16 Dec
2009
16 Dec
'09
11:59 a.m.
Anyone have any information for this early QIC drive? Model DCD3-
30/90. The controller board is pretty simple--just some 7400 series
TTL, made by Solid State Systems. The most complex IC is an AM27S21
1Kbit bipolar PROM. There's a 220/330 terminator pack near the 50
position header, if that's any help.
Is this a QIC-36 interface drive (50 pin header on the controller
board)?
If byu 'controller board' you mean the thign that plugs into the host
computer (such as into an ISA slot), then I would think it's more likely
to be QIC-02. That's also a 50 pin interface, but is a 'formatted'
interface and needs very little logic on the host side. All the
trasnlation between 8-=bit bytes and the data stream to the head is
carried out in the drive. The drive is probably wuite complicated with at
least one microcontorller and some buffer RAM to handle this data conversion.
Originally (I am thinking back to the Archive Sidewinder here, a QIC-11
format drive in an 8" floppy form factor), the basic drive had a QIC-36
interface, there was then a controller (2 stacked boards that connected
ot this and had a QIC02 interface back to the host. I've seen a later
drive (5.25" form factoer) that did much the same thing
-tony