----- Original Message -----
From: thenewyorkcowboy
To: emax@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 8:17 PM
Subject: [emax] Re: SCSI termination question
My Emax II is the latter type that came factory fitted with the black external SCSI connector and just has the 50 pin header on the board. So I don't see how the cable gets routed back unless it is through the traces on the board being the 'first stop' (which would seem to create something of a pseudo-dual channel or pigtail being in the middle) but nevertheless this is the answer I was looking for and why I was thinking about adding a SPST toggle switch out the back slots for termination instead of having a terminator sticking out, as it is one more part to bag up and keep track of on a gig, but I am going to consider it as well simply for the LED status on an active terminator. I was just surprised that there was no explicit documentation in the Emax II manual about this part of SCSI and no mention of an included terminator either on the board or as a cap to the external socket when not using external devices. Is there a specific Emax HD manual that states otherwise?
--- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "jammie" <jammie.emma@...> wrote:
>
> its the same for the emax the emax is terminated and provides term power
>
> what ted was saying if you have a upgraded scsi board then if you have an internal drive and the external drive the 1 in the emax needs to have its term off becuase the 50 pin cable goes to the drive inside first then to the back of the machine
>
> if you use just the internal drive then you can set its term to on but if you are going to place more than 1 drive on the scsi chain then it needs to be of and the last drive in the chain needs to be term on
>
> which means that you would need a term block on the scsi connection on the back of the machine when not useing an external drive
>
> as for the esi-32 it has a dual channel scsi controller 1 for the internal and 1 for the external which are both terminated it still only connects 7 drives but can use either channel to conect them
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: thenewyorkcowboy
> To: emax@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 7:52 AM
> Subject: [emax] Re: SCSI termination question
>
>
>
> Ted, E-synthesist and Tristan always have something wonderful to contribute, and I took all of your advice to heart, but I am still oscillating between 'knowing' and 'guessing'....
>
> https://www.media.mit.edu/resenv/classes/MAS963/history/emu.html
>
> Doesn't give exact timings and seems to show a little helter skelter.
>
> The manual though for the ESI-32 is much more clear on page 202:
>
> "The ESI-32 is shipped with termination power On with the termination
> resistors left in place. This assumes that the ESI-32 will be placed at one end of the SCSI chain. The ESI-32 has an automatic system which
> ONLY supplies terminator power when it is NOT being supplied by
> another device. Therefore, you don't need to worry about terminator
> power when connecting the ESI-32."
>
> I was lucky enough to acquire my ESI-32 recently (for $31 plus shipping!!!) with both 32mb of RAM already installed as well as OS 3.02 it is amazing how small this technology is in only one generation of E-Mu from the EMAX II but I cannot determine at what stage these two systems are similar.
>
> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, Ted Summers <djtbs1@> wrote:
> >
> > Termination should be at the end of the cable.
> > It prevents "reflection" of signals through the cable. Even cable length
> > that is "unconnected" can reflect signal.
> > Turning on termination when the drive / connection is not at the end of the
> > cable is not the "best practice" way of terminating it and may result in
> > intermittent issues.
> >
> > Depending on how you have SCSI in Emax hooked up, there is the possibility
> > of two termination setups.
> >
> > On rev 3 boards / factory modified boards where there are two headers (one
> > 50 pin for internal and one for external DB25 right off the logic board),
> > then the 5380 could be considered to be basically in the middle of the SCSI
> > bus chain.
> >
> > In that scenario.... as a single chain
> > INTERNAL DRIVE with TERMPWR on 50pin connector ------ 5380 SCSI controller
> > ------- external port from logic---- external drive---- external drive ---
> > terminator
> >
> > However, if you only have the 50 pin connector, then I believe it should be
> > like this if using internal and external drives:
> > 5380 ----- internal drive (no term) ------ external connector ------
> > external drive ----- terminator
> >
> > when there is no external drive I would put the terminator right on the
> > external connector.
> >
> > Keep in mind that (IIRC):
> > * each connection on the scsi bus = loss of length of 6 inches of cable from
> > "max length" the chain is allowed to be.
> > * cables should always be kept to the minimum length possible to prevent
> > issue, but connectors should be at even spacing. The spacing is typically
> > determined by the length of the cable and different mfrs do not always
> > adhere to the spec to minimize reflection down the cable length.
> > *you may need an active terminator or passive depending on the bus.
> >
> > YMMV, but that is what I know from my experience with SCSI (generally
> > speaking- from "on the job" using SAN storage and JBOD storage, and internal
> > HD, Tape, and CDROM - all SCSI).
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Ted
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 9:23 AM, thenewyorkcowboy <
> > thenewyorkcowboy@> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > I am still having intermittent failures with my SCSI setup and have a
> > > general question about termination. At this point I am convinced that the
> > > ZILOG chip just was not advanced enough in it's day to be compatible with
> > > devices that SAY they are backwards compatible. The data sheet says the chip
> > > does 3mb where we all know SCSI-1 should have been 5mb. If a major standard
> > > like that was compromised, I can't imagine what other shortcuts they took.
> > >
> > > If the EMAX II models that originally were HD models had an internal drive
> > > mounted by the factory AND still had the external SCSI port, how exactly did
> > > they get around proper termination? Did they come with a 25 pin terminator
> > > that acted like a cap to the port that you had to keep track of as an
> > > accessory?
> > >
> > > I am considering installing a mini toggle SPST switch that sticks through
> > > one of the slots in the back to turn on TRMPWR on the ACARD adapter to
> > > terminate the ZIP drive I am trying to install for when I want to connect an
> > > external device as well.
> > >
> > > Any help or suggestions?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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