[Coco] Hello and a few questions

[Gene Heskett]

On Friday 18 December 2009, Louis Ciotti wrote:
>> Generally speaking they will all work under nitros9/os9.  The drives are,
>> again generally speaking, all IBM compatible.  For full control of a
>> multidrive setup, you will need to replace the drives connectors on the
>> cable with versions that have a full complement of contacts, replacing
>> those on the stock cable that have missing contacts, or were using the
>> twisted cable method of accessing the 2nd drive as all drives were then
>> programmed to be drive 1's back then, but were jumper correctable, or
>> even with modern 3.5"drives, could be sold bridged to be drive zero.  The
>> most recent 3.5" I bought, I have not been able to grok to change that so
>> its currently in use as drive 1.
>
>My main reason for wanting to get an IBM type drive is to read my old
>COCO floppies directly on my COCO2.  And since I cannot currently
>locate a COCO Floppy, I figured if someone had gotten an IBM drive
>working on a COCO I could do this.  All of my floppies were used under
>Disk Extended Color Basic.
>
Then set the 'DS' jumpers on the drive to be drive 1 and put it on the end of 
the cable.  It should be drive 0 after the cable twist.  Make sure the 
terminator resistor pack is installed also.

>>>I am considering building up a Controller card using some schematics I
>>>found of a controller card dated 7-19-1983,
>>
>> 26-number please?
>
>In the title Block all it says is Project 523.  It does not use 12
>volts, and it hand written under the date is Color Computer II Disk
>Controller.  I would assume it is the FD-501.  It has the 1793 Floppy
>controller chip.

That does sounds like a 501.  Do you have a 1793 chip?  That might be the one 
part made out of pure unobtainium. I still think I would see if your pc can 
be coaxed into reading the disks and copying them into a drivewire accessible 
image.  Least hardware theory and all that.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
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