View source for Shugart 50-pin

The '''Shugart 50-pin''' interface was originally created by [[Shugart Associates]] for their eight-inch floppy drives, such as the [[Shugart SA800-2]].

This interface was later borrowed by IBM and turned into the 34-pin PC Floppy interface.  While a large number of pins and signals were dropped, the two interfaces are largely compatible and all that is needed to convert between the two is a passive adapter.  For full bidirectional compatibility an active adapter is required, as the 8" drive needs a "boost" signal activated once the drive has gone beyond track 43.  If this signal is missing, writing to the 8" media will become unreliable once writing goes beyond track 43.

The [[DBit FDADAP]] is one active adapter that can be used to connect Shugart 50-pin drives to a PC Floppy interface.

[[Category:I/O interfaces]]