S100 Floppy Controller Question

[Allison]

>
>Subject: Re: S100 Floppy Controller Question
>   From: M H Stein <dm561 at torfree.net>
>   Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:33:20 -0500
>     To: "'cctalk at classiccmp.org'" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>-------------Original Messages:
>Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:23:30 -0500
>From: "Richard A. Cini" <rcini at optonline.net>
>Subject: Re: S100 Floppy Controller Question
>
>Good. The Morrow controller then falls into the same category in my mind as
>the ComprPro Disk 1 with the added bonus of not requiring mods to my IMSAI.

The Compupro  only uses pines 20 and 70 for ground, you can cut if needed.

HOWEVER and VERY BIG DEAL the CPRO 1 can boot... 8" or 5.25".

The Cpro 1A is more adept at that and more flexible.  

Both have the problem of if you boot any of the sandard CPRO images
the assumed serial port is one of the standards used by CPRO.  The 
manual will help with this.

>Now the thousand-dollar question -- does anyone have a suitable disk image I
>could use?
>

CPRO images are out there.  If you go with 5.25" a PC can write a DD boot 
disk (uses same 765!).

Also if you can boot a 5.25" image you can boot a 3.5" image of the 
track/sector layout is same and same density.

>
>On 11/11/07 10:55 AM, "Tim Shoppa" <shoppa_classiccmp at trailing-edge.com>
>wrote:
>
>> "Richard A. Cini" <rcini at optonline.net> wrote:
>>> Oh, I also just found a Morrow DiskJockey 2D/B in one of my boxes. This
>>> model has only a 50-pin connector and the manual talks about the SA800, so
>>> I'm assuming it's an 8"-only controller.
>> 
>> Well, originally intended for 8" drives, but with a suitable adapter
>> cable glue and a slightly modified BIOS it'll do 5.25" and 3.5" drives.
>> 
>> Tim.
>
>Rich
>
>----------Reply:
>
>I think Tim's point was that if your controller's smart enough to deal with a
>relatively modern 8" drive like a TM848 it could probably deal equally
>well with a 5.25" HD drive and you could transparently restore an 8" image
>(if you have one) to the 5.25" disk. The controller (and CP/M) would not
>even know that it's a 5.25 instead of an 8"; my Cromemcos certainly don't, 
>although a different FDC might well require some mods to the BIOS.

Different FDC WILL require a different bios.  Same for SERIAL IO.


Allison

>Worth a try in any case.
>
>m