RAMFast and Adaptec ACB SCSI controllers?

[jdb8042@blkbox.COM (John D. Baker)]

Just out of curiousity, I tried hooking one of my Adaptec ACB
4010 (MFM) and 4070 (RLL) SCSI hard disk controllers to my
RamFAST/SCSI card (Rev. C, v3.01b EPROM).

Depspite letting the Adaptec board and hard disk (IMI 5018H)
power up well in advance of powering up my Apple //e and
RAMFast card, the RF claims that it is a "SIDER SASI TAPE DRIVE".

I've seen this before, when I tried working with an old Xebec
4000 10MB SASI hard disk (aka OWL or Franklin X-10), so I didn't
think much of it.

I went ahead and tried to format it (as a tape drive and as a
Sider D4).  Each time, the Adaptec card would flash its activity
light as "dim-bright-off" about 10 times and then the RamFAST
would report:

     RamFAST MLI Error
              Command 03-04 80 00 00 80 01 00 00 00
                Error 27

I think I recognize the first line as the Smartport FORMAT command
code followed by a SCSI/SASI DCB for sending the FORMAT DISK
command.  Why is is sending a LUN of 4?  Why an interleave
of 0 and why bother setting the upper nybble to 8?

No wonder it can't format.  It's being sent a bad LUN.

I'm told that the Adaptec ACB 5500 (4-drive SCSI RLL controller)
works great with the RamFAST.  Has anyone ever used a 4000-series
Adaptec board with the RamFAST/SCSI?  A 5500?

I would really appreciate a modified version of the RAMFAST.SYSTEM
utility program that would let me specify my own disk parameters
rather than having to choose from that limited list of hard disks,
none of which I have.

Thanks for the help.  (I should note that my Adaptec boards work
just fine on my Amiga 500/SupraDrive 500XP.)


John D. Baker ->A TransWarp'802'd Apple //e CardZ180 Z-System nut //
Internet:  jdb8042@tamsun.tamu.edu, @blkbox.com, jdbaker@taronga.com
BBS:  JOHN BAKER on PIC of the Mid-Town [(713) 961-5817] 1:106/31,
Z-Node #45 [(713) 937-8886], The Vector Board [(716) 544-1863]