On 1/23/2016 8:58 PM, Eric Christopherson wrote:
On Sat, Jan 23, 2016, Jim Brain wrote:
On 1/23/2016 7:15 PM, drlegendre . wrote:
" I am saying don't make a permanent hardware change to a 1541 that
does not have the switches unless you really want it to be permanent
because there is a software method of assigning drives that is good enough
most of the time. BUT if you must make it permanent and you don't have the
external switches, consider adding some form of external switch so you
don't ever have to open the case again to put it back to the default."
Well then, we're having a major agreement. ;-)
The device ID switch is the ultimate fix for Commodore drives, and I'm
really not sure why CBM didn't incorporate one into the design - at least
>from the 1540 on upwards. Can't have cost much to add a discretely located
access hole (or a knock-out) in the case, along with a 2-place DIP switch
for controlling device ID.
But, they did. The 1541-II, 71, and the 81 have switches.
I would disagree on your point that Commodore should have made it part of
the design...
Let's travel back in time.
After the PET intro, Peddle designs a drive, a beast of a device, with 2
CPUs and it costs a fortune. Peddle is convinced a smart drive is best, and
the delay allows other manufactures to create "dumb" drive options (saw one
at World of Commodore, forgot the name).
How did these dumb drives interface with the computer at a software
level? I'd think a DOS would need to be loaded somehow.
The one I saw at the WoC was a 8" drive connected to a PSU and the cable
attached to a small PCB that replaced the editor ROM in the PET. THe
PCB mapped a controller into the address space and the editor ROM was
patched to support a DOS.
It was an interesting setup. Mike N (of 6502.org) had the unit. Steve
Gray on here was there too and could provide more details.
Jim
--
Jim Brain
br...@jbrain.com
www.jbrain.com
