>>There are converters that can break out these pins. I have a 68-to-50 >>converter myself. I assume the 80-pin connectors also have similar >>breakouts. > >I have heard that 80-pin to 68-pin or 50-pin convertors are very bad >news, not reliable at all. I personally avoid SCA drives, they are >expensive and not too useful unless you have an (equally expensive) >SCA card. > >Best stick to 68-pin LVD or SE drives or 50-pin drives.
What, Mark? There's no such thing as an SCA card. Sun Sparc workstations have SCA drive bays, as do lots of rackmount equipment, because it is easier to just slide drives in than it is to have to configure them. These workstations have "80->68 pin converters" built into the chassis, effectively. I wouldn't be too afraid of using an SCA drive with a convertor to the appropriate kind of SCSI, bearing the Gurus' warning about cheap adaptors in mind. I have a feeling that a lot of problems people have with SCA drives stem from putting 80->50 pin convertors on drives that are internally WIDE scsi or 80->68 pin ones on drives that are internally narrow. Another big pile of problems are probably explained by the fact that old used SCA drives are plentiful and cheap, but they're worn out, because they come (by the dozens!) out of old NetWare servers and the like, they've been on 24 hours a day for the last seven or eight years. The SCA connector is just a big fat connector that contains SCSI (either 68 or 50 pin), power, and jumpers, so you can just "slide drives right in" and their configuration is set based upon where you connect them. -Tyler -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
