ewen@actrix.gen.nz (Ewen McNeill) (06/09/91)
I have been told that at one stage in computing history (probably not _that_ long ago...), there existed one or more interface boards that would connect to SCSI on one side, and an MFM drive on the other. And thus one could have a "SCSI" drive, without needing to buy another drive. I am not sure if these boards are still made. However, I am looking for one of them for something I am building. I am quite prepared to accept a second hand board, so long as it is in working condition. A similar board, doing SASI <-> MFM might be suitable instead. Any pointers/contacts/etc appreciated. Email, to the address below, or posts in this group will be welcomed. If anyone else can think of any other UseNet groups to ask, I would be interested. -- Ewen McNeill, ewen@actrix.gen.nz
thad@public.BTR.COM (Thaddeus P. Floryan) (06/09/91)
In article <1991Jun09.025659.5795@actrix.gen.nz> ewen@actrix.gen.nz (Ewen McNeill) writes: >I have been told that at one stage in computing history (probably not >_that_ long ago...), there existed one or more interface boards that >would connect to SCSI on one side, and an MFM drive on the other. And >thus one could have a "SCSI" drive, without needing to buy another >drive. > >I am not sure if these boards are still made. However, I am looking for >one of them for something I am building. I am quite prepared to accept >a second hand board, so long as it is in working condition. A similar >board, doing SASI <-> MFM might be suitable instead. >[...] Adaptec, OMTI, et al, mfd such boards. My own experiences center around the Adaptec 4000A (MFM) and 4070 (2,7 RLL) cards which have served me well for interfacing (for example) Maxtor XT2140, XT1140, XT2190, etc. drives to SCSI busses on several computers. Just today (Saturday) at the Silicon Valley Electronics Sidewalk Fleamarket I saw hundreds of the 4000 cards in Weird Stuff Warehouse's booth. If you want to contact them: Weird Stuff Warehouse / Surplus Solutions 1190 Kern Avenue Sunnyvale CA 94086 (408) 746-1100 [ FAX: (408) 746-1111 ] 'Tis was a strange Fleamarket; for example, a pallet (perhaps several hundred) of hard disk drives was going for just $300 (three hundred bucks) for the whole pallet. Sheesh, if I only had a truck. Pickings were almost as good as at the Silicon Valley Dumpster Crawl! :-) [For those who don't know, the "Dumpster Crawl" is an unofficial activity at which the dumpsters of most companies are visited during the wee hours of the morning ... the trick is to NOT get caught and to re-stock one's parts bins with DRAMs, SIMMs, computers, monitors, disk drives, etc. all the billyuns and billyuns of $$$ worth of stuff that is simply thrown out ... even brand new stuff that never went into production systems. And, no, I haven't done that myself ... just read about it in the local newspapers; I need "papers" (sales receipts, etc.) for all the stuff I expense re: taxes).] Thad Floryan [ thad@btr.com (OR) {decwrl, mips, fernwood}!btr!thad ]