Emerson / Motorola MVME320B-001 VMEbus Intelligent Winchester / Floppy Disk Controller Module

The Emerson/Motorola MVME320B-001 is a VMEbus-compatible intelligent disk controller module that manages both Winchester hard drives and floppy disk storage within VMEbus systems. This dual-height, single-slot module enables high-performance data transfer between system memory and connected drives, supporting mixed drive configurations up to two Winchester drives and two floppy drives, or alternatively four floppy drives. The controller handles 5.25-inch and 8-inch floppy formats with single and double-density recording (FM and MFM), and Winchester drives with double-density MFM recording. Winchester interface support includes ST506 and SA1000 standards.

## Technical Specifications

• **Module Type:** VMEbus intelligent disk controller, dual-height form factor
• **Winchester Drive Support:** Up to two drives with ST506 and SA1000 interfaces; MFM double-density recording
• **Floppy Drive Support:** Up to two 5.25-inch or 8-inch drives, or up to four floppy drives total; single and double-density recording (FM/MFM)
• **VMEbus Interface:** 24-bit host address with 6-bit address modifier
• **Data Transfer Modes:** 8-bit register transfer and 16-bit DMA data transfer
• **Error Handling:** Automatic bad-sector handling
• **Diagnostics:** On-board self-diagnostics capabilities
• **Drive Connectors:** MVME320B features front-mount connectors; MVME320B-1 features side-mount connectors for alternative cable routing

## Key Features

• Single VMEbus slot integration
• Supports mixed Winchester and floppy drive configurations
• Dual data transfer modes optimize performance across different workloads
• On-board diagnostics enable field troubleshooting

## Typical Applications

Industrial control systems, embedded computing platforms, and legacy VMEbus-based instrumentation requiring integrated storage management for both hard disk and floppy media.

## Compatibility & Integration

Full VMEbus backplane compatibility with standard 24-bit addressing. Power distribution via VMEbus supply rails. Front panel features three interface connections.