BlueSCSI v2 Pico - Low cost, open hardware, fast SCSI device!

[tcole]

I realized a db25 version would be incredibly useful when loaded up with a bunch of ISOs, especially with the hot swap capabilities. Very nice for swapping between my Macs when loading software and stuff.

Any word on when stock is showing up at the sellers? Debating if it would be faster to try sourcing parts myself and build one or wait for fully assembled ones to come back in stock.

 

[eric]

Any word on when stock is showing up at the sellers? Debating if it would be faster to try sourcing parts myself and build one or wait for fully assembled ones to come back in stock.

Next week. Took a while for LCSC's parts people to move our parts orders after Lunar new year, but everyone has orders in now. We're also trying a 2nd assembly location to have a little supply chain diversity We were excited to get the announcement out even though the stock would be slim for the first few weeks.

 

[retr01]

This is great! Looking forward to getting one for my P476.

I found an old article that discusses the SCSI performance data for the Q605, P475, P476, or LC475. Interestingly, the author suspects a ceiling under 4 MB on the SCSI bus for those Macs.

Benchmarks: Quadra 605

Benchmarks: Macintosh Quadra 605

lowendmac.com

I suspect the SCSI bus on my P476 will max out around 5 MB/sec, like the Mystic CC. Any thoughts?

 

[JDW]

I suspect the SCSI bus on my P476 will max out around 5 MB/sec, like the Mystic CC. Any thoughts?

I hope it will max out the 5MB/s SCSI bus on my Mystic, but I will need to wait for @Kay K.M.Mods to inventory the new BlueSCSI v2 first!

 

[retr01]

And then I wonder which vintage Macs have the 10 MB/sec max SCSI bus? Does that require wider SCSI?

 

[Fizzbinn]

I believe built in, internal 10MB/s ”Narrow (8bit) Fast” SCSI first showed up on the Power Macintosh 7100 & 8100. The 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500 & 9600 are the other later models with it before they switched to IDE with the intro of G3 models. PPC Macs with built in IDE for their hard drives only have a 5MB/s SCSI internal/external bus.

 

[JDW]

And then I wonder which vintage Macs have the 10 MB/sec max SCSI bus? Does that require wider SCSI?

PPC Macs.

 

[Fizzbinn]

PPC Macs.

PPC Macs that don’t have an built in IDE drive or are the 6100.

 

[JDW]

PPC Macs that don’t have an built in IDE drive or are the 6100.

Well, if we want to get that detailed, we also need to consider which 68K Macs might be able to achieve 10MB/s with an optional SCSI NuBUS card installed. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Fizzbinn]

Well, if we want to get that detailed, we also need to consider which 68K Macs might be able to achieve 10MB/s with an optional SCSI NuBUS card installed. Any thoughts on that?

Sorry, didn’t mean to offend, just thought question was about what Macs support 10MB/s fast SCSI out of the box. Don’t think we’d want folks thinking the PPC Performa 6200 has fast SCSI or example, it’s not all PPC Macs.

A list of 10MB/s fast SCSI NuBus, PDS and PCI cards would definitely be interesting though.

 

[JDW]

Sorry, didn’t mean to offend, just thought question was about what Macs support 10MB/s fast SCSI out of the box. Don’t think we’d want folks thinking the PPC Performa 6200 has fast SCSI or example, it’s not all PPC Macs.

A list of 10MB/s fast SCSI NuBus, PDS and PCI cards would definitely be interesting though.

I'm really hard to offend so you almost never need to worry about that. I was just saying that if we think deeply on this subject, we should ponder what our Macs are capable of. I myself am a 68K Mac fan. The only PPC machine I have, aside from a couple Wallstreet notebooks, is my pair of G4 Cubes, and for those I would need IDE. So my attention is 100% laser focused on 68k Macs. And although none of mine have 10MB/s capabilities out of the box, the fact remains that we upgrade our Macs. Goodness know I do as I have a Mystic! But while the Mystic's SCSI cannot be upgraded faster than 5MB/s, 68K Macs with slots can accommodate a variety of cards. So I was just wondering what popular cards for 68K Macs (with slots) people might have which would enable them to take full advantage of the 10MB/s speed that BlueSCSI v2 has to offer.

So if you are anyone else would know that, it might be useful information to post!

 

[Fizzbinn]

I'm really hard to offend so you almost never need to worry about that. I was just saying that if we think deeply on this subject, we should ponder what our Macs are capable of. I myself am a 68K Mac fan. The only PPC machine I have, aside from a couple Wallstreet notebooks, is my pair of G4 Cubes, and for those I would need IDE. So my attention is 100% laser focused on 68k Macs. And although none of mine have 10MB/s capabilities out of the box, the fact remains that we upgrade our Macs. Goodness know I do as I have a Mystic! But while the Mystic's SCSI cannot be upgraded faster than 5MB/s, 68K Macs with slots can accommodate a variety of cards. So I was just wondering what popular cards for 68K Macs (with slots) people might have which would enable them to take full advantage of the 10MB/s speed that BlueSCSI v2 has to offer.

So if you are anyone else would know that, it might be useful information to post!

Oh good, sometimes I guess I interpret offense in wording that isn‘t intended. I know I struggle with communicating nuisance sometimes, I probably over rely on on emoji.

Agreed!

I think for PPC Macs with PCI slots there are likely some fast SCSI options that might not be that hard to find. However, IDE cards are also an even faster option there...

PDS and NuBus fast SCSI cards for older Macs are much more of a mystery to me. Pretty sure they exist but I get the feeling they are unobtainium at this point. I wonder if there have been any modern recreation efforts?

• NuBus
• SE/30, IIsi 030 PDS
• LC 030 PDS (used in LC II, CC)
• LC III 030 PDS (used until Performa 6320)
• Quadra 040 PDS

 

[eric]

I think for PPC Macs with PCI slots there are likely some fast SCSI options that might not be that hard to find. However, IDE cards are also an even faster option there...

This is true, for Mac's there's a narrow list of computers that can take full advantage of 10MB/sec and could not use IDE (or SATA). But.. for the same price, it really doesn't matter (IMO) if you're not taking advantage of only 5 or 1.5MB/bus on slower machines - It'll still max those out.

If you have PCI and speed is your only concern, do grab a $6 SATA card and flash it (i hear good things are coming for easing flashing). But might as well still grab a DB25 too for CD ROM switching, file transfers, etc, etc

I have a line on a nubus SCSI card, so will test when I get it!

Have a new card arriving today so will rerun the tests.

Mail was very late, I used a Samsung High Endurance Card U3 - Write went up to 3.6 MB/sec with a smooth line

 

[joethezombie]

My IIfx

So I was just wondering what popular cards for 68K Macs (with slots) people might have which would enable them to take full advantage of the 10MB/s speed that BlueSCSI v2 has to offer.

So if you are anyone else would know that, it might be useful information to post!

I have a IIfx with an FWB SCSI Jackhammer that achieves a sustained rate of ~9600kb/s (10022kb/s max) using an SCSI2SDv6 solution. To achieve that rate I had to install the FWB HDT drivers to the drive and enable specific options, some of which may negatively affect reliability. Blind Transfers, max cache, and disable write verification if I remember correctly. My IIfx is still packed up since the flood, so I can't check at the moment. It will be very interesting to pit the BlueV2 against SCSI2SDv6.

 

[JDW]

It will be very interesting to pit the BlueV2 against SCSI2SDv6.

I look forward to your test result. And who knows... You just might be the first person to use a "Jackhammer" on a BlueSCSI!

 

[rikerjoe]

I got a BlueSCSI v2 kit that I plan on assembling this weekend. Out of curiosity, if you had a choice between installing it in a Mystic Color Classic or Macintosh IIfx, which would you pick and why?

 

[JDW]

I got a BlueSCSI v2 kit that I plan on assembling this weekend. Out of curiosity, if you had a choice between installing it in a Mystic Color Classic or Macintosh IIfx, which would you pick and why?

Even if the IIfx had a fast SCSI card installed, I would guess the Mystic would be faster overall due to the faster CPU.

 

[jcm-1]

I have a video on the BlueSCSI version 2 if folks wanted to take a look:

I also did a recent livestream showing how easy it is to assemble them:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[retr01]

I just had a thought...since BlueSCSI v2 has CD changer, should that also apply to hard drive images? Since only have several SCSI mounted at the same time, it is great to have.

 

[eric]

I just had a thought...since BlueSCSI v2 has CD changer, should that also apply to hard drive images? Since only have several SCSI mounted at the same time, it is great to have.

Yes can do that via hot swap, but also could add that to the bluescsi toolbox too.