> From: Guy Sotomayor
> I'm using FRAM. They have unlimited write cycles
Although I hear the latest flash have very, very large numbers of write
cycles. But if you can get large enough FRAMs, yeah, they seem like a better
alternative.
> I didn't want to have any sort of removable media as that bring its own
> sets of challenges.
Oh well, back to loading all the bits in over a serial line (although I
suppose if one has some other removable media drive, e.g. a RX02, one could
get the bits in that way).
>> (Or perhaps even a front-end running on a PC which is connected to
>> the MEM11 over the serial line.)
> That was my original thought (command front end) but that would mean
> writing/supporting a bunch of different programs for different
> OS/platforms
Well, probably only at most two (Windoze and Linux), and maybe only one (since
there are Windows emulation packages for Linux). Although if one stuck to a
line-oriented interface, something like CygWin would allow one to have only
one version.
> and I want the MEM11 to pretty much stand on its own
Oh, I agree that that's a worthy goal - the front-end would only be to make it
'user-friendly', instead of cryptic and terse.
> the realistic limit will be on the Unibus interface ICs. I have (at
> last inventory) enough for ~25 boards. After that I'll have to see if I
> can either source additional parts or re-design that part of the board
> to use something else.
Yes, that _is_ a problem...
Noel
How can one not be impressed by L. Nimoy's portrayal of Mr. Spock?
His character was logical, almost computer-like, but was far more a
portrait of humanity than most care to admit to. Ancient/classic
computing was a hall-mark of Star Trek and Spock personified that
relationship.
Murray :)
On 02/27/2015 06:17 AM, John Foust wrote:
> At 06:45 PM 2/26/2015, you wrote:
> You're not concerned about the tolerance and re-centering issues?
> You think the cookie will fit back on the hub precisely enough
> that it'll be aligned with where tracks were before?
Not so much. A 3.5" floppy is recorded at 135 tpi, where an
80-cylinder 5.25" floppy at 96 tpi. On 5.25" Drivetec floppies, the
cylinder density is double that--192 tpi.
Now consider the hub-clamp mechanism of a 5.25" drive. I suspect that
with a bit of care, one can probably get things right most of the time.
--Chuck
I am delighted to report that after a long time, and with help from all
over the world, I have finally got my MV/2500DC up-and-running.
Some details are on my blog
http://www.stephenmerrony.co.uk/dg/2015/02/Disk-Replacement-Success.html
Now I am resurrecting my DG Assembler skills to bootstrap a file
transfer program onto the machine...
Thanks to everyone who has helped.
Steve
--
/Stephen Merrony
http://www.stephenmerrony.co.uk//dg
