Re: Apple <--> PC

[dempson@atlantis.actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

In article <4n6f93$2a@gap.cco.caltech.edu>,
Nathan Mates <nathan@cco.caltech.edu> wrote:
> 
>    I've never seen any Apple II programs capable of reading PC disks,
> the hardware methods are _very_ different (including differing disk
> rotation speeds for at least 2/3 of the tracks), and everyone who's
> tried to do it in software has given up. Some folks would be happy if
> you managed to do so in software, but I'd be damn surprised anyone
> succeeded.

You definitely can't do it with an IWM controller - reading MFM would
require 1 microsecond timing resolution, and it would be necessary to
bypass the IWM's requirement of bit 7 being set.

It might be possible to read and write 720K MFM disks in an Apple 3.5
Drive connected to a SWIM controller chip (e.g. with the SuperDrive
card).  This is basically what the PC Transporter does, but it might
have a special version of the SWIM chip which is able to deal with this.
-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand