Iomega scsi zip 1GB

MacUp72

Well-known member
found an external Iomega scsi zip drive, 1GB version, with power adapter and 6 1GB cartridges..nice
but the cable is not the original and also not fitting to the Apple scsi Sub 25 Adapter. There also was an active terminator included.

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so to my knowledge I now need another cable, a newer scsi cable( high density) SCSI II 50 pin-to- Sub D25 pin, right?

and when I connect the cable in the lower of the two scsi connectors I have to use the active terminatot in the higher connector above it..
is the order ( lower/higher) position secondary?
or will just switching the lever to 'on' on the adapter be enough for Arnold Terminator?

I only used my BlueScsi Sub 25 Adapter on my 540c/190 so far, so I'm a bit cautious.
 
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lisa2

Well-known member
That's not a ZIP drive, it's a JAZ drive. JAZ drives are removable hard disk drives. You can't use a JAZ cartridge in a ZIP drive.

To use with that PB adapter, you will need a SCSI 2 to SCSI 1 (with DB25 on the SCSI 1 side) cable.
 

MacUp72

Well-known member
of course..JAZ..my bad
so it looks like that, like for the old AKAI devices? ( has a female db25 end though)

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or that one

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MacUp72

Well-known member
ok, now I got my adapter fpr Centronics-to-DB25 that fits to the Apple SCSI dock adapter.
I have two variants, one with the 29 pins without Dock switch I used with my BluesScsi, and the one with the switch and 30 pins.
I dont want to try my SCSI chip in the powerbook, I think I must use the 30 pin with switch on to be able to boot from the Jaz drive..
when I use the 29 pin variant I only can use the Jaz to copy stuff, right?

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refering to this artice, the SCSI Disk Mode (HD Target Mode) is achived with the HDI-30 SCSI Disk Adapter with 30 pins, and the HDI-30 SCSI System Cable ( 29 pins) is for external devices.
 
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MacUp72

Well-known member
ok, I connected it with thw 29pin adapter and now the jaz appears on the desktop, copying works, quite fast actually
 

mdeverhart

Well-known member
I’m glad you got it working!

For context, the 29-pin vs 30-pin distinction was because Apple originally created two different SCSI cables for the PowerBooks. The 29-pin one was for connecting standard SCSI devices to the PowerBook, while the 30-pin one was for connecting the PowerBook to another Macintosh, letting that other Mac access the PowerBook’s hard drive as if it was an external HD. This is known as SCSI Target Disk Mode.

3rd parties eventually created the switchable adapters to allow standard SCSI cables to be used, and for the adapter to operate in either standard mode (PowerBook is the SCSI Initiator) or Target Disk Mode (PowerBook is a SCSI Target).

For your use, you should be able to use either the 29-pin adapter or the 30-pin adapter with the SCSI Dock switch set to “OFF”. Either one should let you access the Jaz drive from the PowerBook or even boot from the Jaz drive.
 

MacUp72

Well-known member
thanks..yes, the switchable 30 pin Adapter was confusing me a bit, what it was switching actually..additionally also depends on what devices you actuallly are using, desktop Mac/powerbook/external devices with different termination properties. I put in the active terminator onto the seconds scsi slot in the Jaz back( just to be sure).
The scsi target mode is the forerunner of the later FireWire mode and I will test this target/booting mode with a 1400c and a 540c..
But for basic testing the external Jaz drive for now I'm glad it works, getting the correct vintage cables is another thing. I was lucky I found this SCSI II half pitch 50 pin (HD50)-to-DB25 Adapter cheaply, I have seen this part only three times at all, but I will get another, longer cable with these connections, also quite rare.
 
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