This is an old revision of the document!
The following information is up to date as of October 2023.
The purpose of this document is to outline how to get a BlueSCSI / ZuluSCSI modern microSD to SCSI emulator to work with the FM Towns. This document has only been tested on the FM Towns II (my unit is the Fresh T) but should work on most 486 or better desktop computers.
Also, unlike the X68000, getting a SCSI hard drive connected to the FM Towns is not required. Almost all the games run from CD's (even if you install the game to the hard drive, the CD is still needed for the CD music tracks) So consider this more of a nice to have than a must have.
In the future I suspect we'll see CD-ROM replacements for the FM Towns which will make this even less relevant.
PreReq:
- Working FM Towns computer - SRAM battery inside must have been replaced
- FM Towns Keyboard
- FM Towns joystick (I use an SNES to X68000 adapter with an SNES controller)
- BlueSCSI (https://bluescsi.com/) or ZuluSCSI (https://zuluscsi.com/) - make sure to get the external version (DB25 RP2040 based) as it's easier to keep the software updated without needing to take the computer apart.
- 8GB or bigger MicroSD card (smaller cards might not work)
- SCSI external cable to connect between your FM Towns and 25 pin connector
The cable is the most difficult part. The FM Towns uses the original SCSI-1 CN-50 connector on the back. You will require a cable that converts from your FM Towns external SCSI port to the DB25 port on the SD device. I also had to get a DB25 gender changer to go between my ZuluSCSI and SCSI-1 cable.
Some things to keep in mind:
- FM Towns keeps its boot order in SRAM
- Unlike any other computer, mapping between drive partitions and drive letters are also kept in SRAM (Imagine C: and D: partitions you defined in FDisk on a PC had to keep the mapping in BIOS; i.e. Drive 0, partition 0 is C:, drive 0, partition 1 is D:, etc.) If this information is lost, the OS will not boot! Hence, when you download a drive image from the Internet, and try to use it on FM Towns, you must define the partition map in SRAM for it work.
- If your SRAM battery (CR2032) is dead; this mapping is lost after each reboot and needs to be recreated