michael_dinn@brains.UUCP (Michael Dinn) (08/28/89)
A.L.F.? :
Anyone out there ever heard of Prespect Technics? They sell a
hardware/software combo called the A.L.F. (Amiga Loads Faster). It lets you
use IBM hard drives with any Amiga. They offer a package deal... HD, ALF, and
power supply for $630 US. The HD is a 40 meg with an RLL card; not sure of
the make. Any ideas? Anyone ever order from them? They claim a 460K/s
transfer rate, can anyone verify it?
--
-===------===- From Michael Dinn at Cerebral Cortex BBS System
-==-==----==-==- (902)462-7245 3/12/2400 8N1 24h/7d
-==-------==------ michael_dinn%brains@iisat.UUCP
-==-==----==-==- {uunet, utai, watmath}!dalcs!iisat!brains!michael_dinn
-===------===-lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (08/30/89)
In <4451@shlump.nac.dec.com>, balzer@frambo.enet.dec.com (Christian Balzer) writes: > However the best controllers these days seem to be IMHO the Microbotics > HardFrame and the CBM 2091... if you can afford them. ;-) Well, in both cases, it's more like "If you can find them." The HardFrame is in short supply, it would seem, and the 2091 is not yet out in North America. Could you tell us if it is out in Europe? -larry -- The Mac? Oh, that's just like a computer, only slower. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
balzer@frambo.enet.dec.com (Christian Balzer) (08/31/89)
In article <4726@brains.UUCP>, michael_dinn@brains.UUCP (Michael Dinn) writes... >A.L.F.? : > > Anyone out there ever heard of Prespect Technics? They sell a >hardware/software combo called the A.L.F. (Amiga Loads Faster). It lets you >use IBM hard drives with any Amiga. They offer a package deal... HD, ALF, and >power supply for $630 US. The HD is a 40 meg with an RLL card; not sure of >the make. Any ideas? Anyone ever order from them? They claim a 460K/s >transfer rate, can anyone verify it? Uh, I know I'm late with the release of the next revision of my HD controller review, but I'm still waiting for some data to arrive here (do ya hear me Blaine??? ;-). Within this review, I do have some few lines on the A.L.F. stuff. To put it short, the A.L.F. is a (not too) low cost HD controller solution. It's based on a design by the German computer magazine c't, which uses an IBM style controller, like the WEDGE. While this solution is relativly inexpensive, it of course lacks DMA or controller based caching. So although rather high transfer rates using RLL drives (about 450 KB/s) are possible, these will suck up all CPU resources. The A.L.F. software has a nice user-interface and seems to constantly enhanced and maintained. Summary: If low on cash and not too considerate about multitasking during data transfers, go for it. However the best controllers these days seem to be IMHO the Microbotics HardFrame and the CBM 2091... if you can afford them. ;-) Hope that helps, - <CB> -- _ _ / / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery - // < < |-< > decwrl!frambo.enet!CB -OR- unido!decum!frambo.dnet!CB // \ \_ |_/ / I-Net: CB@frambo.enet.dec.com | E-Net: FRAMBO::BALZER \\ // ------------ PMail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G. \X/
robocop@netmbx.UUCP (Thorsten Ebers) (09/01/89)
In article <4726@brains.UUCP> michael_dinn%brains@iisat.UUCP writes: >A.L.F.? : > > Anyone out there ever heard of Prespect Technics? They sell a >hardware/software combo called the A.L.F. (Amiga Loads Faster). It lets you >use IBM hard drives with any Amiga. They offer a package deal... HD, ALF, and >power supply for $630 US. The HD is a 40 meg with an RLL card; not sure of >the make. Any ideas? Anyone ever order from them? They claim a 460K/s >transfer rate, can anyone verify it? I own ALF 2.0. It its true that zou will have a transfer rate of 460kb/s. With Alf 2.0 you can password your partitions and even autoboot,when you have KS1.3 and have an extra card mounted.Without the extra card it boots only after a RESET.All in all it is the cheapest way of getting a 63 Meg HD. with RLL formatted. I'm glad to have alf Thorsten -- Thorsten Ebers Overseas:..pyramid!tmpmbx!netmbx!robocop Goerresstr.20 Europe :..altger!tmpmbx!netmbx!robocop 1000 Berlin 41 Germany :robocop@netmbx.UUCP Germany Phone:030/851 84 60
zang@net4.UUCP (09/05/89)
/* Written 12:46 pm Aug 28, 1989 by michael_dinn@brains.UUCP in net4:comp.sys.amiga */
/* ---------- "A.L.F.?" ---------- */
A.L.F.? :
Anyone out there ever heard of Prespect Technics? They sell a
hardware/software combo called the A.L.F. (Amiga Loads Faster). It lets you
use IBM hard drives with any Amiga. They offer a package deal... HD, ALF, and
power supply for $630 US. The HD is a 40 meg with an RLL card; not sure of
the make. Any ideas? Anyone ever order from them? They claim a 460K/s
transfer rate, can anyone verify it?
--
-===------===- From Michael Dinn at Cerebral Cortex BBS System
-==-==----==-==- (902)462-7245 3/12/2400 8N1 24h/7d
-==-------==------ michael_dinn%brains@iisat.UUCP
-==-==----==-==- {uunet, utai, watmath}!dalcs!iisat!brains!michael_dinn
-===------===-
A.L.F. (Amiga Loads Faster) was developed here in West-Gemany and
here in Germany a lot of hard disks for the Amiga are equipped
with the ALF-System.
ALF allows you to connect almost any PC-harddisk
to any Amiga. But much better: Since the controler has his own
error detection, you can also use harddisks with harderrors.
OK, what's the advantage you may ask. It means you can use hard disks
that have harderrors on sector 0 and sector 1. So you
go to a computer flee market, buy anyones "absolutely unusable"
PC-Harddisk (you know you can't use a hard disk with
harderrors on sector 0 and sector 1 on a PC - but with ALF it works
on your Amiga) for very small money, connect it to your ALF - and you
have a very cheap and very reliable harddisk.
As far as I know the transfer rate of ALF is about 400 KByte/Sec.
I have an AMIGA 1000 with ALF and am using a Seagate 20MB Harddisk.
It works perfect !
I don't know anything about Prespect Technics but ALF is a very
good thing !
================================================================================
Christopher Zang |
NIXDORF COMPUTER AG |
Dep DTSW 4-4 |
Berliner Str. 95 |
D-8000 Munich (West Germany) |
Tel.: xxx-89-3601-3168 |
eunet: zang.muc@nixpbe.UUCP |
!USA: mcvax!unido!nixpbe!zang.muc |
USA: uunet!linus!nixbur!zang.muc |
================================================================================blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (09/05/89)
From article <4451@shlump.nac.dec.com>, by balzer@frambo.enet.dec.com (Christian Balzer): > > Uh, I know I'm late with the release of the next revision of my HD controller > review, but I'm still waiting for some data to arrive here (do ya hear me > Blaine??? ;-). Within this review, I do have some few lines on the A.L.F. > stuff. Yea, yea, I get the hint! :-) Between my tardiness and decwrl's brain tumor things did get delayed a fair bit, but I think all the stuff got through to you successfully (finally!). For those interested in controller comparisons, I've shipped a bunch of test results off to Chrsitian for his controller review. Since he's taken on the job of keeper of the hard drive comparisons, I'm not going to cause duplication by posting myself. But so you know what to look forward to, I've run all the versions of DiskPerf (the original, jdow's version, 2, 3 and DevSpeed) on both the A2090A and the HardFrame, and with both 68000 and A2620 on the A2090A. A benchmark of the benchmarks if you will. The bottom line is that Joanne Dow's seems to give the best test (not necessarily the highest numbers!). Also, I tried the Diskperf & Boxes Demo combo that was mentioned here a week or two ago (hint: the Hardframe did better the Cltd). And I've got a short comparison of the HardFrame and the A2090A. So now you can pester Christian to post the whole works. :-) -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 Here: utah-cs!esunix!blgardne {ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne There: uunet!iconsys!caeco!i-core!worsel!blaine (My Amiga running uucp) "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
balzer@frambo.enet.dec.com (Christian Balzer) (09/06/89)
[{(Line-Eaters prefer their fodder neatly wrapped.)}]
In article <736@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>, lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes...
[drivel from about A.L.F., Hardframe and A2091 deleted]
>Well, in both cases, it's more like "If you can find them." The HardFrame is in
>short supply, it would seem, and the 2091 is not yet out in North America.
>Could you tell us if it is out in Europe?
Nah, it isn't. But since it's release seems to be pretty imminent and I had
some chances to fiddle with that sucker, I felt like recommending it.
Now where's that cheque from CBM??? ;-) :-)
>The Mac? Oh, that's just like a computer, only slower.
Luv it. ;-)
Regards,
- <CB>
-- _ _
/ / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery - //
< < |-< > decwrl!frambo.enet!CB -OR- unido!decum!frambo.dnet!CB //
\ \_ |_/ / I-Net: CB@frambo.enet.dec.com | E-Net: FRAMBO::BALZER \\ //
------------ PMail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G. \X/