Re: S6 or S5,d1-??

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

pilgrimer@my-deja.com writes ...
> 
> One mod I would LOVE to see to ProDOS would be to increase the number
> of drives allowed. I have one //e that at one time I had a LOT of
> drives on...so many that the last few were beyond the pale.   Instead
> of the standard 2 drives per slot, I think it would not be too
> difficult to somehow access say 8(?) drives per slot.  If I can bank
> switch 64k packets to a stack of memory almost to the moon, why can't I
> do similar with drives?
 ....

     A2 diskette drive cabling and interface hardware supports two of any
identifiable drive type per standard daisy chain interface. You can not chain
more than two 5.25" drives because the Select lines for additional 5.25"
drives do no exist.

     A few hardware workarounds would allow using more drives. For example, a
single disk interface card could offer several drive ports, each with a
connector for a chain of drives.

     Mods to DOS 3.3 and ProDOS would allow taking advantage of the extra
drives available via the special interface. Since the card would be located
in some Slot, access would still involve selecting that Slot and specifying a
drive-- such as Slot 6, Drive 7.



Rubywand