idea for a universal disk interface

[Fred Cisin]

>> On Wed, 13 Apr 2022, shadoooo via cctech wrote:
>>> The main board should include a large enough array of bidirectional transceivers, possibly with variable voltage, to support as much interfaces as possible, namely at least Shugart floppy, ST506 MFM/RLL, ESDI, SMD, IDE, SCSI1, DEC DSSI, DEC RX01/02, DG6030, and so on, to give a starting point.

>> On Apr 13, 2022, at 5:27 PM, Fred Cisin via cctech <cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote:
>> Hmmm. rather than re-inventing the wheel, as we usually do, . . .
>> . . . 
>> It says "IBM", "5160" on the back panel label, although there were 
>> plenty of generic second sources.
>> The updated "5170" version of it could be more easily set up even for USB.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2022, Paul Koning wrote:
> :-) But the main goal that was mentioned is device emulation, which 
> existing products generally don't do.  I see the idea as a generalized 
> form of David Gesswein's MFM emulator, which is primarily a device 
> emulator but is also capable of reading and writing devices to capture 
> everything that's on them.
>
> The puzzle is how to make it do, say, 2311 emulation suitable to talk to 
> an IBM/360, 1311 emulation for the decimal IBM 1620, or 844 emulation 
> for a CDC 6600 -- to mention just a few of the more exotic cases.

You are absolutely right.
I apologize for my error.

My mindset is/was still stuck in the disk format conversion realm, of 
trying to get information (hopefully information in the form of files, not 
just data as track images) from alien media.
And, more often than not, unidirectionally.

I wasn't even thinking about the hardware emulation aspect, which is, in 
itself, fascinating.

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred     		cisin at xenosoft.com