Big Book of Amiga Hardware

A CD-ROM controller which connects to the PCMCIA slot of the A600 and A1200. It was a joint venture between BSC and Alfa Data. In the early days before the ATAPI standard was ratified, many manufacturers produced their own standards and protocols for adding CD-ROMs to computers. These custom controllers were generally found on old PC sound cards. The custom controllers looked like an IDE controller but were not compatible and were usually made by Sony, Panasonic or Mitsumi. The CD1200 is actually a Mitsumi controller and is designed for use with Mitsumi CD-ROMS that support the (now very obsolete) Mitsumi standard. Mitsumi also make standard IDE/ATAPI CDROMs. Another card for the Amiga which also supports the Mitsumi standard is the Tandem. It is possible to use standard APAPI CDROM's with this unit. Some people have reported that this works with the original drivers whilst others have said you need the ATAPI drivers for the IDE-Fix package.