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