root@trwrb.UUCP (root) (11/14/89)
I want to upgrade my 20 meg SH 204 harddrive to about 40 meg. I hoped I could do this by simply replacing the Drive Mechanism, HOWEVER, my drive mechanism is a Tandom TM362 and I can not find the information I need. What are by options? * Should I install a 40 meg Tandom hard drive? Where can I find a 40 meg Tandom? * Can I install a Seagate drive? Which models? Will I need more parts? * Can I daisy chain the SH 204? Will I need different software? I am planing on buying the Spectre GCR and I want to have sufficient harddrive for the GCR. Thank You, Gregory Gibson
wallace@oldtmr.dec.com (Ray Wallace) (11/16/89)
In article <212@trwrb.UUCP>, root@trwrb.UUCP (root) writes... >I want to upgrade my 20 meg SH 204 harddrive to about 40 meg. I hoped I >could do this by simply replacing the Drive Mechanism You can. > * Should I install a 40 meg Tandom hard drive? The replacement drive does not have to be a Tandom. It can be any hard drive with a ST506 or ST412 interface. These are "standard" drives/interfaces (ie: most hard drives fit this description unless they are specified as a SCSI drive/interface). > * Can I install a Seagate drive? Yes! > * Which models? Any model as long as it does not have a "N" suffix which indicates it is a SCSI drive (ie: has an embedded SCSI controller). > * Will I need more parts? No. > * Can I daisy chain the SH 204? You can add a second drive to the SH204 by running cables from the second drive into the SH204 box and connecting to the controller. > * Will I need different software? What ever software you use you will need to know some specs on the HD (# of heads, # of cylinders/tracks, etc..) in order to configure/re-configure the formatting program. It's been a while since I used the Atari HD software so I don't recall if it can be re-configured. You could use the software from Supra or ICD (pre-V4 versions) which can both be easily configured for any drive. Both Supra and ICD software already know the parameters to a lot of different drives so all you have to do to configure for your drive is click on the make and model number (if your drive is listed). Otherwise there is a .DAT file you will have to edit and add a line for your drive (not difficult to do). You should also be careful to get a drive which does not use more than 2 Amps of current on the 12 volts. Some half height 5 1/4 drives will be okay, most 3 1/2 drives will be fine, most full height 5 1/4 drives will draw too much current and are likely to ruin the power supply inside the SH204. Actually you can use a SCSI drive but a SCSI drive must be connected directly to the host adapter board (the smaller of the two boards) inside the SH204 instead of being connected to the controller board like your current drive is. Replacing the existing drive is just a matter of pulling out the old one and plugging in the new one, and then configuring the formatting software to be able to configure your drive. Adding a second drive is a little more work but not difficult. The second (non-SCSI) drive needs to be connected to a second power supply. There are two cables to connect between the second drive and the controller. The controller has a "spare" connector for the smaller of the two cables but for the larger cable you will have to "tap into" the existing cable (clamp a new connector onto the middle of the cable, a small vice works good for this if you are careful). --- Ray Wallace (INTERNET,UUCP) wallace@oldtmr.enet.dec.com (UUCP) ...!decwrl!oldtmr.enet!wallace (INTERNET) wallace%oldtmr.enet@decwrl.dec.com ---
jheddy@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Jared Brennan) (11/17/89)
The SH204 case will hold a 5.25" half-height hard drive, a type which is readily available from any manufacturer that makes hard drives. The drive must support MFM encoding and the ST512 interface. You can use a 3.5" hard drive in the SH204, but you must use brackets to expand the form-factor to that of a 5.25" drive; my SH204 had a Tandon TM263 3.5" drive mechanism, which was in a framework that fitted the drive into the 5.25" slot provided. Also, check the power supply in your SH204; I found a 40W supply in mine, which seems to be sufficient to power a Seagate ST251-1, the Adaptec 4000A SCSI controller, and ASCI-SCSI adapter. Anything below that wattage is not guaranteed to do the same . . . -- Jared Brennan <jheddy@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu> BITNET: JHEDDY@JHUNIX,JHUVMS ARPA: jheddy%jhunix@hopkins.ARPA UUCP: allegra!hopkins!jhunix!jheddy "How many pins could one stick in the head of an angel?" -- Jared Brennan <jheddy@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu> BITNET: JHEDDY@JHUNIX,JHUVMS ARPA: jheddy%jhunix@hopkins.ARPA UUCP: allegra!hopkins!jhunix!jheddy "How many pins could one stick in the head of an angel?"
tomas@m2cs.uu.no (Tomas Felner) (11/18/89)
jheddy@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Jared Brennan) writes: > The SH204 case will hold a 5.25" half-height hard drive, a type which >is readily available from any manufacturer that makes hard drives. The >drive must support MFM encoding and the ST512 interface. You can use >a 3.5" hard drive in the SH204, but you must use brackets to expand the >form-factor to that of a 5.25" drive; my SH204 had a Tandon TM263 3.5" >drive mechanism, which was in a framework that fitted the drive into >the 5.25" slot provided. Also, check the power supply in your SH204; >I found a 40W supply in mine, which seems to be sufficient to power a >Seagate ST251-1, the Adaptec 4000A SCSI controller, and ASCI-SCSI adapter. >Anything below that wattage is not guaranteed to do the same . . . I upgraded my SH204 to 100MB more than a year ago. I replaced the Adaptec 4000A controller by a 4070 RLL controller, removed the Tandon TM262 20MB MFM disk (and sold it), and put in two Seagate ST157R 50MB RLL disks. This all fits just about into the SH204 case. And I didn't encounter any problems with this setup or the power supply so far. The only problem I had were quite some bad blocks on one of the disks, but that's a whole different story ... Tomas -- Tomas Felner Modula-2 CASE Systems AS | Internet: tomas@m2cs.uu.no Maridalsveien 139 | Phone: +47 2 379784 N-0461 Oslo 4, Norway | FAX: +47 2 356448