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Announcing ZuluSCSI - A file-based SCSI device emulator

aperezbios

Well-known member
I was hoping that using a USB cable I would be able to see the contents of the HD files and write to them. However plugging in the appropriate Data capable cable doesn't do anything other than power the device. I've read the official documentation and the section on "Transferring Data" doesn't exist.

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to access the data stored in the images across USB. I have everything from my old mechanical drives archived and would like to simply restore that data to the ZuluSCSI.

I realize I can use an image reading program, but is there no other more direct way? Thanks for your time.
There isn't, and here's why....the microcontrollers used with ZuluSCSI are limited to ~1MByte/sec (USB Full Speed), not USB High Speed. If you want to add the ability to access files via USB, the firmware is open source. We accept pull requests :)
 
A little chart with the differences between the currently available Zulu models would be really helpful to those of us who are new to the SD adapter game.
 

Daniël

Well-known member
A little chart with the differences between the currently available Zulu models would be really helpful to those of us who are new to the SD adapter game.

AFAIK, the main difference between the GigaDevice GD32 based V1.1 and RP2040 based model, is performance, with the V1.1 peaking at 3.9MB/s and the RP2040 going up to 8MB/s, on a sufficiently fast SCSI controller. The feature set should otherwise be identical. Beyond that, both versions come in different formfactors to fit various needs, such as PowerBook installation. There are some comparisons on this page as well:


The RP2040 vs V1.1 choice comes down to the target Macintosh (or other computer), if it doesn't have a fast enough SCSI bus to take advantage of the RP2040, the V1.1 might be the better choice. I think the fastest 68k and first PPC Macs are sort of the cut off for that, though that's not a hard and fast rule.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
There are kits available, but only with the THT parts to solder in yourself. The SMD parts come soldered on both versions.
 

dramirez

Well-known member
I have a red RP2040 board revision 2022d, I noticed a spot for a speaker and a super capacitor, what kind of speaker could be connected and what kind of sounds will emit? Do you recommend a specific super cap?

Thanks!
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I have a red RP2040 board revision 2022d, I noticed a spot for a speaker and a super capacitor, what kind of speaker could be connected and what kind of sounds will emit? Do you recommend a specific super cap?

Thanks!
The capacitor has been discussed before, there is no reason to add it. If I remember, the designer's stance was "don't".
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I have a red RP2040 board revision 2022d, I noticed a spot for a speaker and a super capacitor, what kind of speaker could be connected and what kind of sounds will emit? Do you recommend a specific super cap?

Thanks!
Here :
The initial inrush of current to most small supercaps can be high enough to trip the PTC, a self-resetting fuse that's rated at 500mA @ 5VDC. It's labeled as F202 on the board. It's not likely it would damage the regulator, actually, but it very well could result in the board not powering on for a short period of time.
 

aperezbios

Well-known member
I have a red RP2040 board revision 2022d, I noticed a spot for a speaker and a super capacitor, what kind of speaker could be connected and what kind of sounds will emit? Do you recommend a specific super cap?
@dramirez adding a supercap there willresult in the thermal fuse, F202 tripping, due to the inrush of current caused by the presence of the supercapacitor in the circuit. Without additional circuitry to manage that inrush, your board will just appear to have died, until the fuse cools off and re-sets itself.

As for the speaker, I recommend the TDKPS1240P02BT piezo buzzer, which you can buy from Adafruit for $1.50 each, if you're in the US. The LD-BZEN-1212, which you may have trouble finding, would do the trick as well. There's a discussion about this at https://github.com/ZuluSCSI/ZuluSCSI-firmware/discussions/132 if you'd like to ask further questions there.
 
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sevarre

New member
There are kits available, but only with the THT parts to solder in yourself. The SMD parts come soldered on both versions.
Thanks for clarifying this. Not sure what the point of only assembling the through hole stuff would be.

Maybe I haven't been in the community long enough, but with all the Zuluscsi vs Bluescsi controversy it wasn't clear to me that Bluescsi is actually the only project I can get the gerber files and make the PCBs myself. I can also get a bill of materials for everything I need to make Bluescsi. Seems like there really is no comparison between the two. But, that is just my opinion and I'm sure Zuluscsi is fantastic if you are looking for a "buy only" solution.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
That’s really what BlueSCSI is great for - I think RHC agrees there. The biggest issue with BlueSCSI V2 that I see is that it’s basically a ZuluSCSI clone, so I wouldn’t exactly call the bunch the true designers of the thing. I’d like to support RHC where possible and go ZuluSCSI, definitely will if they can get the prices down for the PowerBook edition. The PB edition of the BlueSCSI has always cost the same or less than the desktop version - never quite understood why it’s always more so on the other end.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Thanks for clarifying this. Not sure what the point of only assembling the through hole stuff would be.

Maybe I haven't been in the community long enough, but with all the Zuluscsi vs Bluescsi controversy it wasn't clear to me that Bluescsi is actually the only project I can get the gerber files and make the PCBs myself. I can also get a bill of materials for everything I need to make Bluescsi. Seems like there really is no comparison between the two. But, that is just my opinion and I'm sure Zuluscsi is fantastic if you are looking for a "buy only" solution.
The reason for soldering the through hole yourself is just cost - PCB fabs don't like doing through hole stuff, so it ends up being done by the designer / seller, not the factory, or costs more.

The BlueSCSI can be built from parts, but is also missing required elements such as buffers. If I remember there are some alternative, custom, versions out there on the internet that add the missing parts. If you want to build one I'd suggest making one of those, it will last longer. I can't remember if the fixed the termination issues, I don't think they did.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
@Phipli - you’re thinking of the discontinued V1 edition. You can still build your own but all focus has been turned to V2. V1 does have multiple hardware flaws and is much slower. V2 fixes term issues and has the buffering fixed too I believe, but that’s basically because BlueSCSI V2 is just a ZuluSCSI RP2040 that’s been modified to use a dev module and has support for the BlueSCSI transfer utility and some other stuff.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
@Phipli - you’re thinking of the discontinued V1 edition. You can still build your own but all focus has been turned to V2. V1 does have multiple hardware flaws and is much slower. V2 fixes term issues and has the buffering fixed too I believe, but that’s basically because BlueSCSI V2 is just a ZuluSCSI RP2040 that’s been modified to use a dev module and has support for the BlueSCSI transfer utility and some other stuff.
I'm not confused between the original and V2, I just assumed the person meant the original because they were talking about assembly. Are they doing assembly kits of the V2? I'm surprised. I wouldn't - you'd struggle to manage returns / troubleshooting if people were building their own.
 

Fizzbinn

Well-known member
I'm not confused between the original and V2, I just assumed the person meant the original because they were talking about assembly. Are they doing assembly kits of the V2? I'm surprised. I wouldn't - you'd struggle to manage returns / troubleshooting if people were building their own.
There are BlueSCSI v2 kits:

Ah, ok. There don't have unassembled V2 boards yet as far as I know. You can still get your own board made though: https://github.com/BlueSCSI/BlueSCSI-v2/wiki/Build-it-Yourself
However they are “SMD-finished kit, all through-hole parts included”, which I think is similar the ZuluSCSI RP2040 kit.

Its great to have so many options out there IMHO.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
I definitely agree - just a lot of prickly-ness between the two big manufacturers, and some possible mishandled crediting on BlueSCSI's side - pretty difficult to figure out so. I'm glad that both options exist for sure though.

And also, while the kits are THT only, the link I put there has the gerbers and everything to get your own PCB made and such, they just recommend that you get JLC to do the SMD parts for you.
 

Forrest

Well-known member
Thinking about installing a ZuluSCSI V1.1 2.5" in my PB520c. Has anyone installed one in a 520c or 540c? How does it work? How did you mount it? It seems using one of the battery bays would be the ideal spot - just need a bracket. The LED and SD slot should be accessible externally. Could the original HD remain and work with the ZuluSCSI?
 

Brooklyn

Well-known member
Hi, I have a Zuluscsi compact and a Zuluscsi mini. I initialized and partitioned each using the modded HDSC 7.5.3. They each work separately OK and they set themselves up at SCSI ID 1.

I'd let to use them both together, how do I change the SCSI ID for the mini? I figured I'd have to rename an img file, but if I pull the microSD card and put in my PC, it says it is not readable.
 
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