[Coco] Using a CoCo disk drive with a BBC computer

[Bob Devries]

The Coco (and the BBC) are hard coded for a certain number of sides, tracks, 
sectors and bytes per sector. For the Coco that is 1/35/18/256. It is not 
possible (without a MAJOR rewrite of the Disk Basic ROM) to make the second 
side into an extension of the first, such as is done on PC disks. The BBC 
uses single density, and 40 tracks, 10 sectors per track, 256 bytes per 
sector.

Some versions of the disk system for the BBC can use both sides of a 
double-sided drive as one drive, but I'm not sure about file size 
limitations.

--
Regards, Bob Devries, Dalby, Queensland, Australia

Isaiah 50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me
the capacity to be his spokesman,
so that I know how to help the weary.

website: http://www.home.gil.com.au/~bdevasl
my blog: http://bdevries.invigorated.org/

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Olson" <dano at agora.rdrop.com>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Using a CoCo disk drive with a BBC computer


>> The BBC uses standard drives either jumpered as DS0 or DS1 (it can only
>> normally have 2 drives, a restriction of the firmware), however the way
>> these are handled is quite clever.
>>
>> side 0 of first drive is drive 0
>> side 0 of second drive is drive 1
>> side 1 of first drive is drive 2
>> side 1 of second drive is drive 3
>
> Very strange, it seems like this would have the disadvantage of limiting
> the max file size and adding more complexity to file management, with no
> real advantage.  Is this a result of the DOS or is it hard coded in a ROM
> somewhere?
>
>  Dan
>
>
> -- 
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco