HP-1000 HP-IB / GP-IB IEEE-488.2, etc

On 7 Apr 2008 at 16:48, Tim Riker wrote: No, these drives used the MAC command set. There were effectively three different interface systems employed by the 79xx series of drives. The 7905/06/20/25 drive systems debuted the MAC (Multi-Access Controller) command set. This used a 13037 controller box, one to eight drives, and one to eight CPU interfaces. There were master and slave versions of each drive (e.g., 7925M, 7925S, etc.) -- the essential difference being that a master drive came with the 13037 controller and the slave did not; the drives otherwise were identical. Interface to the HP 1000 was via the 13175 card for the first computer and 13178 card for the rest (the only differences were cabling and termination resistors on the 13175 card). Later, an HP-IB option was added via the 12745 card. This card was inserted in the 13037 box and provided an HP-IB connector at the rear of the chassis. Connection to the HP 1000 was via the 12821 disc interface card, rather than the 13175 card. With the HP-IB option, the multi-CPU capability was lost, although up to eight drives could still be connected to the single CPU. The MAC command set was retained, although it was now transferred via HP-IB. Note that the addition of the 12745A card did not change the command set to CS/80. Finally, to provide lower-cost installations, the "H" series of ICD (Integrated Controller Disc) products was introduced (e.g., 7925H). These dispensed with the 13037 controller box and added a controller card within the drive itself, presenting an HP-IB connector on the rear of the drive chassis. Up to four such drives could be connected together, and they used the same 12821 interface for connection to a single HP 1000. The MAC command set was still employed, although three of the commands dealing with multiple CPUs and error correction (the 13037 provided ECC; the ICD controllers did not) were deleted. That's the Device Controller PCA number, one of three cards within the 13037 chassis (or four, if the 12745 HP-IB option were added). I don't recognize that number at all, although 02640-xxxx should be a 264x terminal part number. The 13037+12745 controller appeared as a single HP-IB device; the attached drives were addressed via the "U" (unit number) field of the appropriate MAC commands. Each ICD controller had its own HP-IB address; the unit number fields with the commands were not used. References: 13037-90006 13037 Disc Controller Installation and Service Manual 13037-90015 13175/13178 Disc Controller Interface Kits Installation and Service Manual 12745-90901 12745A Disc Controller (13037) to HP-IB Adapter Kit Installation and Service Manual 13365-90901 13365 Integrated Controller Programming Guide -- Dave