Rabbit Hole Computing:Buyer's Guide

You've decided to get one of the Zulu family of devices ― fabulous! We're glad that one of our products can be of use to you. But if you're not quite sure which one best fits your needs, here's some criteria that will hopefully help you pare the list of choices down.

Step 1: Determine the bus the device will be on.

The device is a SCSI drive (mechanical hard drive, optical drive, tape drives, some Zip/Jaz/Orb drives and MO drives)

You'll be using a ZuluSCSI. Go to step 2 below.

The device is an IDE drive (mechanical hard drive, optical drive, some Zip/Jaz/Orb drives, LS-120 drives)

You'll be using a ZuluIDE. Continue to step 2 for mounting options. You can also go to the Quick Start Guide, or if you want more detailed setup and configuration information, visit the ZuluIDE Configuration page.

Step 2: Determine what the installation environment is going to be.

I have a very old or very finicky device that seems to only like specific drives or media.

The best option here is the ZuluSCSI 6.4 or ZuluSCSI 1.2. The ZuluSCSI 6.4 and ZuluSCSI 1.2 are the most transparent devices out of all of the options and also default to direct read-and-write modes out of the box.

ZuluSCSI 6.4 is the fastest device in the lineup, and is software-configurable down to the device ID and manufacturer strings reported to the host computer, so if there are specific things that need to be set for your particular needs, this device is likely your best bet.

The ZuluSCSI 1.2, while not directly as configurable as the 6.4, is intended out of the box to act as a hard disk. It also features a rotary encoder to force the device to register itself as a particular type, should that be needed, and defaults to using the SD card itself as the media, rather than using disk image files.

If you're talking IDE devices, the next step is to take a look at the ZuluIDE INI Configuration page and see if there are any options there that can help you.

The device is going to be permanently mounted inside a host computer and I won't need to access it directly

Either the ZuluSCSI 6.4, ZuluSCSI 1.2, or ZuluSCSI RP2040 are the best options here. Each of these devices mounts to a standard 2.5"-to-3.5" drive bay adapter, which in turn can be mounted inside a standard 3.5" hard drive bay enclosure.

As for the ZuluIDE, it ships with a mounting bracket that will allow you to mount it in a 2.5"-to-3.5" hard drive enclosure.

The device is going to be mounted inside a host computer but I need to access it semi-regularly

The ZuluSCSI RP2040 or ZuluSCSI RP2040 Compact are your best options here. While these devices can be mounted, they can also be left un-mounted (in the case of the Compact) or mounted externally (in the case of the full-size 2040).

For the ZuluIDE, this is the same as above, but you may want to consider adding on the optional hardware control interface and mounting it externally.

The device needs to be mounted externally because I'll need regular access to the SD card

The ZuluSCSI RP2040 Mini or ZuluSCSI Pico Slim are your best options here. Each of these devices uses a DB25 connector to access the SCSI bus, so it can easily be mounted externally to a system with an external DB25 SCSI connector. You can also use a ZuluSCSI RP2040, and add a DB25 connector to it and use an external enclosure if you choose.

For the ZuluIDE, the best option here is to physically mount the included bracket to the outside of the case and run the IDE cable and power cable from inside the case; for example, through an open expansion slot.

I have a laptop.

For laptops with an internal SCSI connection, the ZuluSCSI RP2040 Laptop is the best option as it can be mounted internally to the case just like a SCSI hard drive.

For IDE devices, this will require an adapter to convert the laptop's 44-pin 2.5" IDE connection to the desktop's 40-pin version. Additionally, the ZuluIDE will have to remain outside the laptop case, however, it can sit in the mounting bracket happily.

I need WiFi access to the device, either so multiple machines can access it simultaneously or so I can control it over my network.

For SCSI devices, the ZuluSCSI Pico Slim is the way to go here. This device offers DaynaPORT ethernet emulation, allowing you to attach the device as an Ethernet SCSI device over your wireless network. For instructions on how to set this up, go to the DaynaPORT Emulation page.

For IDE devices, controlling the ZuluIDE is possible wirelessly with an additional Pi Pico W attached to the device's SPI pins or through the Qwiic ports mounted to the device. For details on how to set this up, see the ZuluIDE WiFi Control page.

Step 3: Choose your device.

SCSI Devices

File:ZuluSCSI 6.4.jpg	File:Zuluscsi1.2.jpg	File:ZuluSCSI RP2040 Rev2023a-1.5MB.jpg	File:ZuluSCSI-Compact-RP2040-Rev2023b-top-cropped.png	File:ZuluSCSI-RP2040-Mini-in-case.png	File:ZuluSCSI Pico Slim Assembled.png	File:ZuluSCSI-RP2040-Laptop version.png
ZuluSCSI 6.4	ZuluSCSI 1.2	ZuluSCSI RP2040	ZuluSCSI RP2040 Compact	ZuluSCSI RP2040 Mini	ZuluSCSI Pico Slim	ZuluSCSI RP2040 Laptop-sized
			Kit version		Kit version

IDE Devices

File:ZuluIDE RP2040 Compact.png
ZuluIDE RP2040 Compact