Will the "Backpack"parallel CD Burnners work with a amigia?

[quarkx]

Ok, silly question, but I have a few old parallel backpack CD burners kicking around on my old Tandy systems. Can I use them on the Amiga's? I know I would have to hunt down or write drivers and get a CD file system, but is it feasible? If I have more than one Amiga set up, can I use a printer switch box and share the CD between them? Or is that just over the top? :crazy:

[Zac67]

In theory: probably. In reality, lacking drivers: no.

If the drives themselves are standard IDE or SCSI, you can get rid of the parallel interface and connect them directly.

[hardlink]

I have some of those, too, even a parallel port floppy drive, and I've always wondered. First, I'd think you would need a parallel port meeting the IBM clone spec, maybe on a GVP IO Extender card. Then you would probably have to run an IBM simulator program like PCTask to use the PC-DOS drivers. Then maybe ...

With a BridgeBoard, I'd say definately, since they had a hardware clone parallel port
 

[quarkx]

Are you saying the Amiga's Parallel port is different than the PC? (transfer rates, communication and what not?) :-?

[hardlink]

quarkx wrote:
Are you saying the Amiga's Parallel port is different than the PC? (transfer rates, communication and what not?) :-?

Pin definitions at least - here's a comment from a review of the GVP IOExtender:

"Another jumper is provided which switches the parallel port from Amiga Parallel to IBM PC Parallel. The difference here is that the Amiga port supplies 5 volts on pin 14 (allowing devices such as samplers and digitizers to be powered)."