The Sinclair QL had some type of Stringy Floppy build in to the machine Sipke de Wal ------------------------------------------- http://xgistor.ath.cx ------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene Buckle" <geneb(a)deltasoft.com> To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 8:33 PM Subject: Re: A&J Stringy Floppy

Ethan wrote: The Structured Design SD20 PAL programmer, if memory serves. There's a photo at: http://www.iser.uni-erlangen.de:8980/iser/servlet/Anzeigen45?inventarnummer… There's almost no other information about Structured Design or their products online. IIRC, Structured Design was founded by John Birkner, one of the inventors of the PAL at Monolithic Memories (MMI). Andrew Chan was the coinventor. Birkner coauthored PALASM, I'm not sure if the other coauthor was Chan or someone else, and I also don't know whether Chan was involved in SD. Later Birkner, Chan, and one other person founded QuickLogic, an FPGA company, and it appears that they are still there. MMI was eventually acquired by AMD, the AMD spun off their combined programmable logic business as Vantis, which was acquired by Lattice Semiconductor. Back in 1985 Rich Ottosen and I borrowed one of those to program two PALs for our 68020/68881 coprocessor card for the Apple II: http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/retrocomputing/apple/apple2/68020/ Like you, we just downloaded the PALASM file to it rather than using its built-in editor and saving the files to tape. In recent years I've picked up a few surplus SD20s. I didn't get any documentation or tapes, though. Last summer someone gave me one Exatron tape to try. I'd like to get more if anyone is selling them. Unforutnately the SD20 can only program the first generation bipolar PALs from MMI. Some other vendors' bipolar PALs work and others don't; I don't have any info on which. The SD20 definitely can NOT program PALCE or GAL parts, so it's not too useful nowdays. Eric

Ethan wrote: I didn't look closely enough. You're right, mine has just a few pushbuttons as well. Eric

I bet Exatron just OEM the drive of other applications. As far as I know Exatron built drives for the TRS-80 market. -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Gene Buckle Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 2:34 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: Re: A&J Stringy Floppy I thought Exatron was the only company to make those... Interesting. g.

--- Stan Barr <stanb(a)dial.pipex.com> wrote: I remember that they had a version for the PET (ads in Byte and/or Creative Computing, IIRC) and I seriously considered getting one PET floppy drives (2040 and 4040, at this point in time) were *outrageously* expensive (more than the computer by a *lot*). Fortunately (?) for me, I didn't even have enough money in high school for even a Stringy Floppy. My first floppy drive was a 1540 that belonged to my first employer (I got to take the machine home to code on it, C-64 S/N 00002008) I still have "Disk 1" down in the basement - saw it just last night. Eventually, I did get a 2040 (with upgrades making it a 4040 except for the sticker), but that was so much later that it was $10. The first Stringy Floppy drive I saw up close was the one in the device programmer. I don't think it ever ran a single tape. I disassembled the programmer a few years ago - the drive is completely integral with the case... it doesn't mount _in_ the case, the boards and mechanicals mount _to_ the case. One would have to build an armature to consider a transplant, and even then, it would lack any sort of controller... I had thought to use it elsewhere (since my need to blast bipolar PALs is nearly nil), but no dice. -ethan