[pups] Searching for 8" DSDD drive

[SHOPPA@trailing-edge.com (SHOPPA@trailing-edge.com)]

>we are looking for someone with access to a working 8" DSDD floppy
>disk drive, presumably running RT or RSX on the PDP system. This is
>to retrieve some very interesting historic material regarding the
>Internet. As some of you may know, the IMP's in the 1980s, or fuzzball
>systems, were running PDPs.

You need more than just the drive - you need a compatible controller.  While
most floppy systems were DEC-compatible in SSSD and SSDD modes (RX01 and RX02),
the DEC RX03 (DSDD) was never released and as a result there are literally
dozens of not-quite-compatible DSDD floppy systems.  When the low-level
format agrees, you'll discover that the interleaving doesn't!  (And there
are a lot more choices with regards to interleaving when you've got two
sides...)

If you can clue us in as to the make and model of the writing controller,
it'd help a lot.

>The actual floppies to be read are in Delaware, anyone close there
>would be a big bonus.

I'm sure I've got a couple dozen not-quite-compatible DSDD systems here
in DC :-).

Tim.