> I think it's safe to say that all of us with Qbus VAXen would be
> willing to shell out a few bucks for a decent Qbus-ATA controller.

I think so. :-)  Especially since it's a dead cinch that a driver will
exist almost instantly, since essentially ideal programmer docs are
available (ie, the designer on tap :-)!

> Of course, it would be nice if it were MSCP and/or bootable, but even
> without that, [...].

Well, yes.  MSCP and DMA would be serious plusses.  But even without
any of that, it'd still be very worth having.

> And with carefull designing, etching, and cutting, any old piece of
> clad should be able to have Q-bus fingers etched into it, right?

That was my reaction too to the remark about Q-bus boards being
unavailable.  Perhaps for the initial design a real board etch called
for too much resource investment?

> So the question is: Who among us will pledge lives, fortunes, and
> sacred honors to see this come about?

I wouldn't go that high, not even if it does MSCP *and* DMA. :-)  Well,
maybe "fortune", for small values of "fortune".

> In other words, fill out below to help friend Chuck determine how
> much water the well holds:

> I would order __ QBus-ATA Controllers for $___ each, provided a NetBSD driver is
> available.
> I would order __ QBus-ATA Controllers for $___ each, if DMA were supported.
> I would order __ QBus-ATA Controllers for $___ each, if they were bootable (PIO
> or DMA)

Given programmer docs, I'm prepared to do my own driver if necessary;
that then doesn't affect much to me.

I would be prepared to build a kit, provided it's fully socketed,
doesn't call for surface-mount soldering, and includes all the chips I
can't readily get over-the-counter (eg, Qbus interface chips, if
necessary).

I'd pay CAD $40 for a PCB version of what's described on the webpage
(no DMA, no MSCP, but PCB rather than soldered wirewrap).  Add CAD $5
for real address switches, or jumpers.  DMA and bootable, add CAD $20
each.  (The back-of-the-envelope exchange rate is CAD $3 = USD $2.)
I'd probably buy two.

Other factors, such as kit status, what I need to supply if it's not
everything-needed-supplied, may affect that, but I can't list all the
variables here. :-)

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