So is there
anything else the DQ606 can do, besides act as a DU floppy
controller?
I don't think so. Other higher-number DQ6n6 controllers run
ST-506-type MFM drives.
Don't think there is much chance of that, as I don't see anywhere the
necessary cables could be attached.
Does it have
any boot ROMs of its own?
Could be, but it'd probably be deactivated for most purposes. What
sort of switches/jumpers/jacks are on the DQ606? If it has a 10-pin
jack, very likely you can plug a terminal in to the DQ606 and
configure it from there. (This is how you configure later Dilog
controllers, but I think the DQ606 might be too old.)
It has the 10-pin jack at the very front of the card, I rather assumed that
was what that connecter is. I'd not tried it out since I didn't want to
mess anything up by not having any idea about what I was doing.
The card has a very odd looking mod done to it, there is a dual DIP switch,
with the very thin wire used to patch cards leading from it going to one or
more of the chips on the board, in a couple spots where it would connect to
the chip that particular pin has been removed from the chip.
It has JP1, JP2, and JP3 jupbers. In about the middle of the card are what
could be more jumpers or a connecter for a ribbon cable, I'm pretty sure
it's for a cable despite being at the wrong angle. It's a 20-pin
connector, and is at the wrong angle for this type of board, as the cable
would probably interfere with the board next to it. I think it's a cable
connector because the other two are labeled J1 and J3, this one is J2.
There is a what looks to be a ROM, with a handwritten lable:
MQ606/DQ606/DQ616
Rev G5
10-FEB-90
359FB4
I can't be sure about the MQ606 as the letter part is fairly badly scuffed
off. One thing I found interesting is the presense of a Z80 processor on
the board. I guess if nothing else that is to provide the processing power
used when configureing the card, does it do anything else?
Whoa, I just realized I've got the MQ606 manual, I got it off of the RSX
BBS Web Site. I've now taken a look at it. Way cool, sounds like I've
answered the question of what was booting the system this card had been in,
since it's the ROM for both a MQ606 and DQ606 (the MQ added the HD
controller abilities).
It looks like it not only has a boot ROM onboard, but that it also supports
a FAR wider variety of devices that the Boot ROMs in the SMS-1000!
Including, the RL02 drives that I've got.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| For Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| see
http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
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