Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1a 12/4/83; site rlgvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!rlgvax!geller From: geller@rlgvax.UUCP (David Geller) Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: TEAC drives (AGAIN!!!) Message-ID: <1790@rlgvax.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Mar-84 01:07:26 EST Article-I.D.: rlgvax.1790 Posted: Fri Mar 9 01:07:26 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Mar-84 09:52:09 EST Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA Lines: 57 Remember me? I used to post articles praising TEAC 1/2 height disk drives for use with IBM Personal Computers to net.micro.pc. Well, I'm happy to report that my TEAC 1/2 heights are STILL working perfectly. Why the article? I just found out a few things that may be of interest to those of you out there still contemplating pur- chasing non-IBM disk drives for use with your PC. TERMINATING RESISTOR Up until yesterday I had never heard of the beast. (I'm not much of an electronics jock) What I found out was that when you have disk drives daisey-chained together (i.e. drives a: and b: on your PC) the last drive in the chain is supposed to have a terminating resistor attached to it (on the board). I found out about this thing a day ago when someone called me asking about my experiences with the TEAC. I told him that I had had no problems and that installation was fairly simple - a few cabling attachments (power and I/O) and four screws for the mounting (one is on top of the other). He then asked me about the terminating resistor. What I said - I never did anything like that to my drives. We ended the conversation with him thanking me for what I had told him and me wondering what he had made mention of. Two of my fellow workers then told me that it was VERY important for the terminating resistor to be in place in the last drive and not anywhere else within the I/O path. What would happen if they both had the resistors I asked - afterall, this is how my system had been operating for many months (perfectly I might add!!!). Fry, sizzle, die were their answers. Come on I said. They told me that I should open up the ol' box again and look for the beastie. Look for a socketted chip near the cabling area on the drives board they said. I did and I think I found it. I THINK... The "thing" I found is marked 1AM E3317 and is black with a white underside and has fourteen (14) legs. Ichhhh - a bug!!! Well - I removed the sucker from the a: drive and reassbled my system. All well. I suspect, though, that I have made a mistake. Two things lead me to this conclusion. The first is that my old configuration worked just beautifully. I changed the config only to prevent impending disastor. The second is that the a: drive is the last drive in the chain - at least on my cable. I referenced page 11 of the IBM diskette adaptor manual. The a: drive also has the twisted cable in the middle of the ribbon. What's up? Did I do the right thing? Will drives soon die? The thing I pulled out - should I have. I eagerly await a response. I'm sorry if I`ve confused any of you out there. I'm just playing around and always learning new things. THANKS IN ADVANCE {seismo}!rlgvax!geller David Geller Computer Consoles, Inc. Office Systems Group 1760 Reston Avenue Reston, VA 22090 703-471-6860