Log inRegister an accountBrowse CSDbHelp & documentationFacts & StatisticsThe forumsAvailable RSS-feeds on CSDbSupport CSDb Commodore 64 Scene Database
You are not logged in - nap
CSDb User Forums


Forums > CSDb Entries > Release id #160665 : Stepper Test 1.0
2017-11-30 14:02
ChristopherJam

Registered: Aug 2004
Posts: 1359
Release id #160665 : Stepper Test 1.0

Copying the production notes below, but I'd really like to see some results from other people's drives for this one.
 
... 25 posts hidden. Click here to view all posts....
 
2017-11-30 19:53
lft

Registered: Jul 2007
Posts: 369
THCM was kind enough to let me test Spindle on his "problem drive", and one thing I learned was that just after a track change, the head seems to oscillate a bit before coming to rest. During this time, some sectors are garbled. Perhaps the header is read correctly from one track, and then it goes back to reading from the other track halfway through the sector contents.

Disconcertingly, sometimes the sector checksum would come out right even though the contents were wrong. I didn't dig any deeper into what happens here, and I fixed it (on Bitbreaker's suggestion) by throwing away the first few sectors after a track change, until a given number of consecutive sectors with correct checksum have been read.

To research the phenomenon, I would suggest a track with some constant nibble-pattern (55 55 55...) next to a track with a different pattern (cc cc cc...), and then switch back and forth between them, reading sectors, and looking for one that has the correct checksum but some variation in the contents. This sector (and the checksum) could then be sent to the host and displayed on the screen for further analysis. Though it might not work for all nibble-patterns, so some experimentation is called for.
2017-11-30 20:19
chatGPZ

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11088
that "oscillating" is the "settle time" - you should be able to find this in the datasheet of the mech :)
2017-12-01 05:00
ChristopherJam

Registered: Aug 2004
Posts: 1359
Krill, do you mean just the scattered individual black pixels? Head probably hasn't quite finished settling yet.

Groepaz: that drive is *fast*! Did you install a turbo?? Code would have to have a bit of a redesign to zoom any more tightly on that top edge.
2017-12-01 05:03
ChristopherJam

Registered: Aug 2004
Posts: 1359
hedning kindly sent me some test images for a few of his drives last night.


1541-II (cold):


1541-II (warm):


Fairly similar to my 1541, albeit with a bit more of a wave to the right. Vestigial traces of a stall spike before it's warmed up, but otherwise quite well behaved.

The dark pixels in the bottom third of the graph is probably just the stepper test jumping a track just after the last successful test, then never recovering. I should probably fix that..


Oceanic:


A very narrow "oops I've stalled" spike here.

Dwelling on the half track for 20-24 bycles on this one is a terrible plan.


1571:


Rattletastic :) So much noise right of the spike! Interesting how much more quickly the head settles if T1 was short.
2017-12-01 06:07
Oswald

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5007
what is t1/t2/bycles ? :)
2017-12-01 06:24
Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2804
A bycle is 256 cycles. It's a portmanteau of byte and cycle. This is the usual granularity with which you use timers on a VIA, especially for head stepping.

To seek to the next track, you have to skip a half-track in between. So the head is stepped two times, with T1 and T2 denoting the wait times between issueing half-track-steps or starting to read the next track.

The goal of this tool is to find a safe optimum across all drives, that is a minimal sum of T1+T2, and also to determine where to best stuff in transfer of the previous track's last block during trackstep, for overall optimisation of loading times.
2017-12-01 07:03
soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 472
Possibly I've misunderstood the last sentence but I'd like to note that tracks are not aligned on real disks.

Even if it's assumed that the track skew is sort of consistent for the stock ROM format it'll be different for JiffyDOS, with a 1571 and with fast and custom formatters.

For worst case timing a track change must be assumed to be longer than a revolution (>200ms).
2017-12-01 07:05
Krill

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2804
This is about the track itself, not individual blocks. You can assume out-of-order block loading. It's really just about determining when any block on the destination track can be read safely.

As for track skew and alignment, i have something on my list to fix that. :)
2017-12-01 07:13
Oswald

Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5007
Perfect explanation, thanks. :-)
2017-12-01 07:33
soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 472
This sounds like I'll need to change my mailbox soon as swapping will pick up again ;)

More seriously the sectors could be realigned with a small program on the demo disk once it was written out.

Unfortunately this will likely trip on a "gapped" disk fault on a custom formatted disk unless the headers are kept in the same place which is difficult.

Is it really worth it over out of order loading (with prefetch)?
Previous - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 - Next
RefreshSubscribe to this thread:

You need to be logged in to post in the forum.

Search the forum:
Search   for   in  
All times are CET.
Search CSDb
Advanced
Users Online
Mason/Unicess
iAN CooG/HVSC
hedning/G★P
Freeze/Blazon
Airwolf/F4CG
Matt
algorithm
psych
MAT64
Ax!s/Onslaught - TND
radius75
Guests online: 326
Top Demos
1 Next Level  (9.8)
2 Mojo  (9.7)
3 Coma Light 13  (9.7)
4 Edge of Disgrace  (9.6)
5 No Bounds  (9.6)
6 Comaland 100%  (9.6)
7 Uncensored  (9.6)
8 The Ghost  (9.6)
9 Wonderland XIV  (9.6)
10 Bromance  (9.6)
Top onefile Demos
1 Party Elk 2  (9.7)
2 Cubic Dream  (9.6)
3 Copper Booze  (9.5)
4 Rainbow Connection  (9.5)
5 TRSAC, Gabber & Pebe..  (9.5)
6 Onscreen 5k  (9.5)
7 Dawnfall V1.1  (9.5)
8 Quadrants  (9.5)
9 Daah, Those Acid Pil..  (9.5)
10 Birth of a Flower  (9.5)
Top Groups
1 Booze Design  (9.3)
2 Nostalgia  (9.3)
3 Oxyron  (9.3)
4 Censor Design  (9.3)
5 Crest  (9.3)
Top Organizers
1 Burglar  (9.9)
2 Sixx  (9.8)
3 hedning  (9.7)
4 Irata  (9.7)
5 MWS  (9.6)

Home - Disclaimer
Copyright © No Name 2001-2024
Page generated in: 0.047 sec.