On Mar 2, 12:13 am, Tony wrote:
> Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
> Have the following setup:
>
> Acer P75, DOS 6.22
> CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
> DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>
> Set up the cable from the CompatiCard IV to the DBit
> Ran power to the DBit board
> Unplugged the floppy cable from the ACS8000 Mainboard, and plugged it into
> the DBit 50-pin connector
> Powered up Altos (to power the drives) and then booted the PC up.
>
> In CompatiCard, and the PC, the 8" are A: and B: I installed the CC4DRV.SYS
> driver, and told it the first and seond drives are 8"
> (DEVICE=C:\COMPCARD\CC4DRV.SYS /A0,4 /A1,4 )
>
> Anything I try, I get a Not Ready Error - IMD gives 'No FDC Interrupt'
> Dir gives Not Ready...
> Format.com gives Not Ready...
> TeleDisk gives Not Ready...
>
> I can hear the 801 click when trying to read, and I can see the LED light
> up... And they are individually reachable (A: lights up DS0, b: does DS1)
>
> Any ideas?
> Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
> SA801's?
>
> The DBit FDADAP, from the traces, runs pin-12 (DC) to PC pin-34 (DC/RDY).
> II've tried jumpering over RDY as well as DC to pin-34 on the PC side, and
> no dice.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated - I've been spinning my wheels on this for
> 2 days now.
>
> Tony
>
> Sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com

1) Does the Compaticard IV and your drivers work with 5.25-inch or
3.5- inch drives? Try that.

2) Does your Shugart 800 drive work, to your knowledge? It's
informative that the drive lights when selected and the "click" you
hear is likely the head loading mechanism (a pad pushes the diskette
against the read/write head). You need to be sure the terminator
jumpers are set on the LAST or only drive at the far end of the cable.
Make sure the read/write head is cleaned of any junk, from scraping
old diskettes.

3) You may need to set or remove other jumpers on the Shugart 800
drive. You might look for the "ready" line on the drive and see what
jumpers are associated with that. I'd use an oscilloscope to look at
signals to and from the drive. I don't know if a logic probe would be
adequate.

There were three or four models of the Shugart 800/801. They have
differnent circuit boards with different part numbers on the PC board.
I suggest you determine which model you have. Manuals for that drive
(shugart 800 or 801) with jumper info, schematics and descriptions are
available from me via this Web page:

http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs...ives.html#DOCS

...as photocopies for a per page fee plus postage and handling.
(Contact me via my Web site for details, not via this newsgroup, not
via gmail.) Part numbers are mentioned on that Web page.

Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com

Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/ web site
http://www.retrotechnology.net/herbs_stuff/ domain mirror
my email address: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net
"Herb's Stuff": old Mac, SGI, 8-inch floppy drives
S-100 IMSAI Altair computers, docs, by "Dr. S-100"

Herb Johnson wrote in
news:c5aa5964-f87f-441d-a085-f01ee864c95e@d21g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

> On Mar 2, 12:13 am, Tony wrote:
>> Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk
>> images). Have the following setup:
>>
>> Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>> CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>> DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>>
>> Set up the cable from the CompatiCard IV to the DBit
>> Ran power to the DBit board
>> Unplugged the floppy cable from the ACS8000 Mainboard, and plugged it
>> into the DBit 50-pin connector
>> Powered up Altos (to power the drives) and then booted the PC up.
>>
>> In CompatiCard, and the PC, the 8" are A: and B: I installed the
>> CC4DRV.SYS driver, and told it the first and seond drives are 8"
>> (DEVICE=C:\COMPCARD\CC4DRV.SYS /A0,4 /A1,4 )
>>
>> Anything I try, I get a Not Ready Error - IMD gives 'No FDC
>> Interrupt' Dir gives Not Ready...
>> Format.com gives Not Ready...
>> TeleDisk gives Not Ready...
>>
>> I can hear the 801 click when trying to read, and I can see the LED
>> light up... And they are individually reachable (A: lights up DS0, b:
>> does DS1)
>>
>> Any ideas?
>> Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>> SA801's?
>>
>> The DBit FDADAP, from the traces, runs pin-12 (DC) to PC pin-34
>> (DC/RDY). II've tried jumpering over RDY as well as DC to pin-34 on
>> the PC side, and no dice.
>>
>> Any advice would be appreciated - I've been spinning my wheels on
>> this for 2 days now.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>> Sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com
>
> 1) Does the Compaticard IV and your drivers work with 5.25-inch or
> 3.5- inch drives? Try that.

Works fine with 5.25", as I wrote out some DEC RX50 disks for a Rainbow
100 just a couple nights ago. Also, I;ve been using a 3.5" to transfer
disk images from my laptop, so i know it works with 3.5" and 5.25"
I do have the CC4DRV.SYS loading, and properly configured for 8" drives,
and
running CCDRIVES.COM correctly acknowledge the drivers knowing A: and B:
are 8" drives.

>
> 2) Does your Shugart 800 drive work, to your knowledge? It's
> informative that the drive lights when selected and the "click" you
> hear is likely the head loading mechanism (a pad pushes the diskette
> against the read/write head). You need to be sure the terminator
> jumpers are set on the LAST or only drive at the far end of the cable.
> Make sure the read/write head is cleaned of any junk, from scraping
> old diskettes.

I assume they work, and I assume they are properly terminated, as they
are still sitting inside the Altos chassis. I'm just trying to make sure
there isn;t something special required to get SA801's working in this
setup. I thought someone mentioned a special jumpering/extra wire(s)
required for SA801's (John @ dbit) for them to work on a PC.

>
> 3) You may need to set or remove other jumpers on the Shugart 800
> drive. You might look for the "ready" line on the drive and see what
> jumpers are associated with that. I'd use an oscilloscope to look at
> signals to and from the drive. I don't know if a logic probe would be
> adequate.

Ive tried hot-wiring both DC (pin 12) and RDY (Pin 22) directly to pin
34 (DC) on the CC IV, to no avail. Always a Not Ready error.
I have an Oscilloscope (Tek 2235), not that I even know how to use it,
though!

>
> There were three or four models of the Shugart 800/801. They have
> differnent circuit boards with different part numbers on the PC board.
> I suggest you determine which model you have. Manuals for that drive
> (shugart 800 or 801) with jumper info, schematics and descriptions are
> available from me via this Web page:
>

I have the PDF's of the manuals, thanks to Al Kossow and Harte Tech, but
thanks, Herb - you're always on my list for what I can't find online!

Many thanks for the assistance - it's getting a bit frustrating.

A bit off-topic - Herb, can you send me, to the email below, what ya
got, in an external 8" DS/DD drive, in an enclosure, ready-to-go for
reading/writing images? It's not to replace a drive from a computer, so
that makes it a bit less tedious in facts needed. I simply need
something already with a PSU, and with a 50-pin IDC connector for the
interface, so preferably the internal wiring of the drive is already
there to a 50-pin IDC on the back panel, or a 50-pin IDC ribbon cable
coming out would also suffice.
It would be going to zip code 33126

Tony
sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com

On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:13:43 GMT, Tony
wrote:

>Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
>Have the following setup:
>
>Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter

>Any ideas?
>Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>SA801's?

Seems to me I used Uniform along with the Compaticard.

You still have to do a translation from DOS (and FAT) to
CP/M and its chain of logical data blocks. Or whatever it's
called. CC4DRV.SYS is a hardware driver, for the card.

You don't mention what software driver you're using.

You do know you need one, right?

Bill

Bill wrote in
news:78gms3tv3a8lkpo3u7h42t9j91b7li1mdn@4ax.com:

> On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:13:43 GMT, Tony
> wrote:
>
>>Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
>>Have the following setup:
>>
>>Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>>CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>>DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>
>>Any ideas?
>>Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>>SA801's?
>
> Seems to me I used Uniform along with the Compaticard.
>
> You still have to do a translation from DOS (and FAT) to
> CP/M and its chain of logical data blocks. Or whatever it's
> called. CC4DRV.SYS is a hardware driver, for the card.
>
> You don't mention what software driver you're using.
>
> You do know you need one, right?

Can you define "driver"?
I'm trying to get IMD and/or TeleDisk to read/write the 8" drive.
These are imaging utilities that are able to directly read/write just about
any FDD's out there.

I am not trying to read data from the diskettes, like UniForm or 22Disk do.
I am trying to write whole-disk images out to the 8" diskettes, as
mentioned in the OP.

As for a driver, I *AM* loading the CC IV's CC4DRV.SYS, which is how you
specify the 'type' of drive attached. the 8" and DS/QD drives qualify as
"other," so they need to be configured using the CC4DRV.SYS device driver.


Tony
sharkownheels -@t- g|\/|ail.com

Tony wrote in
news:Xns9A55E4A7F1F3Aboboyouwishcom@216.77.188.18:

> Bill wrote in
> news:78gms3tv3a8lkpo3u7h42t9j91b7li1mdn@4ax.com:
>
>> On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:13:43 GMT, Tony
>> wrote:
> device driver.
>
>
Blah...blah...


It was an ESO error, folks....Equipment Superior to Operator...

Even though Mike *TOLD* me so......
I was using DS media in a SS drive...

Herb came to show exactly why he is "Dr. S-100"...
He was pretty quick in the diagnosis...
Thanks, Herb - as I said in email, ya prolly saved my sanity!

Both SA801's read and write...however, can't get the Altos ACS8000 to boot
off the CP/M media I made (3 diff versions) in it's own drive.

I imaged back in (IMD) and used debug to verify that it was a CP/M disk.

Well, that is for another day....at least I know the drives read+write

what maintenance can I do? besides cleaning?
I heard a li'l squeaking...is there a worm gear on the underside that might
need lubing or something like that?

GOnna download the maint manual from bitsavers, and see what these things
like to be fed....

Thanks folks!


Tony
sharkonwheels -@t- g|\/|ail.com

>
> It was an ESO error, folks....Equipment Superior to Operator...
>
> Even though Mike *TOLD* me so......
> I was using DS media in a SS drive...

Why does using double-sided media in a single-sided drive matter?
Doesn't the drive just ignore the second side?

Tom Lake

On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 19:37:07 -0500, "Tom Lake"
wrote:

>>
>> It was an ESO error, folks....Equipment Superior to Operator...
>>
>> Even though Mike *TOLD* me so......
>> I was using DS media in a SS drive...
>
>Why does using double-sided media in a single-sided drive matter?
>Doesn't the drive just ignore the second side?
>
>Tom Lake

For 8" drive there are two differnt media and where the sector hole
window is placed is different for 2sided VS single sided. It's so the
drive can signal that it has 2sided media rahter than single sided.
Not all 8" drives did that but, most did.

Allison

Herb Johnson wrote:
> On Mar 2, 12:13 am, Tony wrote:
>> Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
>> Have the following setup:
>>
>> Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>> CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>> DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>>
>> Set up the cable from the CompatiCard IV to the DBit
>> Ran power to the DBit board
>> Unplugged the floppy cable from the ACS8000 Mainboard, and plugged it into
>> the DBit 50-pin connector
>> Powered up Altos (to power the drives) and then booted the PC up.
>>
>> In CompatiCard, and the PC, the 8" are A: and B: I installed the CC4DRV.SYS
>> driver, and told it the first and seond drives are 8"
>> (DEVICE=C:\COMPCARD\CC4DRV.SYS /A0,4 /A1,4 )
>>
>> Anything I try, I get a Not Ready Error - IMD gives 'No FDC Interrupt'
>> Dir gives Not Ready...
>> Format.com gives Not Ready...
>> TeleDisk gives Not Ready...
>>
>> I can hear the 801 click when trying to read, and I can see the LED light
>> up... And they are individually reachable (A: lights up DS0, b: does DS1)
>>
>> Any ideas?
>> Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>> SA801's?
>>
>> The DBit FDADAP, from the traces, runs pin-12 (DC) to PC pin-34 (DC/RDY).
>> II've tried jumpering over RDY as well as DC to pin-34 on the PC side, and
>> no dice.
>>
>> Any advice would be appreciated - I've been spinning my wheels on this for
>> 2 days now.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>> Sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com
>
> 1) Does the Compaticard IV and your drivers work with 5.25-inch or
> 3.5- inch drives? Try that.
>
> 2) Does your Shugart 800 drive work, to your knowledge? It's
> informative that the drive lights when selected and the "click" you
> hear is likely the head loading mechanism (a pad pushes the diskette
> against the read/write head). You need to be sure the terminator
> jumpers are set on the LAST or only drive at the far end of the cable.
> Make sure the read/write head is cleaned of any junk, from scraping
> old diskettes.
>
> 3) You may need to set or remove other jumpers on the Shugart 800
> drive. You might look for the "ready" line on the drive and see what
> jumpers are associated with that. I'd use an oscilloscope to look at
> signals to and from the drive. I don't know if a logic probe would be
> adequate.
>
> There were three or four models of the Shugart 800/801. They have
> differnent circuit boards with different part numbers on the PC board.
> I suggest you determine which model you have. Manuals for that drive
> (shugart 800 or 801) with jumper info, schematics and descriptions are
> available from me via this Web page:
>
> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs...ives.html#DOCS
>
> ..as photocopies for a per page fee plus postage and handling.
> (Contact me via my Web site for details, not via this newsgroup, not
> via gmail.) Part numbers are mentioned on that Web page.
>
> Herb Johnson
> retrotechnology.com
>
> Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/ web site
> http://www.retrotechnology.net/herbs_stuff/ domain mirror
> my email address: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
> if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net
> "Herb's Stuff": old Mac, SGI, 8-inch floppy drives
> S-100 IMSAI Altair computers, docs, by "Dr. S-100"

Herb, didn't one of the 801 versions rely on external PLL etc? It seems
I had an old Digital Research drive setup [a few decades ago] that had
it's own controller board that provided the signals.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

> Herb, didn't one of the 801 versions rely on external PLL etc? It seems
> I had an old Digital Research drive setup [a few decades ago] that had
> it's own controller board that provided the signals.

I'm interested in your "setup". Contact me privately at my email
addresses at the end of this message.

The Shugart 800 and 801 were the same circuit board with different
strapping or jumpering options. I believe the 801 was jumpered to
offer additional decoding of the (hard-sectored) index/sector sensor,
to seperate the index signal from the sector signal. Anyone interested
should refer to the Shugart manuals for specifics. The 800/801 series
had about FOUR major changes of circuit board and design, so you have
to get docs for whatever boards are on your drive. I offer the docs on
my Web site, but others offer them as well.

Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com

Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/ web site
http://www.retrotechnology.net/herbs_stuff/ domain mirror
my email address: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net
"Herb's Stuff": old Mac, SGI, 8-inch floppy drives
S-100 IMSAI Altair computers, docs, by "Dr. S-100"

"TheEngr" wrote in message
news:47de8f54$0$25978$88260bb3@free.teranews.com.. .
> Herb Johnson wrote:
>> On Mar 2, 12:13 am, Tony wrote:
>>> Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
>>> Have the following setup:
>>>
>>> Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>>> CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>>> DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>>>
>>> Set up the cable from the CompatiCard IV to the DBit
>>> Ran power to the DBit board
>>> Unplugged the floppy cable from the ACS8000 Mainboard, and plugged it
>>> into
>>> the DBit 50-pin connector
>>> Powered up Altos (to power the drives) and then booted the PC up.
>>>
>>> In CompatiCard, and the PC, the 8" are A: and B: I installed the
>>> CC4DRV.SYS
>>> driver, and told it the first and seond drives are 8"
>>> (DEVICE=C:\COMPCARD\CC4DRV.SYS /A0,4 /A1,4 )
>>>
>>> Anything I try, I get a Not Ready Error - IMD gives 'No FDC Interrupt'
>>> Dir gives Not Ready...
>>> Format.com gives Not Ready...
>>> TeleDisk gives Not Ready...
>>>
>>> I can hear the 801 click when trying to read, and I can see the LED
>>> light
>>> up... And they are individually reachable (A: lights up DS0, b: does
>>> DS1)
>>>
>>> Any ideas?
>>> Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>>> SA801's?
>>>
>>> The DBit FDADAP, from the traces, runs pin-12 (DC) to PC pin-34
>>> (DC/RDY).
>>> II've tried jumpering over RDY as well as DC to pin-34 on the PC side,
>>> and
>>> no dice.
>>>
>>> Any advice would be appreciated - I've been spinning my wheels on this
>>> for
>>> 2 days now.
>>>
>>> Tony
>>>
>>> Sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com
>>
>> 1) Does the Compaticard IV and your drivers work with 5.25-inch or
>> 3.5- inch drives? Try that.
>>
>> 2) Does your Shugart 800 drive work, to your knowledge? It's
>> informative that the drive lights when selected and the "click" you
>> hear is likely the head loading mechanism (a pad pushes the diskette
>> against the read/write head). You need to be sure the terminator
>> jumpers are set on the LAST or only drive at the far end of the cable.
>> Make sure the read/write head is cleaned of any junk, from scraping
>> old diskettes.
>>
>> 3) You may need to set or remove other jumpers on the Shugart 800
>> drive. You might look for the "ready" line on the drive and see what
>> jumpers are associated with that. I'd use an oscilloscope to look at
>> signals to and from the drive. I don't know if a logic probe would be
>> adequate.
>>
>> There were three or four models of the Shugart 800/801. They have
>> differnent circuit boards with different part numbers on the PC board.
>> I suggest you determine which model you have. Manuals for that drive
>> (shugart 800 or 801) with jumper info, schematics and descriptions are
>> available from me via this Web page:
>>
>> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs...ives.html#DOCS
>>
>> ..as photocopies for a per page fee plus postage and handling.
>> (Contact me via my Web site for details, not via this newsgroup, not
>> via gmail.) Part numbers are mentioned on that Web page.
>>
>> Herb Johnson
>> retrotechnology.com
>>
>> Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
>> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/ web site
>> http://www.retrotechnology.net/herbs_stuff/ domain mirror
>> my email address: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
>> if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net
>> "Herb's Stuff": old Mac, SGI, 8-inch floppy drives
>> S-100 IMSAI Altair computers, docs, by "Dr. S-100"
>
> Herb, didn't one of the 801 versions rely on external PLL etc? It seems I
> had an old Digital Research drive setup [a few decades ago] that had it's
> own controller board that provided the signals.
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>

In 1976 we originally used the Calcomp 140 8" floppy drives with Calcomp's
add-on data separator, one for each drive with the introduction of the IMSAI
IFM/FIB disk controller.

These proved to be temperamental and extremely fragile with power supply
fluctuation. We overcame this expensive and troublesome problem by
upgrading to the Calcomp 142's and 142M's with introduction of the IMSAI DIO
series controllers in 1977 which brought us out of the IBM 3740 Single
Density era into the realm of variable formats and increased data capacity.

This said, it begs the question as to whether Shugart also had a similar
offering (external PLL) at the time? I never saw or heard of other
applications requiring the external data separator at that time, but my
experience and exposure was understandably narrowly focused on IMSAI
compatibility.

As a footnote, when we introduced the HD-10 5MB fixed/5MB removable hard
drive system in 1977, we used the Xcomp S100 formatter/interface board set
for control with the newly-developed and proprietary IMDOS variant of CP/M.

Thomas "Todd" Fischer wrote:
> "TheEngr" wrote in message
> news:47de8f54$0$25978$88260bb3@free.teranews.com.. .
>> Herb Johnson wrote:
>>> On Mar 2, 12:13 am, Tony wrote:
>>>> Trying to write out Altos ACS8000 disk images (IMD or TeleDisk images).
>>>> Have the following setup:
>>>>
>>>> Acer P75, DOS 6.22
>>>> CompatiCard IV (hardware bios 1.05c)
>>>> DBit.com's FDADAP 34-pin to 50-pin adapter
>>>>
>>>> Set up the cable from the CompatiCard IV to the DBit
>>>> Ran power to the DBit board
>>>> Unplugged the floppy cable from the ACS8000 Mainboard, and plugged it
>>>> into
>>>> the DBit 50-pin connector
>>>> Powered up Altos (to power the drives) and then booted the PC up.
>>>>
>>>> In CompatiCard, and the PC, the 8" are A: and B: I installed the
>>>> CC4DRV.SYS
>>>> driver, and told it the first and seond drives are 8"
>>>> (DEVICE=C:\COMPCARD\CC4DRV.SYS /A0,4 /A1,4 )
>>>>
>>>> Anything I try, I get a Not Ready Error - IMD gives 'No FDC Interrupt'
>>>> Dir gives Not Ready...
>>>> Format.com gives Not Ready...
>>>> TeleDisk gives Not Ready...
>>>>
>>>> I can hear the 801 click when trying to read, and I can see the LED
>>>> light
>>>> up... And they are individually reachable (A: lights up DS0, b: does
>>>> DS1)
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas?
>>>> Am I missing something special that needs to be done on the Shugart
>>>> SA801's?
>>>>
>>>> The DBit FDADAP, from the traces, runs pin-12 (DC) to PC pin-34
>>>> (DC/RDY).
>>>> II've tried jumpering over RDY as well as DC to pin-34 on the PC side,
>>>> and
>>>> no dice.
>>>>
>>>> Any advice would be appreciated - I've been spinning my wheels on this
>>>> for
>>>> 2 days now.
>>>>
>>>> Tony
>>>>
>>>> Sharkonwheels -at- g|\/|ail.com
>>> 1) Does the Compaticard IV and your drivers work with 5.25-inch or
>>> 3.5- inch drives? Try that.
>>>
>>> 2) Does your Shugart 800 drive work, to your knowledge? It's
>>> informative that the drive lights when selected and the "click" you
>>> hear is likely the head loading mechanism (a pad pushes the diskette
>>> against the read/write head). You need to be sure the terminator
>>> jumpers are set on the LAST or only drive at the far end of the cable.
>>> Make sure the read/write head is cleaned of any junk, from scraping
>>> old diskettes.
>>>
>>> 3) You may need to set or remove other jumpers on the Shugart 800
>>> drive. You might look for the "ready" line on the drive and see what
>>> jumpers are associated with that. I'd use an oscilloscope to look at
>>> signals to and from the drive. I don't know if a logic probe would be
>>> adequate.
>>>
>>> There were three or four models of the Shugart 800/801. They have
>>> differnent circuit boards with different part numbers on the PC board.
>>> I suggest you determine which model you have. Manuals for that drive
>>> (shugart 800 or 801) with jumper info, schematics and descriptions are
>>> available from me via this Web page:
>>>
>>> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs...ives.html#DOCS
>>>
>>> ..as photocopies for a per page fee plus postage and handling.
>>> (Contact me via my Web site for details, not via this newsgroup, not
>>> via gmail.) Part numbers are mentioned on that Web page.
>>>
>>> Herb Johnson
>>> retrotechnology.com
>>>
>>> Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA
>>> http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/ web site
>>> http://www.retrotechnology.net/herbs_stuff/ domain mirror
>>> my email address: hjohnson AAT retrotechnology DOTT com
>>> if no reply, try in a few days: herbjohnson ATT comcast DOTT net
>>> "Herb's Stuff": old Mac, SGI, 8-inch floppy drives
>>> S-100 IMSAI Altair computers, docs, by "Dr. S-100"
>> Herb, didn't one of the 801 versions rely on external PLL etc? It seems I
>> had an old Digital Research drive setup [a few decades ago] that had it's
>> own controller board that provided the signals.
>>
>> --
>> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>>
>
> In 1976 we originally used the Calcomp 140 8" floppy drives with Calcomp's
> add-on data separator, one for each drive with the introduction of the IMSAI
> IFM/FIB disk controller.
>
> These proved to be temperamental and extremely fragile with power supply
> fluctuation. We overcame this expensive and troublesome problem by
> upgrading to the Calcomp 142's and 142M's with introduction of the IMSAI DIO
> series controllers in 1977 which brought us out of the IBM 3740 Single
> Density era into the realm of variable formats and increased data capacity.
>
> This said, it begs the question as to whether Shugart also had a similar
> offering (external PLL) at the time? I never saw or heard of other
> applications requiring the external data separator at that time, but my
> experience and exposure was understandably narrowly focused on IMSAI
> compatibility.
>
> As a footnote, when we introduced the HD-10 5MB fixed/5MB removable hard
> drive system in 1977, we used the Xcomp S100 formatter/interface board set
> for control with the newly-developed and proprietary IMDOS variant of CP/M.
>
>
Sorry for the very late follow-up, guys. I had obtained the particular
IMSAI 8080 and Digital Research external 8" dual floppy setup from a
business that replace it with a TRS80 Mod I, as I recall. It came with
the CP/M 1.3 and a 1.4 upgrade. ;-) I remember I thought I'd be
brilliant and upgrade to more modern double sided set of drives, so I
sold the drives without paying much attention. With my flaky memory
these days, it is possible that they were Shugart 800-1 and not 801
drives, something very similar to those numbers in any case. I do
remember my momentary frustration when I realized that something was
very different with the newer drives. I ended up bypassing the external
board in the DR case and just using it as a cabinet/PS for the new
drives directly connected to a controller card.

A few moves and decades later, I know I must still have them; they are
just residing in one of the unpacked crates in my rather large storage
locker of 'older' hardware! Perhaps after I get taxes done, property tax
revaluation appeal submitted and the last kid married off, I'll rummage
around and try to see if one of the old beasts will fire up. I might
even look at that controller board in the top section of the case. If
I'm lucky, I'll find the crate with the documentation for the DR setup
also. I might even find out which crate holds all the original cards
from the IMSAI.
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