![]() ![]() ![]() Careful arrangement of the cables solved the problem. ![]() Although I had no problem daisy chaining it to my old SF354 Atari drive, when I upgraded to the newer SF314, I found it very difficult to get the Microbyte connector to stay in place. If you wish to use it as drive A, you cannot have a second floppy on the ST. This means that the Microbyte is drive B if you have a two-drive system. There's no output connector on this unit. The interface cable is hard-wired into the drive, with a male connector for the computer or the other drive at the opposite end. Of course, it's as simple to hook up as any other ST drive. This unit employs the same power supply as Atari's 8-bit 1050 disk drive: a simple 9-volt AC output transformer (easily replaced). The drive comes in a sturdy metal case (color matched to the ST system), and is a half-height mechanism, just like the current crop of DS/DD drives found in IBM PC XT compatibles. Currently, 5-1/4-inch floppies cost about one-fourth as much as the 3-1/2-inch diskettes, so the Microbyte is handy for archiving a lot of files economically. I occasionally develop code for work at home, and vice versa (on my lunch breaks or course), so I've really had a chance to put the Microbyte through its paces. Moreover, if you write a lot, it's always convenient to be able to easily move text files between the two machines. A similar argument holds true for Lotus and VIP Professional, which are file compatible. The ST version of First CADD comes with a utility for performing the necessary conversions). (These programs don't use the same format, but are written by the same software house. If you use Generic CADD at work, you might like to bring your designs home and use First CADD on those same files. We know ST cannot run IBM programs (at least, not without an emulator), so what use is this drive? Let me give you a few examples. (I tested the 360K version for this review.) If you have an IBM at work, or a PC at home, you'll probably want, if not need, this drive. The Microbyte 5-1/4-inch floppy disk drive for the Atari ST is an extremely useful device to own-if you need one. ![]()
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