In message <E189x9i-0000CT-00@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
          Ben Harris <bjh21@netbsd.org> wrote:

> In article <d0f6dc914b.peter@riscpc01.reading.fourcom.com> you write:
> >In message <1d35d5914b.eddonnelly@freeuk.com>
> >          Ed Donnelly <eddonnelly@freeuk.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I'm thinking of trying to install NetBSD on my SA RPC (emphasis on
> >> trying).
> >
> >Yes, it looks quite daunting, doesn't it.  I'm not very far down the
> >road, but I have been making progress - it's much easier with the 1.6
> >release, but can still be a steep learning experience.
> 
> Yeah, sorry about that.  We have some plans to make it a bit less scary, but
> it's going to take a while.

oh, it's not that bad - learning is fun!

 [Snip]

> I've got the documentation for the Blitz, so if there's demand I'll have a
> bash at adding support for it when I'm next poking around in icside.c. 
> 32-bit mode is likely to be a bit of a pain, but 16-bit mode (both PIO and
> DMA) is pretty similar to ARCIN v6.

That would be good!  Consider this to be part of the demand!

What makes 32-bit more difficult, just that it differs from the
existing 16-bit mode, or is there some inherent problem?  Do any of
the SCSI card drivers use 32-bit mode?

> The major problem is likely to be that the podulebus code doesn't
> currently support podules whose ROM is in EASI space, which Blitz's is.
> This means that a current kernel simply won't see the Blitz at all.

Yep, I can confirm this - the Blitz is identified as an ICS IDE, so
the manufacturer and podule ids must be the same as the ARCIN V6.
However, the identification string doesn't get displayed - presumably
because it is in EASI space.

However, having run with both the Blitz and ARCIN cards installed
seems to have created a problem :(
RO still works with the ARCIN, but BSD now panics, even when there is
no drive attached (Yes, I have removed the Blitz!). Grrrrrr.
I've tried a delete-power on, checked *Status, *Unplug's etc, but I
can't see any obvious reason for the ARCIN to have stopped working.

-- 
Peter Bell - peter@bellfamily.org.uk