#: 4884 S10/Tandy CoCo
    05-Jul-90  01:15:42
Sb: #SCSI drives
Fm: Bob van der Poel 76510,2203
To: all

I've been paging through the Computer Shopper checking out prices of hard
drives and it's getting me pretty confused. Of course, the fact that all the
advertisers there understand are MS-DOS machines doesn't help. And I dread the
day I call one of them and tell them what my machine is (it will be an MM/1).

Anyway, here are the questions:

1. When they talk about a SCSI drive, does this mean that a controller is
included? Or just that the drive will work with a SCSI controller? For example,
one ad lists a ST-125N-1 Seagate drive. Then it has a price for "alone", "8bit
XT Kit" and "16Bit AT Kit". The difference between the "alone" and "kit" prices
is about $30.00. So what is in the kit? Perhaps a MS-DOS type host adaptor?

2. I see SCSI controller cards (eg Seagate ST02) for XT/AT systems. Will these
work on something like the MM/1. Will I need a special SCSI drive to use one?

3. If I get a drive with a builtin controller would I be able to add SCSI
devices to my system later? How? Add to the host in the computer, or chain of
the existing drive?

4. I read some messages the other day about 512 byte and 256 byte sectors on
SCSI drives. Is this not something that is adjustable when the things are
formatted? Or does it depend on the drive?

This all seems to be quite complex to a software guy like me. Perhaps someone
in the know can do a brief primer on the subject and post it...

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