2 Oct
2006
2 Oct
'06
7:21 a.m.
From: Josh Dersch <derschjo at msu.edu>
I just acquired a TRS-80 Model 16. It came with an external hard drive;
model 25-1025, labeled as a "Tandy 10 Meg Disk System". It's a
considerably smaller unit than the usual TRS-80 hard drives I've seen -- it
looks like it would normally hold a half-height 5.25" MFM drive.
Unfortunately, the drive enclosure is empty.
I'm not well-versed in the area of TRS-80 drives, so I have a few
questions:
- Is this drive actually compatible with a Model 16? The limited info I've
found seems to hint that this was for a Tandy 2000 or 1000 system.
Hi
I don't think it is compatable without a controller. The 50 pin connector
is just a bus connector and has no controller. The older drive boxes, you
recall as being bigger, are bigger because they contain the controller.
The 20/34 pin connector assumes that it came from a controller
in the main CPU box.
I've seen a few of the older boxes show up on ebay. They use a circuit
similar to a WD1000 as mentioned by another. The firmware seems to be
identical. I've been using one of these controllers to run a ST251 and
it even seems to handle the auto stepping.
The tandy box had a few connections to the drive to run the lights
on the front pannel but I'm not using those.
If you can find a WD1000 controller or a older 10Meg drive box, it
would most likely work. You do need to match the number of cyclinders
and heads with what that software expects if you use a different
drive. I don't recall what the original drive had.
If the controller is bad, they are relatively easy to trouble shoot but
if one of the WD100X chips is bad, they are hard to find but available
for a price from obsolete part dealer.
In any case, you'll need either an original drive box or a controller board.
Dwight
- If it is compatible, what kind of drive goes in the
enclosure, and where
can I find the proper cable to connect it to the Model 16? (The enclosure
has a 20 pin "Data" and a 34-pin "Control" connector on it, looks like
a
standard ST-506 configuration, while the Model 16 has a single 50-pin
connector.)
- If the drive isn't compatible, anyone have a compatible one for
sale/trade? :)
I'd like to try to get Xenix running, I have the installation floppies --
just need something to install it to. I actually work with a guy who
ported the Xenix kernel to the Model 16 back in the day, I thought he'd get
a kick out of seeing a running system again...
Thanks,
Josh