[net.unix-wizards] RX02 formatter wanted

dfh (07/21/82)

Recently I received 20 *totally blank* floppies for our RX02 drive.
These did not have the RX02 format already on them.  Does anyone have
a RX02 formatter that runs under UNIX ?

					Thanks in advance,
					David Hinnant
					N.C. Educational Computing Service
					(919) 549-0671
					ucbvax!decvax!duke!dfh

dan (07/21/82)

References: duke.2343

I know of two companies that sell RX02 formatters: "Data Systems Design"
and "Scientific Micro Systems".  They cost about $4,000.  The DSD hardware
has a standalone microprogram for formatting diskettes.  This provides
a formatting facility without changing the floppy driver.  The SMS hardware
has an "extended mode" (i.e. DEC incompatible) command for formatting.

The DEC RX02 cannot format *totally blank* diskettes.  What it can do is
flip a bit in existing single density sector headers to indicate the data
segment is double density.

P.S.  My site recently got one of the SMS machines.  We run it off our
VAX unibus adaptor and are very pleased with its performance.  Does
anyone else out there have one of these on a UNIX system?