Initiator Mode
"Initiator" is the SCSI term for a "Host Device". For reference, "Target" is the SCSI term for a device like a Hard Drive, CD-ROM, Tape Drive, etc.
The Initiator can be a Mac, PC, Amiga, SCSI add-in card, whatever acts as the SCSI to machine interface.
This allows you to directly connect your 2023.09a Desktop Hardware version BlueSCSI to a vintage SCSI drive and copy data from it without needing a bootable "Host Device". So you can directly take a "Drive Image" so to speak, straight onto BlueSCSI. Significant changes were necessary to enable Initiator Mode, and it does not work with older hardware versions. It is not expected for Initiator Mode support to be added to other hardware styles due to the higher complexity and manufacturing cost.
Initiator Mode has been tested to copy data between BlueSCSI devices, and a few hard drives have been tested as well. Support for Tape Drives and other Targets is currently unknown, and would require test devices.
- Initiator Mode requires a Desktop BlueSCSI version 2023.09a
- On your SD card, create a file named "bluescsi.ini" with the following contents, each on their own line without an empty line between them:
[SCSI]
InitiatorMode=1
- Install the SD card into BlueSCSI
- Move the jumper labeled "Initiator" and "Target" to the "Initiator" side
- Install a jumper on the standalone "Initiator" jumper near a screw hole toward the middle of the board (by C21, C15)
- Connect your BlueSCSI to the Target device of your choosing (probably a hard drive), using any necessary SCSI connector adapters
- Remember termination considerations, both ends of the bus need to be terminated
- Some Target devices can terminate the bus, but require Termination Power to do so
- BlueSCSI can send power to the Termination Power line with the "Back Feed" jumper set, when powered via the floppy power connector or USB-C
- BlueSCSI has a built-in terminator that can terminate one side of the bus, set "TRM_ON" by the SCSI connector
- Once your SCSI connections are all made and termination has been figured out, it's time to apply power to your Target device and BlueSCSI
- Power your Target with whatever setup is necessary (Old ATX power supplies are handy for this, as they usually also include a floppy power connector)
- Apply Power to BlueSCSI
- BlueSCSI will now scan the bus for Targets
- During Target scan, the Pico stick LED will blink regularly
- It can take some time to scan for Targets, especially older hard drives which take awhile to respond
- When a Target device is discovered by BlueSCSI, the drive image process starts
- The Pico stick LED will blink more rapidly during data copy
- Testing has achieved up to 3 megabytes per second of transfer speed during data copy, but this will vary substantially per Target device
- After data copy is complete, the Pico onboard LED will blink slowly again and continue scanning the bus until power is removed
- Assuming there is only one Target device on the bus (multiple are supported), after the fast blinking stops and slow blinking is seen again power can be removed at any time
- If you have several Targets, it's best to wait for at least 30 seconds of slow blinking before removing power from everything to ensure that BlueSCSI has started and completed the copy process across all Targets
On your SD card, there will be a new file named HDX0_imaged.hda, where X is the SCSI ID of your Target device. And the log.txt file will contain information about the drive's capacity, sectors read, and an approximate read speed.
To use BlueSCSI as a Target again, the two jumpers must be moved back. Remove the standalone Initiator jumper and switch the other jumper back to the Target side.
