BlueSCSI On SPARCstations!

In this video I finally get around to trying out some BlueSCSI devices in my Sparcstation computers. I had hoped to find a lower cost replacement to the SCSI2SD card I'd used originally and these looked like they may fit the bill.
Resources:
Original SCSI2SD I used: store.rabbitholecomputing.com...
Kit like my BlueSCSI V1 I got from VCFMW: bluescsi.ca/product/diy-kit-b...
Link to the BlueSCSI V2 kit I ordered: androda.work/product/bluescsi...
BlueSCSI V1 Github: github.com/erichelgeson/BlueSCSI
BlueSCSI V2 Github: github.com/BlueSCSI/BlueSCSI-v2
BlueSCSI main info site: bluescsi.com/
Collection of blank drive images if needed:
mega.nz/folder/8hA3AQCJ#pWUq9...
NetBSD Sparc Wiki Page:
wiki.netbsd.org/ports/sparc/
Example ZuluSCSI device to order: store.rabbitholecomputing.com...
ZuluSCSI github: github.com/ZuluSCSI
My original SPARCStation 5 rescue video: • SPARCstation 5 Rescue!
Check out the YT channels of these fellas I mention in the video:
‪@RonsCompVids‬
‪@EricsEdgeVideos‬
‪@helfire23‬
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As I always say, if you've not already, go check out my awesome neighbor-in-retro, ‪@retroCombs‬ He's got good stuff!
If you have actually read this far down and would like a HackShack sticker, figure out a way to get in touch with me and I'll see what I can do to get one to you! :-D
Music: @WhiteBatAudio

[@helfire23]

Hey! Glad it worked for you! I remember chatting last year at VCF-MW - and I'll be there again this year. Just wanted to note this is this is all open! You can go print your own BlueSCSI v2 or v1's PCB's and build your lab of vintage workstations. RE: termination - V1 uses passive termination - which if power is not at 5v it can not work as well as it uses the 5v to pull up the data lines through the resistor nets. V2 uses active termination which has it's own regulator and is more stable under any power condition. Also in the picture it looks like on of the jumpers is only half on, so it is only doing pull up, not pull down, on the data lines (both should be on or both should be off)

[@JamiesHackShack]

Thanks Eric! Maybe I will try to do a couple of bare ones. Fun nerd stocking stuffers right? :-D Thanks for the extra info about the termination. And of course thanks for being approachable and nice!

[@helfire23]

@@JamiesHackShack We provide the placement files too so you can get the boards populated just like your kit :) OR you can take a stab at a LOT of tiny soldering :D

[@EricsEdgeVideos]

Great video! Happy to hear both the v1 and v2 BlueSCSI worked out for you. Thanks for the shout out!

[@JamiesHackShack]

Thanks! And you got it on the shout out!

[@RonsCompVids]

It's always good to hear about how BlueSCSI is helping people realize their retrocomputer restoration goals!

[@JamiesHackShack]

👍🏻👆🏻

[@bakkus82]

Welcome to the world of SCSI magic. Correct termination is critical. Unfortunately every single combination of hosts and devices have their own idea of what "correct" can be.

[@JamiesHackShack]

Righto. It's not my first rodeo with scsi and I can't believe I didn't even try that the first go around with the V1 card! Thanks for watching!

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

Are you kidding me!?! SPARCStations, together with SGI, are the pinnacle of coolness! No other retro system comes even close, and that's coming from me, a dyed in the wool Amiga fanatic.

[@RudysRetroIntel]

Excellent video and a must watch! Thanks for sharing!

[@JamiesHackShack]

You got it Rudy! Thanks for watching man!

[@1BitFeverDreams]

very interesting how far reaching this very convenient and very cheap solution can get. I just use them for my old macs, including the v2 for my Mac Plus even though it can't use all its speed.

[@JamiesHackShack]

For sure! Maybe I need to organize my mess and make room for a Classic Mac finally! :-) My lone current Apple is my little IIC. I need to get more retro-apple experience. Assuming we don't count my old G4 mini and 2008 work powerbook. That one bluescsi niche I never knew about were for the midi devices where you can use these. That has to be super handy for folks too.

[@paulcarboneNY]

Great video, thanks for sharing! I've got a Sparcstaion 5 in the queue for SDification. Also, love the fun-tack move for holding down the SD card. Never seen that before; thanks for teaching me a new trick!

[@JamiesHackShack]

Thanks for watching! Good luck with your ss5. Ever since I saw Lee at morefunmaking it use tack I try to use it when I have it handy.

[@HugBearWithAHat]

Great video. Was always wondering about compatibility with Sun. Am so happy you got it working. Will try with my Sparc 20.

[@JamiesHackShack]

Right on! Come back and let us know how it goes. I figured other sun fans may wonder if this option would work. That was my main driving force to try it out. Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelDoornbos]

Looks pretty good

[@JamiesHackShack]

Thanks sir!

[@retroCombs]

I do not remember you purchasing this but very cool modern SCSI adapter! It would be interesting to compare to other modern SCSI adapters.

[@JamiesHackShack]

I was about to mention for your Amiga but that one doesn't have a scsi/sidecar slot does it?

[@retroCombs]

​@@JamiesHackShackIt does not.

[@thorpejsf]

This is good stuff, thanks for posting it! I'm not really happy with the SCSI2SD in my Alpha system, and have been thinking of giving BlueSCSI a day in court.

[@JamiesHackShack]

You are most welcome! Give one a shot and let us know how it works on the Alpha. @helfire23 and the crew are a pretty good bunch of folks!

[@GarthBeagle]

Cool, glad it worked out! And yes BlueSCSI is excellent 👍

[@JamiesHackShack]

So very handy for this old stuff we all love!

[@mk500]

Great info! I also really like the piSCSI. It uses a Raspberry pi and gives you a web interface for swapping images. That would work great in the show scenario you mentioned. Another cool feature it has is that it can emulate multiple drives at the same time. I use one on my Macintosh II driven by an old Raspberry Pi version 2 board.

[@JamiesHackShack]

Very cool! Maybe I'll try one of those out for giggles. Now when you say multiple drives. Do you mean like emulating two HDS and one optical drive in a single bus at once or something more complex like presenting to two different machines at once?

[@mk500]

@@JamiesHackShackYes, like several drives (each on a different ID) and a CD drive. But I was just watching one of your Sparc videos and it sounds like that other SCSI board does that as well? So many options for our vintage gear.

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

Early versions of Solaris 10 might work on a sun4m, and even on a sun4d.

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

I have a ZuluSCSI hanging off the back of my Commodore CDTV (no room to mount it internally) and I love it. It was cheap to buy, easy to set up and "Just Works". The awesome kit that's available from the retro community never fails to impress. It's so nice to not have to rely on old spinning rust drives that will eventually fail.

[@JamiesHackShack]

Right on!

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

It would be interesting to know whether BlueSCSI and ZuluSCSI support the full SCSI command set. For example: what do these controllers do, when a SCSI reservation command is issued?

[@JamiesHackShack]

I should get things back on the bench and see if we can find out. Unless we get lucky and @helfire23 wants to chime in. :-D Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@JamiesHackShack]

It does look like reserve is in this table. bluescsi.com/docs/Developers-(Advanced)

[@firefly128]

Can you share what SD cards you used? I'm having an issue with a common new Sandisk Ultra 32GB SD card throwing an error in the log saying that my disk image is fragmented, no matter what I do with reformatting and having the disk image being the only file on the card. I'm doing this on an SS4.

[@JamiesHackShack]

It may take me a while to confirm 💯 but I think I'd maybe used a middle of the road SanDisk 16g. I'll check and let you know for sure as soon as I can.

[@firefly128]

@@JamiesHackShack That actually helps a little, I'm starting to wonder if this is related to crossing that FAT32 -> EXFAT line and maybe I need to stay at a < 16GB partition size.

[@closito]

I have a gorgeus ultra 60, hoping it will work. Need to install Solaris from a DVD but scsi dvd are a PITA cause the price skyrocket

[@JamiesHackShack]

Nice! I've never really gotten to play with any newer style sun stuff. Only a netra server and one time a trial server briefly when they used AMD processors(if you count that era). I've not used a DVD iso but maybe that will work. Works like a champ with cd ISOs. Good luck with it!

[@closito]

@@JamiesHackShack whoaa! So lets try it, ive also have twice alphaservers, ds15 and ds25. Love sparc and alpha arch since i was a kit.

[@JamiesHackShack]

@@closito Always have loved Sun gear. Familiar somewhat with alpha but never put hands on any!

[@thorpejsf]

NetBSD! \m/

[@JamiesHackShack]

💯

[@redfiat]

hi, I am trying this to, have a bluescsi v1 connected to a sparcstation 1+ and I've got probe-scsi seeing both the hdd and CD. however when I try to boot the CD i get wrong magic number error. the bluescsi log file shows the CD as 2048, even though I called the iso image CD60_512.iso. Did you have to do anything to make the CDROM work ? thanks.

[@JamiesHackShack]

Ok, so you grabbed an iso and you want it to be scsi id6/lun 0 and you want 512 sector size. Is this a solaris/sunos iso or something else? Do you have the termination jumpers on or off? I know it may seem crazy just trying to think of any/everything. Your md5sum is matching/good on your iso compared to source? Actually I have never messed with a ss1 maybe I am not thinking of something. Sorry you are having trouble.

[@redfiat]

@@JamiesHackShack yes, cd on id6 lun 0 with 512 sector size . I've tried sunos 4.1 and solaris 2.5 neither work. terminator jumpers are on. the iso's are all checked and good. able to load them on another machine which has working cd and hdd

[@JamiesHackShack]

@@redfiat have you tried termination off for giggles? Not sure on the 1, on my 5 I thought I needed it but actually didn't because of the way the sca stuff was. May not be applicable to you just wondering. Interesting that the log says 2048 even when you'd told it to be 512 via the filename. Is that the latest v1 firmware on your v1? It may seem like I'm reaching because I am. I've not had much trouble with mine. May be worth poking around the bluescsi discord. I can try to get mine out and try to boot from the same ISOs for the heck of it just to compare maybe.

[@redfiat]

@@JamiesHackShack thanks :) yeah I have tried both terminated on and off. also tried an external terminator on the bus too. I put the latest firmware on but its not changing to 512 and I think that is the issue. might be something specfic to the way the SparcStation communicates over SCSI to the bluescsi unit I guess. I'm going to build a jumpstart server and install it that way as at least the bluescsi hard drive works as expected :)