Jasmine DirectTape w/MacIvo

[Bill Park <Bill_Park%quikmail.sri.com@RELAY.CS.NET>]

                       Subject:                                Time: 10:34 AM
  OFFICE MEMO          Jasmine DirectTape w/MacIvory           Date: 11/20/89
We have a very nice "Apple-compatible" Jasmine DirectTape model DT40
cartridge drive, but Symbolics' MacIvory software only operates Apple's
own Tape Backup 40SC drive.  I'd like to private-patch Genera 7.4.2 to use the
Jasmine, so I don't have to buy another tape drive.  If you've been through this
before, and are willing to share your results, please reply.

I have tried modifying CLI:scsi-tape-drive-flavor in
lmtape>scsi-tape.lisp so that it accepts the vendor and product strings
returned by the Jasmine drive ("BRAEMAR", "SCSI QicBac tape, r.1N"), and
pretends it saw an Apple drive ("3M", "MCD-40/SCSI 4.00").  Partial
success: When I do Restore Distribution :Menu Yes, for example, then
click on Initialize Restoration, the tape spins back and forth a couple
of times, and the "READ" light even comes on for a bit.  But then, a
status of x02 quickly comes back from the drive, which looks like an
error and is reported alternately as either "Drive not ready," or
"Cartridge has been changed."  Do I just have to redefine some of the
command and status codes in sys>scsi-definitions.lisp, or do I have to
revise the logic of most of the functions in scsi-tape.lisp as well?

A tip of the hat to Juergen Christoffel for pointing out that (setf
tape::*tape-drives-cached* nil) will make the Ivory re-scan the SCSI bus
for tape drives.

Bill Park
SRI International (415)859-2233