[sebhc] Re: Great Idea for IDE MORE!! STATUS -- More Ideas ..

[Lee Hart]

dwight elvey wrote:
> What is the problem with going from a 8 bit bus to a 16 bit device?
> You just need an extra port and an extra latch going both ways.
> This is not rocket science to add this simple hardware. The entire
> world of IDE devices are then open to you.

I agree. This is fairly straightforward to do. It takes about twice as 
many chips, but they are relatively inexpensive. As you say, then you 
have a "normal" 16-bit interface to the IDE, so the documentation on 
how to talk to an IDE device will apply. Or, you could reverse-engineer 
someone's IDE device software driver, if you were desperate enough :-)

The skeptic in me says that the published specs for IDE devices are 
probably obscure, incomplete and inaccurate. If it were me, I'd build a 
little logic analyzer to capture the 16-bit words going back/forth 
between a PC and its IDE drive when I did a read or write. Then, I would 
program the Z80 to send exactly those commands, in the same order, 
REGARDLESS of what the published specs say!
--
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget the perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in    --    Leonard Cohen
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
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