Controller SMUC
In recent years, an increasing number of
spektrumistov equip their machines
hard disks. Already, most likely, to any type of Spectrum
developed hardware and software support for hard drive with a
single standard can be traced only in the type of interface -
IDE, or E-IDE. But, as the results of my polls in the network
SpbZxNet, in St. Petersburg, the vast majority of
users have the Scorpion ZS 256. Your
servant, too, has this car.
Typically, when you connect a hard
drive to the Speccy the developers are two problems: the
development of interface (Controller) and how to access the
hard disk space. If the first problem is relatively easily
solvable, then the second problem can be solved only partially.
The main cause of this problem is
System TR-DOS, which was developed
for floppy disks. The system does not
allows you to record to disc more than 128 and
files in the system there is only one directory, and a simple
user can have access to only a 640-m kilobytes of memory.
Therefore, in this direction would cost to develop a new DOS,
which would satisfy all requirements of modern Spectrum'ov.
But ... Too many programs written
for the current TR-DOS, and their adaptation to the new disk
operating system has taken would be very time consuming.
Much faster to adapt the hard
drive to the TR-DOS. This problem is very
simply managed the company "Scorpion '
MOA ": hard drive space is divided into subsections, and
subsections - it is collection of disks, each of which has
size is 640 KB.
IS-DOS system more suited to
hard disk drive: it firstly,
can work with your device up to 16
MB, and secondly - the hierarchical system (in
like MS-DOS), ie in the root directory
You can create subdirectories, sub-directories, where files can
be stored on different grounds, and nominations. Therefore any
difficulties using this system on the hard drive usually does
not arise.
Firm "Scorpion 'MOA" developed a universal controller SMUC.
Stands for the abbreviation as Scorpion 'MOA Universal
Controller. It is intended to connecting various IBM-periphery
CMOS-hours, etc., but above all it was designed as a hard disk
interface. On-board controller and a chip NVRAM - nonvolatile
memory capacity of 2 Kbytes, where you can save
various settings of the Shadow Service Monitor, the parameters
of the hard disk, etc.
For the most successful and productive
the computer is desirable to connect
the controller to the computer Scorpion
ZS 256 Turbo +, although possible to work with
neturbirovannymi computers, as well as with
other Spectrum-compatible computers
(If the necessary modifications).
Software support for the controller is in ProfPZU computer
Scorpion (volume - from 128 to 512 KB).
Structurally, the controller is the PCB size 110h70 mm.
Supply current controller, no more than 300 mA.
