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Compaticard IV & Uniform-PC

E

ECNeilson

Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
47
Location
Dallas, TX
I have an oddball Compaticard IV with no DIP switches and no BIOS, date stamped 1989. None of the Compaticard drivers on the Internet seem to work with it. I think it might have been designed to work with Uniform-PC v3, but I can't find a copy of this version of Uniform. Does anyone know how to get this card functioning on my PC or where I can obtain a copy of Uniform-PC 3.0b? Here's a picture.

IMG_3055.jpg
Thanks,
Eric
 
It's just a BIOS-less CCIV. You can use it as a standard AT-style controller by setting the port select to A, DMA 2, IRQ 6. 22Disk can use it either as a primary controller or a secondary one.

I have no idea where to find the card-specific version of Uniform, however.
 
Chuck(G) said:
It's just a BIOS-less CCIV. You can use it as a standard AT-style controller by setting the port select to A, DMA 2, IRQ 6. 22Disk can use it either as a primary controller or a secondary one.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This worked and for anyone else who comes across a disk controller card like this, here are the steps to get 22Disk talking to the controller (there is a config.txt file in the 22Disk directory that provides more details).

My CC IV Lite is configured as follows:
- Secondary controller
- I/O address 360H.
- 1 360k drive with straight cable connection, making the drive Unit 1 (Unit 0 would be if you connect to the twisted end of drive cable)

You need to create a diskette.cfg file for 22Disk to read and put it in your DOS path somewhere. A and B drives are already visible with my primary controller so you don't need to specify them other than use the keyword DEFAULT:

--begin diskette.cfg---
E: BIOS 4 PORT 360H UNIT 1 360K
--end diskette.cfg---

You launch CMenu, set the drive letter and disk format, then attempt a directory listing to test your configuration settings.

Next step is to add 8-inch drives!

Eric
 
haglebu said:
Setting up 8 inch drives in DOS is not as hard as you might think at first. You just need some time and patience. Have a look at my website: https://retrocmp.de/index.htm#8inch
Click to expand...

I have the FDADAP cable adapter on order from dbit.com for the 8-inch drive interface. I also acquired Uniform-PC 3.0b from a kind soul here, but the driver was not able to recognize by BIOS-less Compaticard IV. Still, 22Disk seems to get the job done and supports 8-inch drives. In the near future, I should be able to ready just about any format or size floppy disk for archival purposes.

I'm still on the lookout for a Compaticard IV with BIOS, so if anyone has one for sale, I'll give a fair price.

Cheers,
Eric
 
Should be pretty simple to handle--a couple of DIP switches, a couple of LSTTL ICs and a 28 pin socket. I can even supply a ROM image if you need one.
 
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