mlw100@csc.anu.edu.au (12/30/90)
Happy New year (well almost), I wonder if anyone has managed to use an Archive quarter inch cartridge tape drive (model 5945C) on a GVP SCSI controller (new or old). I have the latest revision of the GVP ROM chips and neither GVP's own TapeStore program nor the public domain BetterThanNothing tape-handler/TAR programs can access it. It is possible that I have a hardware problem, but the tape unit was previously working on a different type of computer. When I mount the BTN handler the machine just guru's when I use TAR, and when using the other handler by Markus Wandel, TAR just doesn't see the device and assumes TAPE:r means a disk file. I'm using the suggested mountlists for each and the SCSI unit number is correctly set. GVP's TapeStore program just says the Tape unit is not ready. Thanks in advance, Mark Winsall please E-Mail me if you have any ideas.
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (12/30/90)
mlw100@csc.anu.edu.au in <1990Dec30.220423.3860@csc.anu.edu.au> writes:
I wonder if anyone has managed to use an Archive quarter inch
cartridge tape drive (model 5945C) on a GVP SCSI controller (new or
old). I have the latest revision of the GVP ROM chips and neither
GVP's own TapeStore program nor the public domain BetterThanNothing
tape-handler/TAR programs can access it. It is possible that I have a
hardware problem, but the tape unit was previously working on a
different type of computer.
When I mount the BTN handler the machine just guru's when I use TAR,
and when using the other handler by Markus Wandel, TAR just doesn't
see the device and assumes TAPE:r means a disk file. I'm using the
suggested mountlists for each and the SCSI unit number is correctly
set. GVP's TapeStore program just says the Tape unit is not ready.
Uh, I hope you're sitting down when you read this, because I have some really
bad news for you.
The 5945 series is Archive's QIC-02 line. The fact it has a 50-pin edge
connector does NOT mean that it's a SCSI drive. I use the EXACT same tape
drives on my 3B1, Britton-Lee, and other systems. The normal outside-world
interface is with a D37 connector to an Archive 37-to-50 pin adapter which
then is cabled to an interface card and then to the drive itself (all with
50-wire flat ribbon cable and EDGE connectors (not the usual 2x25 SCSI stuff)).
The Archive SCSI tape drive (also using the 3M DC600A or SONY QD-600A tapes)
is the model 2060S (and this will work on the Amiga). Superficially the 2060S
appears the same as the 5945 except it has the 2x25 SCSI connector, and jumpers
for SCSI ID selection, parity enable, TERMPWR, etc.
For your sake I hope you didn't zap either the tape drive or the interface.
You may want to call Archive and see what can be salvaged; they can be reached:
Archive Corp.
3540 Cadillac Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714 / 641-1230
Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]DrBob@cup.portal.com (Robert A Rethemeyer) (01/01/91)
Mark Winsall writes...
> When I mount the BTN handler the machine just guru's when I use TAR,
Aside from the fact that your drive is not SCSI (as pointed out by Thad),
there is another problem with BTNtape that you (and other interested parties)
should know about.
The current version of BTNtape (1.0) will NOT work with anything but the
3M MCD-40 tape drives. Sorry.
I didn't fully understand this at the time 1.0 was written, but the 3M
drive is a random-access device, whereas almost all other tape drives are
sequential access, and require slightly different SCSI commands.
So if you get a working SCSI tape drive, it is best for now to stick with
MWtape. There is also a combination driver/backup utility called TABU.
OR... wait a few weeks and I will have an update to BTNtape available
which will handle sequential drives as well as the 3M drive. RSN! :-)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bob Rethemeyer // "My Sneaker-Phone keeps kicking my
DrBob@cup.portal.com -or- // Football-Phone off the hook."
..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!DrBob // - Jay Lenorick@tmiuv0.uucp (01/03/91)
In article <1990Dec30.220423.3860@csc.anu.edu.au>, mlw100@csc.anu.edu.au writes: > Happy New year (well almost), Same to you, but I'm responding on 1/2/91. So I'm slow! 8-) > I wonder if anyone has managed to use an Archive quarter inch cartridge > tape drive (model 5945C) on a GVP SCSI controller (new or old). I use a WangTek 5150 on my HardFrame. Works fine, but the software I use is pretty brain dead. > When I mount the BTN handler the machine just guru's when I use TAR, > and when using the other handler by Markus Wandel, TAR just doesn't see the > device and assumes TAPE:r means a disk file. I'm using the suggested mountlists > for each and the SCSI unit number is correctly set. GVP's TapeStore program > just says the Tape unit is not ready. Um, I'll take a stab at it. First, make sure that the tape drive is plugged into the controller and turned ON BEFORE you boot your system. You also may want to insert your tape prior to bootstrapping. Additional things to watch for: Make sure that the SCSI cable is terminated properly. Odds are that your disk has terminators installed (if it's the only drive you have) and the tape drive probably does too. Make sure that the device AT THE END OF THE CABLE is the ONLY one that has terminators installed. Make sure that the tape is write-enabled (that one bit me once). You could, of course, call GVP and see what they say. Nah, that's too easy! (big, wide, toothy GRIN!) > Thanks in advance, > > Mark Winsall > > please E-Mail me if you have any ideas. I would've E-Mailed it, but sometimes those get gronched at this end. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [- O] Rick Stevens ? EMail: uunet!zardoz!tmiuv0!rick -or- uunet!zardoz!xyclone!sysop V CIS: 75006,1355 (75006.1355@compuserve.com from Internet) "I'm tellin' ya, Valiant! Da whole ting stinks like yesterday's diapers!" - Baby Herman in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------