engst@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Adam C. Engst) (01/14/88)
I finally got my Fujitsu 3.5" floppy drive the other day and hooked it
up. It seems to be completely standard, both in size, mounting holes, and
sensing the write-protect line. In other words, my ST works again! I'm
going to put the Fujitsu in the case with the hard disk system when I get it
to avoid cutting my case open to make room for the Fujitsu's button. Then I
can leave a boot disk in the old drive and use it only to boot from.
I talked to BMS about their boards, and the guy said that their standard
controller doesn't deal with RLL encoding (which increases storage by 50%),
but they do sell another controller which does for an extra $50. They also
have some cases/power supplies which are big, but work fine with their setup
(ie enough room for two drives and the cards). Their cases also cost $50,
which actually is cheaper than any other case/PS combo for a hard disk than
anything I found in the Computer Shopper. Alas there are no good
electronics stores in Ithaca. So for a floppy/hard drive combo the prices
would be:
BMS board set with RLL $300
Seagate ST238 30 meg drive $250
Fujitsu 3.5" floppy $120
Cable from floppy to drive port $30
Case and power supply $50
-----
$750
That's $150 cheaper than Astra's system and this one has a 30 meg hard disk
instead of 20 meg. Not too bad.
By the way, two companies make floppy cables, IB Systems and E. Arthur
Brown. Does anyone have any experience for or against either company? Both
seem to have interesting products, particularly E. Arthur Brown, but no one
has ever mentioned anything about them.
Adam
--
Adam C. Engst engst@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu
pv9y@cornella.bitnet
"If it's not interactive fiction, it's not fun."