Copyright © ///SHH Systeme, Joachim Lange.
You may distribute this document freely as long as it remains unchanged (spelling corrections welcome)
Dipl. Ing. Joachim Lange
phone & fax Germany - 89 - 8577040
(fax 19.00 to 23.00 CET only)
Internet: jlange@tasha.muc.de (Preferred)
CompuServe: 73370,3106
Top-featured IDE DMA hard disk controller for the Apple II ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The MicroDrive/Turbo Card is a highly sophisticated IDE hard disk controller for the Apple IIGS and Apple IIe. It allows the use of _all_ kinds of IDE hard drives with Apple II computers. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card is intended to be used either 1) As a controller to connect one or two _external_ IDE hard disks to the Apple. -- or -- 2) As a "hard-disk-in-a-slot" solution: A filecard to carry a single 2.5 inch ("notebook style") IDE hard disk. This configuration allows you to keep up to 2 (two) Gigabytes of hard disk storage inside your Apple, in a single slot, without the need for an external hard disk case and power supply. New features not available with any earlier IDE card: ------------------------------------------------------- - 2 GBytes addressable hard disk space for each drive. - Freely and virtually unlimited (!) adjustable partition sizes, up to 2 GBytes (= maximum size of hard disk). Fulfills the demands for the HFS file system. - Up to 16 partitions available on a single hard drive. - Any of the 16 partitions can be booted (by default adjustment or by choice directly at boot time) - Universal and comfortable installer (ProDOS 8 SYSTEM file) supports the Turbo IDE Card, MicroDrive Card and the MicroDrive/Turbo Card in a single program. - Extremely small design, the smallest DMA hard disk controller ever built for the Apple II family. - Extremely low-power design: all C-MOS circuitry gives you the lowest power consumption currently available: Only 120 milliamperes during full DMA R/W operation. - In work: New GS/OS driver for the new standard in diskette storage - the upcoming 120 MB disk drives (LS-120 ATAPI drives). Using these new drives, you can read/write 120 MB diskettes and read the well known 1.44 MBytes standard MS-DOS disks. Main Features -------------- - This is the fastest hard disk controller ever built for the Apple II. (see data transfer rate) - The only IDE hard disk controller (except its predecessor Turbo IDE Card) for the Apple II that supports DMA (Direct Memory Access) for fastest disk access. - Fully PRODOS and GS/OS compatible. - Works in any slot except slot 3. - Compatible with Apple IIGS and Apple IIe enhanced. - Supports two hard drives up to 2 (two) GBytes capacity each. - Very high data transfer rate: 0.65 msec/block for linear reads (using ProSel-16, Statistics on Disc Access). This is 1.5 times faster than the fastest DMA SCSI hard disk controller! - Fast startup: boots a minimum GS/OS System 6 in ten seconds, with accelerator in eight seconds (boot message to Finder Desktop). - Boots PRODOS 8 in less than one second. - Wastes no time for self-initialitation compared to SCSI interfaces! Gives a very short warm-up time. You are up and running as soon as the hard disk is ready. - High-speed GS/OS driver with GS/OS caching support included. - Fully compatible with any existing hardware such as: ZIP GS, Transwarp GS, PC Transporter, RAM Cards from Apple, Applied Engineering, CV-Tech, Harris, Sequential Systems, Q-Labs etc. - The MicroDrive/Turbo Card supports up to 8 (eight) MBytes of expansion RAM on the IIGS. - Up to 16 partitions on one drive, or 8 partitions on each drive in a master/slave (2 drives) configuration, no size limit on any partition. - You can boot from _any_ partition which carries a valid operating system (hold down an Apple Key and press 1 through 9, A through G or set up a default boot volume with the configuration program). - Support for the PRODOS 8 and the SmartPort protocol (standard & extended calls). Under ProDOS 8, the SmartPort protocol enables mapping of any possible number of partitions (volumes) into all slots available. - The DMA feature can be disabled by software to be compatible with non-DMA-capable hardware as the ZIP Chip, the Original Transwarp and some IIGS memory expansion cards. Easy Installation: ------------------- - Automatic installation procedure with auto-recognition of the hard drive's geometry. Fast and easy partitioning provided by a comfortable partition editor. - All types of IDE hard disk drives can be used. There are no restrictions in the number of sectors per track, number of heads or number of cylinders. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card software supports any combination of numbers that an IDE hard disk can represent. Firmware options for your specific needs ------------------------------------------ Specific ROM code for Apple IIe and Apple IIGS available (same hardware for both machines): - Apple IIe firmware: 65C02 code only, also works on any Apple IIGS. - Apple IIGS firmware: 65C816 code, fully speed optimized for this machine. Speed advantages (compared to Apple IIe firmware) when using ProDOS 8 applications, when booting into GS/OS, and when using no GS/OS driver. Due to 65C816 coding, the Apple IIGS firmware cannot be used on Apple IIe machines. Additional FileCard Features ----------------------------- - Plug-and-play solution. Find a free slot and install your files. - Complete hard disk solution occupies only one slot! Any other slot is available for your needs. - Uses existing internal power supply of an Apple IIe or Apple IIGS. Power to the hard disk is provided via the controller card. - No additional cables required, simply plug and play. - Very quiet hard drive operation. - Big and hassle-free storage _inside_ your Apple computer. Other Features --------------- - The MicroDrive/Turbo Card was developed according to Apple's Interface Card Design Guidelines. - Developed, tested and made in Germany. - High quality industry standard board with gold edge connector and high quality solder resist. - Standard MS-DOS-type 40-pin IDE connector allows the use of inexpensive standard IDE flat ribbon cables. - Additional 2-pin standard connector for hard disk power supply. - One year limited warranty on materials and workmanship. - Thirty day money back guarantee on the card's value. - Free support for all products from ///SHH Systeme via internet e-mail or in the Compuserve Apple II Users forum. ================================================ Vulcan & Vulcan Gold Controller Replacement: ================================================ If you have an Applied Engineering Vulcan internal hard drive system, and you want to upgrade your system with a bigger hard disk, your Vulcan controller most likely won't allow to install a new one because your new hard disk most likely won't exist in the Vulcan's internal drive table. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card can replace your Vulcan controller card and allows you to install _any_ IDE drive in your Vulcan case. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card is fully pin-compatible with Vulcan hard disk controllers (-- in addition, it supports even those IDE bus signals a Vulcan controller erroneously didn't support). Compatibility -------------- We have tested the MicroDrive/Turbo Card successfully and haven't found any problems when using hard drives of the following manufacturers: Conner: CP20xxx series, CP30xxx series, CFNxxx series, CFSxxx series, CFAxxx series Hitachi: all kinds Maxtor: all kinds Quantum: GoDrive Series Seagate: ST3xxxx series, ST9xxx series Toshiba: all kinds Western Digital: All drives manufactured in 1993 or later, especially all drives from the Caviar series Hard Disk Speed - The Facts Why is the MicroDrive/Turbo Card faster than any SCSI card? ------------------------------------------------------------ Basically there are two kinds of SCSI cards for the Apple II: caching cards and non-caching cards. The caching cards do have an extra processor which requires to transfer data twice: one time from the hard disk to the card's processor cache memory, another time from the processor to the Apple II memory. This means considerable overhead and requires too much time for the hardware to be equal or faster in speed than our IDE card. The non-caching cards do not have an extra processor, so data can be transferred directly from the hard disk to the Apple memory. This is considerably faster, however these cards are suffering from the big overhead of SCSI command transfer and SCSI bus arbitration. Everything needs to be done by the Apple processor, which slows down overall data transfer speed. By contrast, the MicroDrive/Turbo Card combines all speed advantages from the above: direct data transfer via DMA (without an extra processor) from the hard disk to Apple memory. There is _very_ low overhead for IDE command processing and there is no bus arbitration required. Due to the fact that today's hard drives do have their own and highly optimized caching algorithm, there is no need for a cache implementation on the hard disk controller side. Ordering Information --------------------- This document is _not_ a pre-announcement. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card is available _now_. Thus, you can get a card or a plug-and-play hard drive system immediately. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card carries a one year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. Software and ROM updates (if needed) will be available via internet e-mail. The MicroDrive/Turbo Card basic package consists of - the controller card - the installation disk with Universal Installer, GS/OS caching driver, installer script, icons and additional test programs - the user's manual (English language) Accessories available: - IDE 40-pin flat ribbon cable, 3 ft. long, with two 0.1 inch plugs for standard IDE connectors. - 2.5 inch mounting kit with power supply cabling, i.e. a complete set for mounting your 2.5" drive on a MicroDrive/Turbo card. (short IDE flat ribbon cable with special 2mm plug for 2.5 inch drives and standard 0.1 inch plug for MicroDrive/Turbo IDE connector, metallic mounting strips and M3 metric screws) MicroDrive/Turbo Card Pricing ------------------------------ MicroDrive/Turbo Card basic package US $129 DM 209.00 2.5 inch mounting Kit US $27 DM 38.00 IDE 40-pin flat ribbon cable 3 ft. US $10 DM 15.00 Shipping and handling for basic package (with or without Mounting Kit): Additional s/h fee for 3 ft. cable Europe DM 18 -- (surface mail) USA US $14 $5 (air mail) all other countries US $14 $5 (air mail) MicroDrive/Turbo Filecard Pricing ----------------------------------- Complete INTERNAL hard drive systems, ready for use, "plug and play". Europe USA & others ---------- ---------------- MicroDrive/Turbo 256 MB MicroDrive/Turbo 512 MB (please ask for current pricing) MicroDrive/Turbo 1040 MB Shipping and handling for the MicroDrive/Turbo FileCard: Europe DM 18 (surface mail) USA US $19 (air mail) all other countries US $19 (air mail) The MicroDrive/Turbo Filecard carries a one year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. The thirty day money back guarantee on the card's value is not applicable on complete hard drive systems (i.e. filecards). Warranty --------- A one year limited warranty on materials and workmanship applies to all products from ///SHH Systeme. Payment -------- Payment must accompany your order. All overseas orders must be prepaid in US currency or Deutsche Mark. All orders from Europe must be prepaid in Deutsche Mark. Cash (bills), certified checks (accepted by a German bank), money orders, travellers check and international money transfer via post office accepted. Sorry, no credit cards accepted. IMPORTANT: If payment is by check or money order, an additional fee of US $3 or 4.50 Deutsche Mark (formerly US$12/DM 20) is required for each order. We have to pay this amount to get cash for the check. For European orders we recommend paying by EuroCheck because _no_ additional fee is required for EuroChecks. If you want to send cash, just be sure to send it via _registered_ mail. This is a very safe way and probably the cheapest solution for overseas payment. Remember, when ordering more than one card (even mixed orders, BlueDisk/ MicroDrive), you can get a discount and the shipping charges are lower for each card if shipped together. Since the Dollar exchange rates are changing from day to day, the pricing may not be stable for a long time. Please try to get latest US$ pricing for the MicroDrive/Turbo Card on GEnie or via Internet e-mail. Also, if you want to order more than one item, please send your inquiry via e-mail and ask for a combo offer with appropriate shipping charges. If you have received this document by e-mail _directly_ from ///SHH Systeme, you can assume valid pricing. In your order please specify for your computer: - Universal Firmware for Apple IIe and Apple IIGS or - Special Firmware for Apple IIGS only - Utilities disk size 5.25" (Disk5.25 format) or - Utilities disk size: 3.5" (Disk3.5 format) ///SHH Systeme Joachim Lange ===================================================================== Other products available from ///SHH Systeme for the Apple IIe and Apple IIGS: * MicroDrive Card Fast, small and highly inexpensive hard disk controller for all kinds of IDE drives and especially for notebook style hard drives. Allows to build a slot-based internal hard disk (hard card in a slot). Bare card and complete plug-and-play drives available. Same size as the MicroDrive/Turbo Card, but cheaper due to non-DMA design. * BlueDisk Card Floppy disk controller for using inexpensive MS-DOS-type floppy disk drives with your Apple under ProDOS & GS/OS (including Mac HFS & MS-DOS FST). You can use all your Apple data and applications with BlueDisk as if it were an original Apple drive. Up to 1.72 MBytes capacity on regular High Density disks, up to 2.88MB capacity on Extra Density disks. Includes MS-DOS-transfer and maintenance utilities, allows _writing_ to MS-DOS volumes from the Apple side. * TransWarp GS 32K cache If you still have the 8K cache on your TransWarp GS, you will need this. Since the original manufacturer has gone out of business, we are the source for the 32K cache. Same high quality and much cheaper than the original version. * Applied Engineering Double Density Drive Upgrades to High Density operation (fully compatible to Apple Superdrives, works with Apple IIGS and Macintosh). Send your inquiry by e-mail if you are interested in one of these products. More products for the Apple II family to come. ===================================================================== -- End of MicroDrive/Turbo description --