Information in this page updated: 24 Sep 95
For anyone who already owns a SCSI-controller(A3000(T), A4000T) there is one choice: buy a SCSI CD-ROM drive. Connecting it is as simply as connecting a harddisk.
And you will get a marvelous piece of hardware that can be conneted to any other known computersystem even if it's not labelled "Int*l *ns*d*".
If tranfer for digital audio data over the interface is a must for you, there is no other choice. Only two brand new IDE-drives offer this feature, but there are no drivers available for the Amiga and those drives.
Well, IDE-style CD-ROM drives, often called "AT-Bus"-drives seem to be much cheaper, but you have to pay extra for a special controller or interface/software for the build in controller (for the A600, A1200, A4000 internal IDE-controller).
Why a special controller, they are IDE, aren't they?
IDE or AT-Bus-style drive are not fully IDE as hard disks. There are three differnt connection standards for such drives named after the companies that invented them:
For a PC every drive comes with a tiny special custom controler or it uses the connector on a soundcard (that's why the card come with four (4!) different CD-ROM drive connectors in these days!) None of these drives are able to directly run on an existing Amiga IDE-controller.
Since the Mitsumi is the closed fit to real IDE-interface, there are two known adapters: the bsc tandem (for Mitsumi interface and IDE/ATAPI drives, but it also hosts up to 2 real IDE hard disks) and the CD-ROM-Kit, with adapts the internal Amiga IDE-interface (or the Access!-IDE-adaptor for A2000 by the same manufacturer) to Mitsumi-style connectors. I do not know any kind of hardware to use Sony- or Panasonic- style drives!
But remember that you have to pay extra for the special controller, so a real SCSI or IDE/ATAPI may come cheaper than a combination of AT-Bus drive and controller.
In the last month all mayor manufactures have shown new drives labeled EIDE (e.g. the new Mitsumi FX300/FX400). But... these drives finally are true IDE-Drives, and though they run best with EIDE-controllers they will submit to normal IDE-controllers. So you noticed it, their is a little shift in terms: IDE for CD-ROM drives is not IDE for hard disks but some proprietery standrad. EIDE for hard disks is not the same for CD-ROM drives, it's IDE with the new ATAPI definition (which of course is part of EIDE!) for other than hard disk media.
You may smile and try to connect a EIDE-style CD-ROM drive to an existing IDE-controller... it will fail. Any controller for the Amiga is just for hard disks, not for CD-ROMs. This is mainly a software problem, since all interfaces and their drives are not awre of devices other than harddisks on the IDE bus.
So you can connect a IDE/ATAPI drive directly to the A4000, but you'll need a patch of the internal "scsi.device" for that. VOBs SPEEDUP-system will du that for you. So you may not need a hardware-interface but a special kind of driver! Ask the manufacturer of your IDE adaptor for a new software that allows a IDE/ATAPI drive on the bus.
If you have an A600/A1200/A4000 your choice should be the CD-ROM-Kit, so you don't have to sacrifice another valuable Zorro-slot for the controller. For owners of a A2000 with no SCSI-Controller the tandem seems the best choice... if you can't find a working IDE-solution for your controller.
If you connect a CD-ROM to your intrenal IDE bus, you must take care of some things: The CD-ROM drive must be set to act as a SLAVE on the bus and interrupt generation may not be disabled. The harddrive must be set to act as a MASTER. If you have a drive with a combined setting for SINGLE or MASTER operation, leave it that way, if not, rejumper it from SINGLE to MASTER operation.
Computer Device Vendor Type ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A4000 Access SpeedCD VOB commerz. Tandem ad_atapi.device AlfaData/Oliver Kastl commerz. A600 A1200 A4000(T) atapi.device Oliver Kastl PD A4000 atapi.device Georg Campana PDVOB offers besides the old kit for the the use of 2 HDs and one Mitsumi-style CD-ROM a new kit caled Multi AT/IDE which allows the connection of 4 HDs and one ATAPI CD-ROM.
Oliver Kastls atapi.device also supports upto 4 devices on the internal IDE with a special adaptor.
Computer Adaptor CD-ROM-adaptor ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A1000/A500 SCSI SCSI AT ??? A2000 SCSI SCSI AT SCSI incl. SCSI controller Tandem CD-ROM-Kit for Access!-controller A3000(T) SCSI SCSI A600/A1200 AT CD-ROM-Kit, Multi AT/IDE PCMCIA (Overdrive-CD, tandem, Squirrel) A4000 AT CD-ROM-Kit, Multi AT/IDE Tandem Speed-Up System A4000T SCSI SCSI Controller HDs CD-ROM drives -------------------------------------------------------------------- SCSI yes with SCSI Tandem yes Mitsumi LU005S, FX001S/D, FX300(FX400 CD-ROM-Kit yes Mitsumi FX-, FQ-Series Multi AT/IDE yes IDE/ATAPI CD-ROMs Squirrel yes with SCSI Overdrive-CD Mitsumi(?)