Vintage External Virtual SCSI Enclosure Build - SCSI2SD Part 1

I finally decided to invest in a SCSI2SD for my vintage systems. However, I need to be able to use it with more than one device. So I decided to fit it into a period enclosure with a few modifications to make what has ended up being a nearly perfect drive emulation solution!
Part 1.5, the extended testing session can be found here: • Virtual SCSI Drive Exp...
Part 2, coming soon.
More info on the SCSI2SD in general can be found here: www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/inde...
I bought mine from Inertial Computing, but there are different vendors producing the open source project for different regions that you can find here: www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/inde...
Other Links
KZbin: / akbkuku
Github: github.com/AkBKukU
Thingiverse: www.thingiverse.com/AkBKukU
Patreon: / akbkuku
Discord: / discord

[@VaterOrlaag]

What a well-behaved cat, actually keeping to a blanket instead of occupying the keyboard.

[@peterbustin2683]

That cat happens to be a PhD and teaches at Syracuse, I beleive !

[@hugocardozo8685]

Great to see you kept almost all the cat footage. Cats plus vintage tech, that's the ticket.

[@yorgle]

14:00 To prevent the drill from walking on you, use a "spring loaded center punch" which makes a little indentation in the metal, enough to keep the bit in the right place while drilling. 15:00 you could also use adhesive-backed plastic or nylon standoffs, then you could just push it down into place from the top, with no drilling/threading, etc.

[@georgemaragos2378]

Hi Good advice, but if you dont have those "click centre punch" you can use a old solid metal one or even some blunt drill bits and just tap it with a hammer one or 2 strikes only is needed just to put a small indentation on the metal Another option is to put some masking tape down where you want to drill the hole like a band aid the use a smaller size drill and set to slow speed to make the initial pilot hole Regards George

[@ShALLaX]

Using a stand-off upside down would probably also have been viable if the case metal was thicker than the PCB. Then you could use screws to hold the stand-off onto the metal frame and nuts to tighten down the PCB onto the stand-offs. Also, get yourself a deburring/ countersinking bit!

[@Alexis_du_60]

Given it was a Quantum drive I wouldn't be surprised if it was the rubber stoppers inside that turned into some kind of sticky goo and glued the heads in place. Those Quantum SCSI drives were notorious for that.

[@thomassmith4999]

I hope that wasn't the case with the Ultrawide Quantums.. I still have a box full of them I plan to use soon :)

[@glenbenton8196]

@@thomassmith4999 I have several Quantum Atlas series IV and V. They all work perfectly even after several years that are in a box.

[@thomassmith4999]

@@glenbenton8196 Pretty sure mine are Atlas II's but thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll know soon. I bought something like 20 beige PCs from the scrap yard in the last few weeks so have plenty of AT power supply's now. Not having one of those has been my sticking point for a while in getting my old server running again.

[@Leahi84]

I love the cat! Please have the kitty in videos from now on if possible.

[@defalution]

Yeeeeessss

[@TJDunaway]

I love AkBkat

[@MaxUgly]

Just make sure it wears a grounding strap. Those adorable little fuzzy things generate static like a living Van De Graffe genenrator! Just kidding trying to strap something to a cat could end in some bad laceration wounds or (even with a more passive cat) a stinky pillow case...

[@alexdhall]

Kitteh assistant makes everything better! 😹😻

[@Morinaka25]

18:00 Tip for the future, you can just hold a bigger drill bit in your hand and deburr holes quite easily with it, no need for a deburring tool or sanding.

[@BlueJayBonsai]

Cat is mandatory for all future videos. This is the way. 😻

[@ClayMann]

I've got a soft spot for SCSI. My very first HDD was SCSI. Moving from floppy disks to hard drives was almost a religious experience.

[@devjock]

For mounting, my experience is that a nice box of old Meccano always comes in handy ;) (still adding nylon washers everywhere)

[@chrisfratz]

So instead of using feather toys, Shelby just uses molex cables when playing with his cat.

[@NaokisRC]

Same thing, small thing they can attack

[@DevilsHandyman]

My very first hard drive ever was on my Amiga 1000. It was a Syquest 5MB removable media drive. It was also SCSI and 5MB at the time seemed pretty extravagant!

[@jrrscttktts]

The threaded “nuts” you thought might be welded in place are from a range of press in stuff known as PEMs (though the equipment and precision required to install them is a little beyond what a hobbies can do). To save the blood sweat and tears, get yourself a counter sink. They are cheap and can even be turned by hand to deburr holes. An 82° one would also let you flush mount screws in future project. Yes, I have Hi’s job from Raising Arizona (the drilling holes in sheet metal job, not the robbing convenience stores one.)

[@confusedkemono]

You goin on about SCSI and all that meanwhile im admiring this beautiful cat

[@BlackEpyon]

Just so long as he's fixed. Intact cats tend to mark their territory, and I've had first hand experience in just what kind of damage cat pee can do to old computers. It eats traces better than Varta batteries.

[@confusedkemono]

@@BlackEpyon I've had a friend's keyboard and monitor short out thanks to cat pee LOL! Thankfully my cat only goes in the kitty litter so my technology is safe.

[@UnreasonableSteve]

That floppy-style power connector has a number of advantages from a PCB manufacturing POV - they're often cheaper in terms of the actual connector itself. They're slightly more compact, which could mean fitting another column/row of boards on a panel, which can make a significant difference. The honkin-ass pins of the "standard" 4-pin molex are a lot less common than the pin size of the floppy-style, which can mean increased assembly costs as well. Not saying that outweighs the cross-compatibility issues when you're designing something as a drop-in replacement, but I can see situations where I, too, would shout "fuck it, use the smaller connector" and ship it.

[@evensgrey]

So the SyQuest drive is a classical style hard drive. Apparently, the people at SyQuest had never worked with classical hard drives and didn't know why everyone switched to Winchester drives.

[@martinmeyer2008]

Very awesome! Keeping old tech alive, by whatever means, really like that!

[@mnoxman]

Keep this in mind for your DEC system.

[@msthalamus2172]

I had a 100 MB SyQuest drive in the late 90s. It was a 3.5 inch form factor, so a little more convenient than their larger version. I really liked it, but when Iomega launched their 250 MB Zip toward the end of the decade, SyQuest never came back with an adequate answer. I still love the idea of removable hard drive players, though! :)

[@solar3mpire]

Cats, Roland and SCSI my favorite :)

[@electronash]

21:00 A lot of LED drivers just use an NPN transistor (or FET) on the low (cathode) side of the LED which connects that pin down to Ground. The series resistor for the LED can then be put on either side of the LED. I like how you approach these mods. eg. "If I'm gonna do this, I'm not just gonna tape the board in there." lol

[@electronash]

And you'll more often see an NPN on the low side of an LED (or other load), because if it's on the High side, then the input voltage to the Base of the transistor will need to be around 0.6V or so *above* the forward voltage drop of the LED before the transistor will switch on. electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/151326/bjt-driving-an-led-above-or-below So the transistor needs that specific voltage difference across the "diode" part to switch on. With the transistor on the low side, the voltage on the Base only needs to be 0.6V above Ground (0V) level.

[@wildstoo]

Shelby: Cat, you gonna hang around or you gonna leave? Cat: .... Yes.

[@TheAMGReviewers]

nutserts my friend, they work wonders Nutserts® are inserts that, when installed, provide threads in materials too thin for tapping, or in blind holes. Nutserts® are ideal for use in areas where sheet metal screws can't achieve the clamp load and pull-out values required. if you use the wrong size or strip a thread, just put a helicoil in it. :D hope it helps

[@deathventure]

Quick tip on deburring, take a drill bit about 3 sizes up, and just press it up against the hole and drill for a couple revolutions. Don't press down hard or anything, you just want to let the bit's cutting edge take out the burr. Also, get yourself a set of center punches, that way the bits won't walk on you all the time.

[@MrNoobed]

Another hardware tip: theres a tool called a riv nut like a cross between a pop rivet and a nut, because thata what it is. You can get cheap ones on amazon or ebay or harbor freight and they're okay. Make sure you get a kit with small sizes you want and that it comes with the tool to set them.

[@PaulTheFox1988]

I don't know if you already know this, but a tip for deburring drilled holes, use a larger drill bit that's about 2mm or 4mm larger than the hole you drilled and while running your drill with it fitted, press it into the hole briefly on both sides. For a 4mm hole, use a 6mm or 8mm bit for deburring, and that will cleanly deburr the hole in about 2 seconds or so. If you can't get your drill into place due to space constraints, then turning the drill bit by hand will also work, it'll just take longer Also, if you want to avoid having the drill walk when trying to drill and you don't have a centre punch, take an old drill bit that's 4mm or so that you don't care about, and tap it fairly gently with a hammer where you want to drill, it's not ideal and the bit can break, but it will work as a makeshift centre punch.

[@tomkrawec]

Nice to see an upload from you!

[@arcee420]

Something I didn't expect to learn from this video was the screwdriver. I have The same exact screwdriver that came with one of my electronics repair kits And I always wondered what that little barrel part towards the handle was for. when you went to go and extend the screwdriver I was like oh so that's what that's for and I tried it and it works with mine as well.

[@BlackEpyon]

9:19 It's a binary encoder wheel. They're not all that complicated, actually. It's got two ratchet devices for toggling up and down, but the thing that makes it work is the wheel inside, which has a PCB with exposed circular copper traces, and functions similar to the selector nob on a multimeter. Just a 3x8 position set radial copper tracks, and which position the wheel is in determines which tracks meet up with the wiper contacts. Many are simplified to use a common return between the 1,2 & 3 pins, since the jumper blocks usually just pull to ground anyways. The theory of operation for SCSI jumper blocks is as simple as adding the number on the ID pins: pins 1 & 3 enabled gives a drive ID of 4, pins 1,2 & 3 give a drive ID of 7, etc. None enabled gives a drive ID of 0 (I like to have 0 as the controller ID, some people use 7, it doesn't really matter, so long as no two devices use the same ID). The drive ID's don't even need to be in sequence on the ribbon, though you DO need to make sure that the last drive on the cable has a terminator enabled, or a terminator block is attached on the end of the ribbon to prevent signal reflection.

[@TechTangents]

By complicated I should have specified that's it's not just a switch or something. Parts with lots of contactors like that are starting to oxidize now and they need cleaning which wont be easy on something like that.

[@BlackEpyon]

@@TechTangents Depends on how hard it is to take apart. I've a few of these encoders from my own SCSI enclosures, and I've never had them go bad.

[@darkestlost]

The video format is just great.

[@bobalex6323]

One like for the content, one for the cat playing with the Molex connector. As I can only give one like, it was for the cat ;)

[@AntoninPoitou]

Your videos are always educational and refreshing. Thanks a lot

[@besimai]

I'm happy to see another video! I've been waiting and checking up regularly

[@Cubik303]

Awesome build! Inspired to do this for some of my vintage musical gear.

[@martinmeyer2008]

I look forward to more in the keyboard...had numerous Roland's over the years, from top end, down to low end, but never had SCSI on the back :-) My Yamaha now has ethernet, times are a changing! :-)

[@Voltaire321]

OOhh SCSI. I used to be the master of SCSI back in my Unix admin days.

[@Vamptonius]

2:25 - That, is a cat toy. 2:46 - Called it!

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

One reason to use the floppy connector would be saving on production costs. The standard molex is quite big and would require a larger board that would be more expensive to produce and that would be unused space by the looks of the circuit.

[@32bitrant]

I'd love that Windows theme!

[@chris-tal]

Your cat makes a very good listener with those fluffy ears.

[@hernancoronel]

At 11:21 in the future you should mount it back in its place, read it through an arduino and feed the ID info via software to the usb port. That would be the ULTIMATE RETRO KLUDGE! Awesome video, thank you!

[@Game__Boy]

I've been doing the SD extension for vintage pcs to an SD-to-IDE adapter for years now. They always work well and are super handy to make the card externally & front panel accessible. Protip: use blue tack instead of mounting tape. It holds better over time and is easier to remove if you need to remount or replace the extension cable.

[@6581punk]

I built myself a "blackbox" as shown on Don Solaris' site. It's a crazy SCSI to IDE type thing. I have a compactflash card reader on mine. Using it with an EMU sampler.

[@WuschelWolf]

Tech youtubers and cats. Name a better duo. :D

[@gmcnewlook]

“Cat tangents” ;)

[@tech34756]

In regards to CF cards, I’d just get a CF2SD/dual mSD adapter from ebay for around £10. I currently have one in my A1200 with 2x 64GB mSD (I presume JBOD) which seems to do the job (touch wood).

[@TechTangents]

I've heard bad things about those needing weird voltages and getting fried. If it's working for you that's great! But I haven't tried that out yet and am just trying to avoid CF as much as I can. Though I will be doing a CF drive swap in an upcoming project that I'm really excited about.

[@bf0189]

Really good hacks! Awesome job. I'll have to look at the other video tomorrow!

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Now we just need a Jasmine, GCC, or FWB Jackhammer enclosure. Microtech was one of the main SCSI vendors back in the day. But the GCC drives had the best LEDs on the front.

[@MadsonOnTheWeb]

Really neat!

[@Outofthedust]

Very nice. On my own I would have stripped the end of the SD card reader and 3D printed a bracket to hold the SD extension cable and make a Slot in the front of the case for it. but I like how you kept the original function of the drive.

[@thysonsacclaim]

I'd kill for that VC6.0 box set.

[@richfiles]

those round threaded inserts are called PEM nuts, and they have an internal thread, and a crimping ridge around the bottom that "bites" into the metal to secure it when pressed into the metal hole. I get mine from Fastenal.

[@greenefieldmann3014]

Gorgeous cat!

[@marcelhh2101]

In the main time the cat is busy with its private parts😳😎

[@ggaben6609]

Nice video.

[@richfiles]

The quality kitty content that I needed.

[@fabianfarina2208]

14:18 i love when a plan come together

[@jinxterx]

Cat hair..everywhere! :D

[@JoshuaBoyd]

I think those flush nuts in the sheet metal are normal nuts just crammed in. There a bunch of types of rivet like nuts. A popular bunch of them are called rivnuts, but that probably isn't quite correct here. A previous employer used PEM brand self-clinching standoffs, which look like they have a fair chance of being what was originally used in this device.

[@dgm778]

looks like a dreamcast

[@MatroxMillennium]

I had a good chuckle when you forgot the name for flat head screws.

[@nickwallette6201]

Hey, keep an eye on that PSU. Those old switchers really need an adequate load, which they won’t be getting from the SD board. The fan might be enough if you left that plugged in. And some of them were designed to be stable under no load conditions. Just watch out for it!

[@freednighthawk]

Heh, my wife bought me that exact screwdriver set (6:29) for x-mas last year.

[@pippaengroda]

It would be epic if this also made the HDD sound :)

[@piecaruso97]

You can leave a broken hard disk in the enclosure and just connecting it to power to have some of the noise

[@BlackEpyon]

I've been thinking of something like that as an addon to an XT-IDE card that wires into the LED connector, just to make the noises I miss that CF cards just don't satisfy.

[@B5DIN]

I'd get that one speacher and chip that goes "Ay aY aY i'M yOuR LitLlE ButTeRflY" and replace the "Ay aY aY i'M yOuR LitLlE ButTeRflY" BIN file the chip comes with and replace it with a BIN that has the HDD sounds. So everytime it turns on, the speaker goes "VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR"

[@BlackEpyon]

@@B5DIN lol! Hard drive go Brrrrrrrr

[@Kikay0n]

There are special rivets you can get with a rivet gun for mounting nuts on boards like that for standoffs

[@DavidWonn]

At least with the double density format, you can always tape over the hole on high density disks and use them with mixed results. It’s the first thing I do to otherwise bad HD diskettes, to prolong their usage.

[@Ganiscol]

Excellent job. I love mods like this! 👌 And the cat too! Whats her/his name?

[@TJDunaway]

What is AkBKitKu's name? Adorable cat. Great video!

[@DavidWonn]

Cats + tech? That’s an automatic like there.

[@RisingRevengeance]

ShelbyCatTangents

[@Krivulda]

The hard drive actually might be saveable. If it has only one platter, the melting rubber bumpers can be changed and it will unpark again happily.

[@BlackEpyon]

I've seen people use external zip drives with those keyboards. Might not have been the same keyboard exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was one of those combo parallel/SCSI external zip drives they were using for storage.

[@MakarovFox]

3:37 feel your pain brother

[@Propotus]

Let me introduce you to the wonderful wonderful world of riv-nuts! Simply put its threads that are riveted onto a piece of metal removing the need for nuts on the backside.

[@chriswareham]

I use a SCSI2SD with my Ensoniq EPS, which is also a sampler workstation (and I used a Roland W30 for many years - great machine). Mine is in a 3D printed case, which is simpler than your external case but nowhere near as cool. By the way, the W30 does have sounds in ROM but they are of course inaccessible until you load the OS from floppy or SCSI drive

[@richiec7700]

Rivetnuts. Not too expensive for the tool and a combo pack of rivetnuts to be included. About $25-50 for an ok setup.

[@lanikjo]

I found a very simillar enclosure near a dumpster... Also labeled Microtech and it looks the same but has a window in the front. I can't imagine them being rare.

[@cheater00]

I'd get rid of the huge enclosure and use an old 3.5" hdd enclosure. Use a usb B or micro jack to feed the 5V, and make the board flush with the front, so you don't need any usb or sd extenders. You can get usb micro breakouts CHEAP. Take the scsi connectors off this huge case and mount em in the back. The huge case could be a great case for a mini pc of some sort!!!

[@TheDrExaviouse]

i did something very siomilar with my macintosh plus. i got a laci external drive and put a scsi2sd in it for os and saved programs

[@TastyBusiness]

Tech Tangents Presents: SCSI Quest 2021

[@BenState]

That earth to chassis arrangement is DODGY!

[@mibnsharpals]

I love yor cat videos :-)

[@gmcmaster1985]

If you cover the media hole (opposite the write protect) on a HD floppy you can format them to 720k in a PC

[@UnreasonableSteve]

"Neither one of these are ground so I'm not sure how this works" @ 21:00 - could be switched on the ground side rather than the 'hot' side - check for continuity between one of the power rails and the LED pins and you'll probably find something

[@willsowerbutts]

I bet it's exactly this. One side will be +5V via a resistor and the other side will be the collector on an NPN transistor with the emitter grounded.

[@paulmccoy2908]

Maybe a SCSI IOmega Zip drive would make a better case for this. They are easier to find (I have several) and the card slot and USB connector would be accessible through the disc slot. The Zip drive uses an external power supply so it could be adapted to any voltage.

[@channelite]

Awesome. Is that drive silent? Does the old fan make noise?

[@antagonizt]

Rotate the scsi2sd 90 to mount it?

[@herbmyers805]

Nice job and I have a CD ROM SCSI could that be used?

[@CrisisParody]

Finaly

[@peterbustin2683]

Do you need to keep the cooling fan ?

[@Stjaernljus]

Kitty!

[@stevenclark2188]

I wonder if the tameframe on this is right to support an external Zip drive.

[@wazzysgarage5623]

Kitty loves you lol

[@LaskyLabs]

A SCSI quest sounds like a bloody nightmare. Also I actually have seen one of these floppy keyboards at my local music resale shop. But sadly it has a broken key :/

[@Zeem4]

I've got an Apple HD20 with no drive in it, I've been meaning to do something like this to it for years...

[@andykillsu]

Really love your videos but I subbed back when you started the Data General content, are you going to get back to that?

[@johnwarr7552]

My cat (who allows me to share her desk) suggests you need a drill press. 🙂

[@boxman139]

I'm officially putting you and Doug DeMuro in the council of people who start off their videos by saying 'this'

[@mgladders]

What about Clint (LGR)?

[@YeetiusMaximusYT]

Can you try installing an OS in there that would be cool

[@ZXRulezzz]

Probably a bit late for that, but how would SCSI2SD detect SD card presence if there's an always plugged in extension? I believe it can present SD card as a removable SCSI media which one could eject and replace while running. Not familiar with SCSI2SD circuitry though, SD card detection might be in software as well as in hardware. The latter one probably wouldn't work with an extender.

[@ZombieRyushu]

Are you going to clean the exterior plastic?

[@GarryMobi]

Still wondering whether an SD card is actually a good choice in replacing hard disks ... considering that they have a quite limited rewrite capacity ... wouldn't a CF or USB w/ real SSD be a better choice?