8 Jul
2009
8 Jul
'09
11:33 a.m.
On Wed, 8 Jul 2009, Chuck Guzis wrote:
10x512 sector Cromemco diskettes are perhaps the worst
in this
regard; indeed many can't be read without "tweaking" even on
controllers equipped with the 8272A/765AC parts.
I found LOTS of variation in Cromemco diskettes from different machines.
Since I didn't have the machines, I wasn't able to do much checking.
But, some of the Cromemco diskettes were the worst that I've seen.
As far as the head ID being the cause for the
statement, I don't
think that was the issue. There are other formats that involve non-
standard head ID fields (e.g. Xerox 16-8 and 820) that woiuld have
tripped Media Master up but IIRC didn't.
Since one had to lay out the whole track to be formatted on the
WD179x chips, it was a shortcut to use the same layout for both sides
of a diskette and so was quite common.
The fact that MM mentioned DSDD Kaypro and DSDD Zorba, but did NOT mention
SSDD Kaypro, nor even Cromemco, prompts me to disagree.
BUT, . . .
We are opining over a fact, speculating about somebody else's actions.
Why isn't the author HERE? Anybody in touch?
IIRC, his name was something like Mark? Graybill??
BTW, I was lucky. My first 5150 (~November 1981 - ~January 1982)
read single sided Kaypro with very little difficulty. My B: drive was
an old beat up Tandon, running at 300.5 RPM. It was the first
format that I succeeded at on the PC. (First alien format on TRS80 was
Osborne SSSD)
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com