Subject: REVIEW: Dataflyer SCSI+
From: [email-masked] (Wesley Ebisuzaki)
Date: 2 Jul 1994 02:08:52 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Dataflyer SCSI+ (A1200 version)
	(Software: DPS+ 1.0,  Manual Revision 1.0)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	SCSI+ is a SCSI controller for the Amiga 1200 and 600 that uses the
IDE interface (does not use the CPU slot).  Up to 5 SCSI devices and 2 IDE
devices can be controlled.  A version is made for the A4000 (not reviewed).

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  The reviewer uses the term "SCSI controller"
	to mean "SCSI host adapter".  - Dan]

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Expansion Systems
	Address:	44862 Osgood Road
			Freemont CA 94539
			USA

	Telephone:	(510) 656-2890
	FAX:		(510) 656-5131

LIST PRICE

	$129.95 (US).
	I paid $99.00 (US).

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		A600 or A1200
		One or more SCSI devices.

	SOFTWARE

		For hard disks, Syquest drives, floptical drives:  none.
		For CD-ROM drive:  a CD-ROM filesystem.
		For tape drives:  a device driver.
		For a scanner:  additional software.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 1200, 4 MB Fast Ram, 2 MB Chip Ram, GVP A1230 Turbo+, 68882
	Maxtor 25128A, 128 MB internal 2.5" IDE hard drive (15 ms avg seek)
	Maxtor 7120S, 120 MB external SCSI hard drive (15 ms avg seek)
	A3070 external SCSI tape streamer
	NEC CDR-36 external SCSI CD-ROM
	Workbench 3.0, Kickstart 39.106, Workbench 39.29

INSTALLATION

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  If you are not comfortable opening up your
	Amiga, then you should have the work done by an authorized Amiga
	service center.  Opening your Amiga yourself may void your warranty,
	and careless work may even damage the machine.  - Dan]

	Installation requires disassembly of the A1200 which may void your
warranty.  The installation is more difficult than installing a 2.5" IDE
drive.  First, the A1200 must be taken apart.  If you have an IDE drive, it
must be disconnected from the motherboard and the drive reseated in its
cradle.  A plastic sheet is placed on the shielding to provide insulation,
and then a small circuit board is press-fitted onto the IDE header on the
motherboard.  I had problems with this step because I couldn't see if the
header was seated properly.  (After my first attempt, the IDE drive didn't
work, which is a sign that some connector is improperly aligned.)  The cable
from the IDE drive is then plugged into the circuit board.  Then the SCSI
cable is installed.  This requires removing the floppy drive, removing the
cover for the spare port, plugging a cable into the circuit board and
installing the other end (DB25 header) using the supplied mounting plate.
Finally everything is reassembled.

	The installation software will either install the drivers on an IDE
drive or make a bootable floppy (not tested).  Installation on the A600 is
similar except the SCSI cable sticks out of the back instead of being bolted
to the chassis.

REVIEW

	SCSI+ fills an important niche: a SCSI controller for A600 owners,
and a SCSI controller for A1200 owners who do not want to use the CPU slot.
With a SCSI controller, one can attach CD-ROM drives, extra hard disks, tape
drives and even some high-end scanners to the A600/A1200.  The design is
innovative; however, it limits you to 5 rather 7 SCSI units, since 2 units
are reserved for the IDE drives.  In addition, the SCSI disk drives cannot
auto-boot and must be mounted by the "user-startup" file.  Thus, you must
either boot from an IDE drive or a floppy.

	The speed of the SCSI interface appears to be comparable to that of
the IDE interface.  The IDE drive was faster than the SCSI drive; however,
the SCSI drive is 2 years old, and may be an intrinsically slower drive.
Software includes a disk preparation program to set up the disk partitions
and the SCSI device driver.

SYSINFO V3.18 RESULTS

	818,347 bytes/sec Maxtor 25128A 2.5" IDE  drive
	774,809 bytes/sec Maxtor 7120S  3.5" SCSI drive

DISK SPEED Version 4.2 RESULTS, *** IDE versus SCSI in parenthesis ***

	MKSoft DiskSpeed 4.2  Copyright ) 1989-92 MKSoft Development
	------------------------------------------------------------
	CPU: 68030  AmigaOS Version: 39.106  Normal Video DMA
	Device:  dh1(scsi1): Buffers: 120
	Comments: DiskSpeed 4.2

	CPU Speed Rating: 2175

	Testing directory manipulation speed.
	File Create:           21     (20) files/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	File Open:            118    (101) files/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Directory Scan:       451    (371) files/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	File Delete:          285    (242) files/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%

	Seek/Read:            617    (587) seeks/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%

	Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
	Create file:       149847  (81346) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Write to file:     160535  (93473) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Read from file:    251744 (194517) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%

	Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
	Create file:       174504 (142122) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Write to file:     194341 (186181) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Read from file:    458580 (356929) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%

	Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
	Create file:       392774 (182562) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Write to file:     492109 (258588) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%
	Read from file:    644750 (578738) bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 0%

CD-ROM

	I found two problems with using a CD-ROM.  The installation program
added the line "DFmount 2 3 4 5 6" to the user-startup file.  This command
checks units 2-6 and mounts any hard drives that it finds.  Unfortunately
this command crashed the system when it checked my CD-ROM.  I had to change
the line to so that it did not check the CD-ROM.  The second problem was
that the software was incompatible with the Xetec CD-ROM filesystem (version
1.651).  I phoned Expansion Systems, and the technician said that they
tested the software with AmiCDROM and AsimCDFS CD-ROM filesystems.  I
obtained AmiCDROM from Aminet, an Internet archive, and had no problems.

TAPE STREAMER

	I had no problems using the BTNtape version 3.0 device driver except
that I forgot that the device name is case sensitive.

COMMENTS

	I had ordered the SCSI+ before it was released, and consequently
expected the normal teething pains.  I have been pleasantly surprised, as
the hardware has been reliable and the software is more than adequate.  The
few bugs have been minor, and the speed of the interface is comparable to
that of the IDE interface, and is much faster than the speed of a CD-ROM or
tape drive.

	The standard power supply is often a concern for A1200 owners who
expand their systems to the max.  I have had no problems leaving the system
on overnight with the original 23-watt power supply.  SCSI+ appears to be
low-power design. The circuit board has only two integrated circuits:  a CMOS
SCSI controller chip (I think) and a small DIP (covered by a label).  Of
course, other systems may consume more power, and the SCSI+ could be the
proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

DOCUMENTATION

	A 36-page manual with 12 figures, 4 tables, 11 screen dumps explains
the installation and use of the A1200 and A4000 versions.  The manual is
clear and well written.  The documentation, however, has only a generic
troubleshooting section, a deficiency which is not surprising for such a new
product.

LIKES

	It's a SCSI controller that does not use the CPU slot and is
reasonably priced (PCMCIA SCSI controllers for notebooks cost $300 (US)!)
You can still use 2 IDE drives, and the controller doesn't appear to be power
hungry.

DISLIKES

	Installation of the SCSI+ is more difficult than most other Amiga
expansions although less difficult than many PC expansions.  A few may
dislike that SCSI hard drives cannot be used to boot the system or that only
5 SCSI devices can used.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	There is no other slot-less SCSI controller for the A600 and A1200.

BUGS

	Incompatible with the Xetec CD-ROM filesystem (version 1.651) and
RDPrep version 3.91.  Other CD-ROM file systems work (AmiCDROM, AsimCDFS),
and SCSI+ comes with DFPrep for the hard disk.  DFmount crashes when it
tries to mount my CD-ROM.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	You get to talk with knowledgeable people, and not a person who
knows less than you do. ("You have an Omega?  What version of MS-DOS are you
using?")

WARRANTY

	The one year warranty is limited to either repair or replacement as
long as long as it isn't damaged by accident, abuse or misuse.  The warranty
doesn't appear to cover falling bowling balls.

CONCLUSION

	The Dataflyer SCSI+ is the only solution for many Amiga users that
want to add a CD-ROM, tape drive or a Syquest drive.  I highly recommend it
unless you need a high-performance, DMA-type SCSI interface which requires
the CPU slot.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1994 Wesley Ebisuzaki. All rights reserved.

---

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