Re: Using a PC to write IIGs-readable files

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:

>     If you are talking about writing files to a diskette which you can pop
>into a IIgs equipped with standard Apple II drives, then, no. There is no
>purely software way of doing that.
>
>     There are a few ways which use special hardware. For example, you can
>write to a SCSI Zip disk and use Peter Watson's MUG utility to read the Zip
>disk on a IIgs equipped with a SCSI Zip drive. Or, you can install a Trackstar
>E board in your PC, connect a standard Apple II 5.25" drive, and R/W 5.25"
>Apple II diskettes on the PC.

Believe it or not, the standard 800k IIGS drives CAN read and
write 720k DS/DD MS-DOS disks!  However, the built in
IIGS controller with the IWM chip can't do it.  To do so
requires a PC Transporter, which has a SWIM chip.  I know
this because I used to use a PC Transporter myself.  Connect
the standard Apple IIGS 3.5 drive (NOT UniDisk 3.5) to the
PC Transporter's drive port, boot the PCT and when you see
the MS-DOS command line, you can use standard MS-DOS
commands to copy files onto and off off 720k MS-DOS disks.

I think the PC Transporter was a bit more common than the
Trackstar.  They are like reverse twins of each other.  ;-)