PERSTOR3.TXT Sparta PCBoard Hard Drive Conference PERSTOR Conference (201) 729-7056 The long awaited file on the PERSTOR 16 bit controller is here at last! The information herein is taken from a press release kit prepared by Perstor Systems, Inc., and represents known features of the ATF controller at this time. The Plain Language Stuff Perstor Systems, Inc. announces the latest additions to the PERSTOR 200 series product line. The PS180-16F and the PS200-16F are Perstor's Advanced Data Recording Technology hard/floppy disk controllers for the IBM AT, 386 computers, and compatibles with processor speeds up to 20 mHz. Both controllers feature a 16 bit bus and are port address and register set compatible with the IBM AT Controller. The PS180-16F and PS200-16F include dual RAM support and an onboard BIOS supporting over 60 different hard disk drive types. Each controller supports two hard disk drives and two floppy disk drives. Compatible floppy drives include 360K, 720K, 1.2MB, and 1.44MB with either 5 1/4 inch or 1 1/2 inch form factors. The PS180-16F increases the capacity of new or existing ST506/512 Winchester drives by 90%, whether MFM or RLL. It operates at 9 megabits per second and allocates 31 sectors per track, The PS200-16F increases the capacity of new or existing RLL hard disk drives having plated media by a full 100%. It operates at 10 megabits per second and allocates 34 sectors per track. The Technical Stuff The Perstor 200 Series ATF Controller is a stand-alone single board, general purpose Winchester hard disk and floppy disk controller. It interfaces up to two hard disk drives and up to two floppy diskette drives to a host processor having a 16 bit bus connection (an IBM AT or compatible utilizing an 80286 or 80386 processor AND utilizing the 16 bit dual connector interface). The controller uses the host BIOS which must conform to the IBM PC-AT BIOS functionality. The Winchester interface is based upon the Seagate Technology ST506/412HP interface specifications, as amended by Perstor Systems, Inc. All necessary receivers and drivers are included on the board, allowing direct connection to the disk drive(s). Separate computer access ports enable communications between the host and disk or diskette controller. An 8/16 bit bi-directional bus and appropriate control signals comprise these ports. Disk read and write data, status information, and command parameters are transferred via this bus. An on-board data buffer allows bus transfers to be executed independently of the drive's data transfer or transfer rate. The PERSTOR 200 series ATF Controller is based on proprietary chips. The RLL encoding scheme is a modified time shifted IBM 3360 style format, which has the highest frequency in the all zero mode. The PERSTOR 200 series ATF Controller connects to the system board using one of the system expansion slots. The controller controls the 5-1/4 or 3-1/2 inch floppy and hard disk drives. Connectors on the controller supply all the signals necessary to operate up to two hard disks and two floppy disks. The controller will allow concurrent data operations on one hard disk and one floppy disk. The controller operates when connected to a system board expansion slot. This channel is described in the "System Board" section of the IBm Personal Computer AT Technical Reference Manual, or its equivalent from another manufacturer. The fixed disk function features 512-byte sectors, high-speed PIO data transfers, ECC correction of up to 22 bits on data fields, multiple sector operations across track and cylinder boundaries, and on-board diagnostic tests. The controller will support two fixed disks with up to 16 read/write heads and 2048 cylinders, providing that the host machine BIOS will support such capacities. Features Galore * 16 bit bi-directional bus host interface * IBM AT Winchester controller emulation, IBM PC AT host interface * High performance data separator and write precompensation devices * Data rates up to 10 megabits per second * Controls up to two drives using ST506/412HP * Supports drives of any configuration up to 2048 cylinders and 16 read/write heads * The controlled drives need not be of the same capacity or configuration * Error correction on data field errors (56 bit), CRC ID field verification * Extended ECC polynomial for error detection and correction (22 bit span or 11 bit span) * Automatic restore and re-seek on all seek errors * Automatic formatting * 512 bytes per sector * Sector interleave capability * Multiple sector reads and writes * Overlapped seek capability on buffered-step drives * Supports implied seeks on all commands * Internal diagnostics * DMA transfer capability * Supports interrupts, interrupt requests, and DMA request sharing * Includes socket for user or PERSTOR supplied 2764 BIOS ROM extended drive tables * Perstor PS180 and PS200 IBM compatible BIOS * RLLC 2,7 modified (IBM 3370 format) * 360K & 1.2mb 5-1/4", 720K & 1.44mb 3-1/2" floppy support * Extended drive table support with on board bios at C800:0 Extra! Extra! Extra! Now for some of the really nice things from Perstor not included in the above: * Ability to have two of the Perstor controllers co-reside, allowing control of up to FOUR hard drives. * The 8-bit and 16-bit controllers can co-exist * The 8-bit and 16-bit controllers can read each others format, allowing one to remove a drive from an 8 bit controller, hook it up to a 16 bit controller and be up and running with no delay at all. * Stand alone SETUP program that will allow CMOS reconfiguration via the user supplied or PERSTOR supplied extended drive type tables. Current BIOS will have over 60 drives types defined for you to choose from. * Competitive pricing with combination controllers that offer much less hard drive and floppy drives features. * Optional dual quad density support for floppy diskette drives, with up to 1Megabit transfer rate, and unlimited track support for the floppy diskette drives. You won't find this anywhere else. * Technical support from a group of people who know the product. Ted Buck at the Factory. Richard Driggers in the field. We know the drives and the drive industry as well. Twenty four hour bulletin board support via the PERSTOR Systems, Inc. bulletin board (602) 998-4939 or via Sparta PCBoard's Hard Drive and Perstor conferences (201) 729-7056. Both sites equipped with USR HST 9600 baud modems. * The Perstor 200 Series ATF controller will be available in two models. The PS180-16F will be familiar to you as the big brother to the PS180, with 31 sectors per track, and a transfer rate of 9mbits per second. The PS200-16F will be the equivalent of the PS200, with 34 sectors per track, and a transfer rate of 10mbits per second. $$ Pricing $$ Due to anticipated demand upon initial availability of the controller, I do not plan to offer quantity discounts and most of the sales will be quantity ONE only. Quantity purchases will be considered and implemented when the controllers are no longer on allocation. Perstor PS180-16F Controller - Quantity 1 Price - $285.00 Perstor PS200-16F Controller - Quantity 1 Price - $NA at this time. I am currently taking orders on the controller and a firm commitment in the form of a check in the amount of $50 will place you on our list of definite orders. The list of those interested in the controller will receive a notice of availability via this board or through our planned mailing. Your check will be held until the controller is available and the rest of your balance is received. Both will then be deposited upon shipment. Please be sure you understand that this is pricing from Sparta PCBoard, Richard Driggers (Sysop) dba Arnell Computers. Other than trying to offer the best support in the country for a really fine product, I have no other relationship with Perstor Systems, Inc.