erd@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Ethan R. Dicks) (09/30/88)
I just bought an A500 earlier this month, partially because of the temporarily low price ($450 . . . the local dealer had not yet bought any from Commodore at the new list price, and I had an old VIC-20 for the $100 off deal). With a new machine, my first thoughts turned to memory and a hard drive. I managed to get an A501 for $150. I called up Dave Allen, regarding my WEDGE 1000, and he suggested I buy a WEDGE 500, due to the mechanical differences between the cases of the two Amiga models. I am _very glad_ I listened to him. The WEDGE 500 corrects my major complaint with the WEDGE 1000: mechanical stability. I have a bare WEDGE 1000, sitting all alone, outside of the A1000, exposed to air, pets, flying cups of flavorful beverage (you get the idea). The WEDGE 500 lies flat, with a right angle socket for the controller, and a METAL CASE!. The IBM controller lies flat as well, with the back edge of the card facing the user. There is also a stout power cable for the device, designed to follow the same wire path as the ST506 ribbon cables, into the power supply. The end of the cable has both a male and a female connector, so you can plug the supply into the WEDGE cable, and the end of the WEDGE cable into the disk drive. Because the WEDGE 500 only supports the DTC 5150 (and its RLL buddy the 5160), I could not use my WX-1 from my WEDGE 1000. (The DTC 5150 is a better controller, in the same price range). The software included supports driver level bad track mapping, which I did not explore extensively, since I do not yet have my DTC controller. The driver does support two drives of different types (a feature as yet untested my me). The disk included with the product has made significant headway since I got the my first release in December, 1987. The disk contains help files, as well as IFF pictures of a properly installed card (both A1000 and A500). An added (free) bonus is VirusX 1.21 (I think) and a backup/restore program which I have not tried. This disk was dated early August, 1988. The WEDGE is not a DMA device, nor is is _currently_ an interrupt device. I say currently, because there are etches to accept diodes along the interrupt request lines, for future use. The WEDGE is a plain old programmed I/O device just like the old C-Ltd SCSI controllers (and possible some of the new ones, I am not sure). I was told over the phone that the WEDGE will support FFS, as soon as it is stablized (e.g. the release of 1.3). I do not know if the version of software I have _now_ does support it. I would also like to recommend people to RSI because of superior support. I remember posting a request of the technical features of the WEDGE when it was first announced, and lo and behold, two days later, I got a phone call from B.C., with solid answers to my questions. I have been very impressed with the phone support I have recieved; Dave _does_ return his calls. If the preceeding review was too commercial, I apologize. I am not affiliated with Dave Allen or RSI in any way, save that of a satisfied customer. I think that the WEDGE 500 is an excellent product for those people who just want a hard disk, and don't need a super-fast, super- expensive DMA SCSI drive. -ethan -- Ethan R. Dicks | ###### This signifies that the poster is a member in Software Results Corp| ## good sitting of Inertia House: Bodies at rest. 2887 Silver Drive | ## Columbus OH 43211 | ###### "You get it, you're closer.