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@708D.ADF RT1000-MC SCSI Host Bus Adapter (Rev. 3.20)
@708D.ADF RT1000-MC SCSI Host Bus Adapter (Rev. 3.30, rename)
RT1000.zip Option diskette (untested, found by Louis via IBM-PC.org)
Rancho Technology RT1000-MC
Thoughts
Linux Support
Disk Capacity Limit
Rancho Technology Today
Based on content by William R. Walsh (original HERE).
Rancho Technology RT1000-MC
C1 22uF capacitor
J1 4-pin power connector
P1 50-pin internal SCSI
P3 DB25 external SCSI port
RN1,2,3 Removable term. packs
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U5 "PAL047 Rev A"
U8 RTBios version 8.20P
U17 NCR 53C400
U18 "PAL 045 Rev A"
U19 10.000000 MHz
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Thoughts
I found this in a Model 70 paired with a Conner CP1080 hard disk. The
power cable has one connection at each end, but the SCSI cable has two
plugs on it. Both cables look like they came with the adapter (or most
likely a packaged upgrade kit including the adapter, since it has CMS
Enhancements stickers all over it). One thing I have noticed is the
vastly reduced heat output of this model 70...clear proof that newer
drives not only run faster but also run cooler. Performance-wise this
adapter seems a little slower than the uncached SCSI/A from IBM. It can
and does use the system hard disk LED (if you have one).
If you are looking for an adapter that can provide a drop-in hard
disk upgrade for a Model 70 or similar system where there are no
standard power connectors available without soldering or modification
then this is the one of a few adapters you can use. Use your best
judgment when putting drives in a system with a smaller power supply
(50, 50z, 55SX, 70). Also bear in mind that MCA bus connectors have
limits on how much power can be drawn over them.
There is support for making a "floptical" drive appear as drive A.
The ADF says this about the feature:
"If you want your Floptical drive to be Drive A:, you Must choose
the option 'Drive A: is Floptical' and follow the instructions in the users
manual. Leave this option at 'Drive A: is NOT Floptical' if you have no
floptical drives attached or another drive is drive A:."
Linux Support
Saskia Bormann said this about the adapter and Linux:
I haven't tested yet, but your outline says that there's a 53C400
as controller. These are normally covered by the driver NCR5380 (watch
the nasty upper-case letters *grrr*), and you must provide the
following parameters to it:
ncr_53c400=1 ncr_irq=[IRQ] ncr_addr=[addr] ncr_dma=[DMA]
It _should_ work. Because that driver wouldn't probably find the
adapter on it's own, I'm writing a device manager that scans all slots
for the adapter IDs, and looks which modules with what parameters are
needed.
Editor: I don't know whatever happened to any of this, or if the
adapter is in fact supported under Linux. Saskia seemed to wander off
not long after making this post. Modern Linux kernels have done the
unthinkable and dropped support for Micro Channel hardware.
Disk Capacity Limit (for disks under adapter BIOS control)
Okay, here's the sobering news. This adapter's BIOS is definitely not
over 1GB capable. I hooked up an IBM DCAS-32160 to this adapter and
powered up. The adapter BIOS identified the drive correctly, but when
boot time came, the machine halted with "No Operating System". A
Caldera DR-DOS 7 boot disk only saw 1GB or so of disk space. Worse yet,
BIOS version 8.20P is the last version that was released for this
adapter...and that comes straight from the people at Rancho Technology.
Still, a 1GB drive in any of a Model 50, 55, or 70 is a BIG
improvement. You could also use two drives with the cable I have, as
long as you're mindful of the power supply limitations in the
previously mentioned machines.
Rancho Technology Today
Rancho Technology was verifiably still in business as of 2013. By
mid/late 2014 they seem to have folded. The address once given for
their place of business looks to be a residence if Google Street View
is to be believed. Which kind of makes you wonder just how high the
barrier to entry for hardware design and manufacturing really is...
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