Subject: Re: SCSI floppy question
To: John A. Maier <johnam@kemper.org>
From: Todd Whitesel <toddpw@best.com>
List: netbsd-help
Date: 03/16/2000 19:09:17
> Had a guy selling a SCSI floppy on Ebay.  I asked him about the drive and   
> he said it was a 34 pin connector which feeds both power and data signals   
> to the floppy drive.

34 pins does not sound right. SCSI connectors typically have 25, 50, or
(for the newer high-performance stuff) 68 pins.

34 pins sounds more like a printer's parallel port.

Ask him how it lets you select the SCSI ID, and also if it lets you select
optional SCSI termination. If he can't give a coherent answer to those,
then either he's clueless or it ain't SCSI.

I have a SCSI floppy here that came with my SparcBook; it uses a slightly
weird 50-pin connector but it is clearly derived from the standard Sun one.
ID and termination is selected by DIP switches on the back.

(Not all drives provide termination options, but most do, and it is sometimes
a factor in your buying decision because you may have to buy an external
terminator to go with it if the drive does not handle that itself.)

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ best.com