rabbitholecomputing
Vendor The First
Yes Stay tuned.Any thoughts on a compact and/or powerbook version? Like the SCSI2SD-V5.5?
Yes Stay tuned.Any thoughts on a compact and/or powerbook version? Like the SCSI2SD-V5.5?
Good question. This is not the answer you're probably hoping for, but as one might expect, "it depends". In some areas, it's slower, and in others, it's faster, particularly when it comes to read performance.@rabbitholecomputing Quick question, is the AzulSCSI slower than the SCSI2SDv6? Just looking for a little more clarification between scsi2sd vs AzulSCSI. I assume I cannot switch sd cards between the two?
Let's go ahead and wrap this up w/re the name. I think we've gotten as much out of this as we really can.
The point has been sufficiently made: If you were designing, building, and selling this device, you would have given it a different name.
And when you say "classic macs" does that include both 68K and PowerPC? PowerPC with G3/G4 upgrades? Just trying to understand if there is any real performance hit in these vs the scsi2sd or if I should just embrace them whole heartedly for my purposes. My primary use is on PowerPC often with G3/G4 accelerators installed.In real-world usage on classic Macs, AzulSCSI is, in our view, an overall better choice than SCSI2SD V6.
PowerPC with G3/G4 upgrades? Just trying to understand if there is any real performance hit in these vs the scsi2sd or if I should just embrace them whole heartedly for my purposes. My primary use is on PowerPC often with G3/G4 accelerators installed.
It's not about what I would name it, that is quite frankly irrelevant. My point is that it's well established that the name confuses the source of the product, and subsequently I don't voluntarily do business with people who choose to act like this when asked about it. And with that I'll see myself out of this thread, I hope.Let's go ahead and wrap this up w/re the name. I think we've gotten as much out of this as we really can.
The point has been sufficiently made: If you were designing, building, and selling this device, you would have given it a different name.
I've had good success with modding and creating the pci sata cards I have a bunch of cards and chips etc for that whenever I need to make one, but I still just prefer not to have to use a PCI card for the hardrive situation if possible, I don't know why I just don't like it as much. I generally prefer to use the pci sata cards in G3/G4 machines that came that way and have IDE drives by default. In the beige machines I really like scsi just for myself.I think that PCI Macs (which are the ones most suitable for G3/G4 accelerators) are better to use with things like SIL3112 SATA cards. While it can be more pricey if you can't replace and flash the EEPROM yourself (premodded cards are about $50 on eBay, but still require a separate SSD or HDD), and they still hold modern SSDs back quite a bit, they'll still be much faster than SCSI SD replacement drives. I think it's NuBus and earlier where SCSI SD replacements fit the best.
Very happy to hear that some advanced thinking went into the configurations, with thoughts toward extensibility beyond just the basic settings. It definitely broadens the appeal for me - that's why I have my first one on the way.Both SCSI2SD and AzulSCSI can emulate CD-ROM drives with 512 byte sectors. The default with AzulSCSI is 2048, but you can override it by naming a file "CDn_512.iso"
I believe Bruce from https://recapamac.com.au/ has said he will be selling AzulSCSI@rabbitholecomputing any plans for Australian stockists or local supplies?
Yes! we implemented a custom bootloader which simply looks for a file on the SD card, at power up. If it's there, it self-updates the firmware, which takes about 1.5 seconds. It then removes this firmware update file (so it doesn't go in to an infinite loop), and resets itself.Is the firmware easier to flash onto AzulSCSI vs older BlueSCSI (most recent BlueSCSI allows USB flashing but prior it required an EPROM flash, if I recall correctly)?
Bonus compared to? I know I’ve updated the firmware on my SCSI2SD units in the past and there are updates for BlueSCSI as well.The other big bonus is the active development of the firmware, so I'm keen to see what other features come soon as well.
Yes! we implemented a custom bootloader which simply looks for a file on the SD card, at power up. If it's there, it self-updates the firmware, which takes about 1.5 seconds. It then removes this firmware update file (so it doesn't go in to an infinite loop), and resets itself.
The silicon still supports DFU in ROM, and that's still the back-up/rescue/failsafe mechanism for flashing firmware via USB, were something to go wrong during an update.
I’m not sure, but it would make sense that it would be male since the scsi connector on Macs are female. I suppose if you wanted to use it with a cable that would be problematic.Is the optional external db25 supposed to be female? The one they put on mine is male, though.
Correct, the standard connector for external SCSI connections is male. Only the direct-attach SCSI2SD-V5.5-style devices have a male pinout, as they're designed to be directly attached to a DB25 SCSI host port, which is always female on Macs, as well as nearly all other scenarios.Is the optional external db25 supposed to be female? The one they put on mine is male, though.
Yeah, I figured. My azulscsi had a male db25 soldered to it, unfortunately.Correct, the standard connector for external SCSI connections is male. Only the direct-attach SCSI2SD-V5.5-style devices have a male pinout, as they're designed to be directly attached to a DB25 SCSI host port, which is always female on Macs, as well as nearly all other scenarios.
Essentially any 25-pin DB25M-DB25M cable will work. You can usually get them from/fulfilled by Amazon.