IDSC21-E Jumper settings?

[tuf]

I've just picked up an UDSC21-E SCSI to IDE adapter that I'm trying to get to work with my Amiga 3000 and a Transcend IDE flash module. I've got a rudimentary list of jumper settings (of which some appear to be wrong) but can find no other documentation online for the UDSC21-E.

If anyone has the jumper settings or a link to the manual, it would be much appreciated.

These are the settings I've found:

SCSI ID Switches
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SCSI ID
0 0 0 - - - - - - ID 0 (default when shipped)
1 0 0 - - - - - - ID 1
0 1 0 - - - - - - ID 2
1 1 0 - - - - - - ID 3
0 0 1 - - - - - - ID 4
1 0 1 - - - - - - ID 5
0 1 1 - - - - - - ID 6
1 1 1 - - - - - - ID 7
Transfer Mode Terminator
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SCSI-1/2 Mode
- - - 0 1 - - - - SCSI-2
- - - 1 1 - - - - SCSI-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ATA transfer mode
- - - - - 0 0 0 - Normal Mode
- - - - - 1 1 0 - P3 Mode
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ATA transfer mode
- - - - - - - - 0 On (default)
- - - - - - - - 1 Off

The problem is that, aside from the header only listing 8 jumpers (there are 9) some of the off/on settings seem to be wrong.

I've been able to get my Amiga to see my card, but it refuses to write changes or read the scsi info (says it is not a disk type). I can't be sure if I have it set up correctly or not w/o the proper jumper settings.

Thanks much!

[tuf]

Well, just moments after I posted I dug up the jumper settings from a firmware upgrade file I found online. I'll post them here in a PDF so all the world will have access to them

My problem now is that no matter the settings, my Transcend cards do not seem to be recognized. The adapter shows the same results in HDtoolbox regardless of whether or not the IDE card is plugged in.

I would still love to see someones working jumper settings. From there I can troubleshoot these Transcend cards, which work great in other IDE projects I've done (like Atari 8 bit hard drive).

[Fingerlickin_B]

Ok, I can't think how to explain this, as all my Amigas are inaccessible to me right now, but I'll try...

A number of CF cards I've used have thrown up the "not a disk type", or is it "not a valid disk type"?

Either way, if you use (I think from memory) "add new device" or "read device" (something like that) or try using an existing saved device dataset it can get around this problem. The only thing is that you must be careful when partitioning, as if the data for the other disk says it is bigger...well the rest should make sense.

Maybe your jumper settings are ok & it's just what I mentioned above?

PZ.

[tuf]

I've tried adding a new device, with my best guess as to what the settings are (cyl/heads/sectors/etc). It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I still have the issue.

As I said in my last message, I dont think the Transcend cards are working properly since I get the same results in HDtoolbox with and without the flash card plugged into the IDSC21, and thats why I am looking for someones jumper settings.

[tuf]

BTW, this is what I'm trying to use with my IDSC21-E. I've got the 1GB and 512MB versions to test with:

[Fingerlickin_B]

Oh, sorry but I seem to have not read carefully enough.

I thought you were talking about a CF card...never played with one of those modules before I'm afraid.

PZ.

[prowler]

Hi tuf,

I have a SCSI to IDE adapter made by ACARD (I think).

I have saved the information you have posted on this thread to study later and I'll see if I can come up with any suggestions based on possible similarities between your adapter and the one I have.

That's all the help I can offer, I'm afraid.

[tuf]

Originally Posted by Fingerlickin_B

Oh, sorry but I seem to have not read carefully enough.

I thought you were talking about a CF card...never played with one of those modules before I'm afraid.

PZ.

Yeah, they're a very neat package compared to the CF card + adapters, and should operate in an identical fashion.

[tuf]

Originally Posted by prowler

Hi tuf,

I have a SCSI to IDE adapter made by ACARD (I think).

I have saved the information you have posted on this thread to study later and I'll see if I can come up with any suggestions based on possible similarities between your adapter and the one I have.

That's all the help I can offer, I'm afraid.

Very much appreciated! I would imagine the cards are very different but the settings probably are common between the two of them.

[prowler]

Thanks for the reply, tuf.

I'll try my best to come up with something useful.

[prowler]

Hi tuf,

My SCSI to IDE adapter is an ACARD Technology SCSIDE Bridge Adapter, model AEC-7720U (IDE to 50 pin Ultra SCSI), designed to easily connect to any IDE device to present a SCSI connector.

I bought this adapter in 2002, when it was described as being "suitable for HDD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, etc.", there being no other common IDE devices available at that time. No software is required to use it and it works completely transparently to the host system.

The bridge adapter is a double-sided pcb measuring approximately 120mm x 40mm, mounted by plugging directly into the 40 pin connector of the IDE device and requires no other fixing. Connectors are provided for the 50 pin SCSI ribbon cable plug, activity LED and a 4 pin 3½" floppy drive type power connector (the unit requires its own power connection). A section of the pcb is cut away so as not to obstruct the power connection to the IDE device.

There are three jumpers for SCSI ID, providing the same settings as your IDSC21-E SCSI ID Switches 1-3; one for Terminator Enable/Disable, providing the same setting as your Internal SCSI Termination Switch 9 (default setting is Enable); and one for Terminator Power, which has no equivalent on the IDSC21-E, (default setting is OFF).

The AEC-7720U BIOS is not a flash ROM device, and so there is no requirement for a jumper setting equivalent to your Flash ROM Switch 8.

I have only ever used this adapter to connect a Seagate EIDE hard drive to an Adaptec SCSI Host Adapter mounted in an ISA slot in my old Pentium 200MMX PC. My jumper settings were SCSI ID 0, SCSI Termination Enabled and Terminator Power ON.

The hard drive jumper setting was "Single or Master". I can't recall if this was actually necessary, though I suspect that it was. The User's Manual for the bridge adapter simply states "Before you install an IDE device into the AEC-7720U, please adjust the jumper setting."!

From the PDF document you have supplied, it appears that Switch 0 is either missing or has no purpose. The SCSI ID setting you should choose will depend on the number of devices you have attached to the SCSI chain. This will usually be SCSI ID 0 for the first or only hard drive and SCSI ID 3 for any CD-ROM drive. Second and subsequent hard drives are usually assigned SCSI ID 1, then 2, 4, etc. Scanners and other devices can be assigned any vacant SCSI ID except 7, which is reserved for the SCSI controller or host adapter. Thus, it will only be OK to leave Switches 1-3 open as shipped (i.e., SCSI ID 0) if your adapter/flash module is the only device on the chain.

You should only leave Termination Switch 9 open as shipped if your adapter/flash module is the only device on the SCSI chain. Internal SCSI Termination should be enabled only for the last device on the chain (i.e., the device at the end of the cable). I would guess that the REQ Buffer setup connector (CN5) Switches A, B and C should be changed from the default settings only if SCSI Termination is Disabled by installing a jumper on Switch 9.

Flash ROM Switch 8 should remain open as shipped, except when flashing the ROM BIOS with a firmware update.

Finally, since you are hoping to emulate a hard drive with your flash module and to initialize it using HDToolbox, ATA device settings will be the appropriate ones, with SCSI-2 Mode and DMA transfer mode giving the best (fastest) performance.

I would suggest you start with these settings, and if your flash module is still not recognized, then first try changing the SCSI Mode and finally the transfer mode until you are successful.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Finally, I should say that I have found a link to this IDSC21-E web page:
http://www.iodata.com/products/idsc/...e/IDSC21-E.htm
in the Jumper Settings PDF document which I shall now have a look at because I'm naturally curious and to see whether it will influence my recommendations above (which were prepared off-line this evening).

Cheers,

prowler

[prowler]

That link above was embedded in the Jumper Settings PDF document, but it's dead now.

BTW, tuf, is there a provision for Master/Slave setting on the Transend IDE Flash Module? If there is, you might have to set it to Master if you haven't done so already.

[OddbOd]

To get the product pages use The Wayback Machine.

Older Transcend modules have jumpers on the front of them for Master/Slave select and Write Protect presumably these newer ones have them on the back.

tuf, have you actually tried the drives in another computer to confirm that they are working properly? Unfortunately the only assistance I can provide is the CHS settings which are 512MB C:993 H:16 S:63;1GB C:1985 H:16 S:63

[tuf]

Prowler, thank you for your detailed reply! I'm going to take a few hours to experiment tomorrow eve and will report back what I find.

I'm beginning to think that these Transcend cards are incompatible somehow with either the IDSC21 or the Amiga. The only way I've ever been able to even see the card in HDtoolbox is to set the FLASH ROM jumper (#8) to Rewrite Mode. When this jumper is on, the IDSC21 shows up in HDtoolbox on SCSI ID6 (which is what my jumpers are set to).

I've tested this with and without the flash card installed on the board, and the results in HDtoolbox are the same...not a disk type errors. So, I have yet to see any sort of results from the card with the Rewrite Mode jumper set to off, like I assume it should be.

I think its time to order an IDE to CF adapter and test using a well known commodity, rather than an unknown like I'm trying. Again I'll try your suggestions and post back what I find.

I also plan to test the IDSC21 in an Atari Mega STE and see what sort of results I get on it.

[tuf]

Originally Posted by OddbOd

Older Transcend modules have jumpers on the front of them for Master/Slave select and Write Protect presumably these newer ones have them on the back.

tuf, have you actually tried the drives in another computer to confirm that they are working properly? Unfortunately the only assistance I can provide is the CHS settings which are 512MB C:993 H:16 S:63;1GB C:1985 H:16 S:63

I've set the jumper on the top to master. The only other option on these cards is a jumper for power, which I've tried it with and without. No write protect switch on these.

And yes, I've tested all these modules in an Atari 8 bit, and they work as advertised. I am starting to get the feeling this IDSC21 doesn't like them for some reason, though.

Thanks for your help..the geometry settings are very useful!

[prowler]

Hi tuf,

At OddbOd's suggestion, I have scoured Wayback Machine's web archive looking for clues, and I have come up with two conclusions:

(1) You were very fortunate to get your hands on this adapter. The IDSC family of IDE-SCSI converters was only available directly from I-O Data Device, and sold only to approved OEMs, system integrators, etc. - not to end-users. (Minimum lot commitments starting at 500pcs/quarter would effectively have ensured this anyway!)

(2) Whilst these adapters were evidently compliant with non-Windows OS - based systems, the solution in each case must surely have been dependent on customized firmware. (For this reason, later versions of the AEC-7720U SCSIDE adapter I have were fitted with flashable ROMs, and BIOS firmware/flash utilities were available for both PC and Macintosh platforms from the ACARD website. You can switch these adapters bewteen DOS/Windows and Mac OS compliance by using a cunning combination of firmware revision and flashing utility.)

It seems to me that if the only way you can achieve even minimal communication with the card in the Amiga is by setting the adapter Flash ROM jumper for rewriting, then the likelihood is that the ROM BIOS firmware is not compliant with the Amiga OS.

It will be interesting to see what happens when testing the IDSC21 with an Atari STE, but I'm guessing the result will be similar to your experience with the Amiga.

Tuf, may I suggest you try the IDSC21-E/Flash module combination in a PC fitted with a SCSI host adapter? If you don't have one maybe you could try it in a friend's or colleague's machine? If this doesn't give a result, then you may have got yourself a Unix or Mac OS compliant adapter!

BTW, OddbOd, Wayback Machine's web archive dredges up some remarkable finds, but the pages it produces are the devil's job to save properly! Fortunately, I'm good at persuading my web cache to give up its secrets!

[prowler]

On the other hand, I've just found this report:
http://alive.atari.org/alive5/ide2scsi.php
which suggests that the IDSC21-E is fully compliant with the SCSI interface of the Atari ST series machines, and no mention is made of incompatible BIOS firmware, only that the adapter translates SCSI commands on the bus to thieir IDE equivalents - and is rather good at it.

So maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?

[Edit] And yet this site:
https://www.gearsoftware.com/wiki/in...R_PRO_for_UNIX
has a firmware fix for GEAR Pro under UNIX v4.11 and newer.

[tuf]

Thanks for the advice Prowler!

I also found that same report that mentions how the IDSC21-E was used without a hitch in an Atari ST. I've emailed the author of that article in hopes that he may be able to provide his jumper settings and any other config issues he might have run into getting the card to work. From his article, it sounded very plug and play.

In the meantime I ordered a conventional IDE to CF adapter (on that was mentioned as working in other threads) from an eBay vendor. The result is the same as it was with the Transcend modules; only the IDSC21-E is seen by the SCSI utility, with or without a flash card plugged in.

At this point I suspect I may have a bad card. I would write it off completely as incompatible if the article about the ST success did not exist. I'll post back with any info I get from the author if he responds.

[tuf]

Just for future reference (this thread is the #1 Google hit now for the IDSC21-E!) this is a photo of the exact board I bought from the eBay seller:

[tuf]

And the IDE to CF adapter: