis/SYSOPOct 19, 1994 11:45 AM
Charles, Besides what John said…make sure the SCSI ID on the CD-ROM changer doesn't conflict with the SCSI ID of any other device. Don
#168405From: Charles JarrettOct 19, 1994 6:26 PM
Don, Thanks for being helpful. The SCSI ID of the hard drive in the AMIGA 3000T is 0. The SCSI ID of the DRM-1804X is 5. The DRM-1804X remains unused. What a pity for Amiganauts in Cyberspace!
#168372From: Gary Vander MeiOct 19, 1994 2:43 PM
Well, that busy light usually means improper connection. Like your wires are reversed. Also, are you sure you have your termination set correctly? Also tell your 3000 it must recognize LUN's now. Each disk in your changer will have a separate LUN. If you would like to try a different cable (DB25 to 50Centronics is it) I could send you one that I know works with Amiga's. // Gary Vander Mei on Auto-Pilot \X/
#168408From: Charles JarrettOct 19, 1994 7:16 PM
Gary, Your words echo my thoughts. Termination is correct,…although I will remove and double check my hard drive for a human error problem after sign off. Do you know if it is neccessary to tell the AMIGA 3000T to recognize LUNS when running under Workbench Version 3.1? Do you know if there is a way to do the LUN recognition configuration at startup,… using what software downloadable from here? As for you giving up a cable,… save it for your own future needs. I can make a cable from the hair of a junk yard dog, if I manage to find a pin chart. The pin out of the "Apple" Cable I am fussing with is as listed below: DB25 Female 50 Pin Centronics GND 1 GND 2 GND 3 GND 4 GND 5 GND 6 GND 7 GND 8 GND 9 GND 10 GND 11 NC 12 NC 13 NC 14 GND 15 GND 16 GND 17 GND 18 GND 19 GND 20 GND 21 GND 22 GND 23 GND 24 GND 25 8 DB0 26 21 DB1 27 22 DB2 28 10 DB3 29 23 DB4 30 11 DB5 31 12 DB6 32 13 DB7 33 20 DBP 34 GND 35 GND 36 NC 37 25 TPIN 38 NC 39 GND 40 17 ATN 41 GND 42 6 BSY 43 5 ACK 44 4 RST 45 2 MSG 46 19 SEL 47 15 C/D 48 1 REQ 49 3 I/O 50 Is it convenient for you to ring out your cable and make a comparison with the data listed above. Thanks again!
#168394From: Robert LittleOct 19, 1994 5:45 PM
I don't know anything about the Pioneer, but I'm using an Apple cable to my 270M SyQuest and it works just fine… Robb
#168552From: Charles JarrettOct 20, 1994 6:47 PM
Robert, Thanks for the information. I am still scratching my head, but thanks.
#168506From: John GagerOct 20, 1994 9:07 AM
Without knowing your current drive situation, basically the last internal SCSI drive in your 3000T must be terminated, and the last external drive on the DB-25 external connecter must be terminated. If the Pioneer CD jukebox is the only drive on the external bus, then it should be terminated. What someone else said about LUN's is probably correct. I believe you can set whether or not the 3000 recognizes LUN's by using a utility like "BattMem". This allows you to set certain SCSI parameters, and I think LUN's are one of them. If not of this works, make sure you have a good external SCSI cable. I've seen some external SCSI cables that are real junk and a major problem in getting external drives to work. Another problem you might run into is whether or not one of the current CDROM drivers can support a multiple CD changer. I would talk to the guys at Asimware Innovations to see if they have some software that can access the drive. The number I have for them is 905-578-4916 (Canada), but that number could have changed by now. // John (Warp 4040 & Emplant Quadra 840) \X/ Mercury@ins.infonet.net
#168554From: Charles JarrettOct 20, 1994 6:54 PM
John, Thanks for the information. Will try to dig up "BatMem" and get cooking.