DAT/DDS hardware

(and firmware)

DDS drives with audio firmware

• Any SGI-branded DAT DDS2/3 drive (e.g. based on ArDAT Python 4320, Sony SDT-9000 or others). Better yet, any SGI box with DAT. Warning: SGI DDS4 drives no longer have audio support! SGI have removed the feature due to "lack of demand". Their web pages erroneously claim otherwise. (Thanks to Martin Sawey for discovering this the hard way.)
• Recent Sony SDT-9000 (for SGI only?).
• Possibly Seagate Scorpion, according to rumour on rec.audio.pro.
• Complete solution: DATStudio for the Mac includes a compatible drive.

See also the resources page.

DDS drives that don't support audio

Based on reliable opinion:

• Any HP drive.
• Any Sun-branded drive (probably OEM-ed Archive or HP).
• Probably any Sony earlier than SDT-9000.
• Probably the drive you already own.

Where to buy DDS/audio drives

Your best bet is to find a vendor of secondhand or refurbished SGI DAT drives, such as the following notified to me by others. (Disclaimer: I have no business relationship with any of these companies; in fact, so far I've had no business with them. This is not warranteed, and they may be out of stock. Be polite.)

• Doug Mashek at Mashek Consulting Corp may have some audio-enabled Archive Pythons for around $200 (thanks to Michael Deiss). Eric vanLuijk picked up a new Seagate CTD-8000H-S for his SGI Indigo2 for $200 from the same place.
• Try searching Yahoo for SGI resellers.
• EZ Systems sell new Seagate CTD-8000H-S for SGIs (thanks to Michael Elliott, found via Pricewatch).
• Second hand Archive Pythons are sometimes offered for auction on Ebay.

Firmware

For general advice on firmware versions and how to obtain it, consult the Computall DAT FAQ.

Note: As a general policy, I won't host firmware and related software here unless I know for sure that it is freely, legally distributable. Please email me if you are unable to locate particular items and I will do what I can to help.

• Jos Heemskerk has successfully updated more drives than anyone I know: his DAT Audio Firmware Holy Grail should be your first stop for Archive Python drives.
• Audio-capable v2.75-15 firmware for Archive Python drives. (External link, not hosted here, reportedly now defunct. Search the web for "V275-15", try the Wayback machine or mail me.)
• Sony/SGI SDT-9000 firmware.
• The firmware flash page, all kinds of firmware.
• Image of Dell's DAT firmware upgrade disk, containing the firmware upgrade program (FUP). (Do not install the firmware revision on this disk though.)
• DATMAN have info on DDS EPROM types.
• Seagate firmware update utility.
• If you're flashing a drive, take note of the implications for SCSI ID settings.

N.B. Neither myself nor anyone else takes responsibility for the firmware available via this page and what it may or may not do. If you choose to install it, you live with the consequences. If it breaks, you get to keep the pieces. ;-)

If you have problems obtaining firmware or upgrading it, please email me, as I may be able to help further.

Installing firmware

Someone asked how to upgrade a DDS drive using the firmware above. I haven't tried it, lacking a suitable test case and time. You need an OEM firmware upgrade program (usually called FUP, see above for a link to Dell's), commonly available from their support FTP sites as disk images or patches. Do not use OEM firmware though! From there, presumably you can copy the appropriate files and use the utility to install the audio firmware. If you succeed, let me know how you did it. (To people who keep asking me how to use these files: this is all I know!)

Note: recent reports suggest the firmware above can only be used by blowing it to a 2Mb EPROM and fitting it into a compatible drive. I.e. None of the upgraders will work if the EPROM is One Time Programmable (OTP) rather than flash. If you have any advice or pointers to advice on burning EPROMs, please let me know (see also emails).

A message to DDS vendors:

Quit fannying around and put audio capability in your drives once and for all!!