DSD-440 software

[Doc Shipley]

Vintage Computer Festival wrote:

> On Mon, 20 Jun 2005, Doc Shipley wrote:
> 
> 
>>   It is a really slick system.  The built-in diags and format utilities
>>are very nice, but for mass formats something that runs in the OS would
>>suit me better.  You have to power cycle the disk drawer for each floppy
>>you format, which is probably OK but it gives me the heebie-jeebies.  :)
> 
> 
> The RXV21 clone controller I have in my primary 11/23+ system (an MXV21
> made by MDA) allows simple formatting by poking a couple values into the
> right registers.  It works great.  A few minutes of coding would result in
> a SAV program that does it for you with prompts.

   Uhh, I have a couple of Qbus cards by MDA that I've never identified. 
  Got pics?

> Speaking of which: off-hand, how would one create a binary program under
> RT11 and then save it?

   I'm a complete RT11 noob, so you're asking the wrong guy.

>>   Another thing that caught me short is that the DSD-440 honors the
>>write-protect notch.  The RX02 doesn't (or my RX02s have been modified),
>>so it was a little surprising when I got a write-protect error on a
>>scratch disk I've been using on my 11/84.
> 
> 
> Your RX02s are broken!

   I suspected thay'd been "fixed", but I don't think it's a 
malfunction.  All three sets came from the same company and all three 
write to disks with the notch open.


	Doc