<s>
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
is	O
a	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
subsystem	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
8-bit	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
Commodore	B-Device
128	I-Device
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
is	O
capable	O
of	O
a	O
data	O
transfer	O
rate	O
of	O
more	O
than	O
per	O
second	O
and	O
65	O
kilobytes	O
per	O
second	O
in	O
Commodore	B-Device
128	I-Device
fast	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
design	O
of	O
both	O
the	O
technically	O
complicated	O
hardware	B-Application
interface	I-Application
and	O
disk	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
came	O
from	O
Lloyd	O
Sponenburgh	O
and	O
Roy	O
Southwick	O
of	O
Fiscal	O
Information	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
now-defunct	O
Florida-based	O
turnkey	O
vendor	O
of	O
minicomputer-based	O
medical	O
information	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fiscal	O
demonstrated	O
a	O
working	O
prototype	B-Application
in	O
1984	O
and	O
starting	O
advertising	O
the	O
system	O
for	O
sale	O
early	O
in	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
immediately	O
found	O
a	O
niche	O
with	O
some	O
Commodore	O
software	O
developers	O
and	O
bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
SysOps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
subsequent	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
multiplexing	O
accessory	O
allows	O
one	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
to	O
be	O
shared	O
by	O
up	O
to	O
16	O
computers	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
round	B-Algorithm
robin	I-Algorithm
scheduling	I-Algorithm
algorithm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
with	O
multiple	O
line	O
BBSs	O
practical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
streaming	O
tape	O
support	O
,	O
using	O
QIC-02	B-Device
tape	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
,	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
premium	O
backup	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fiscal	O
built	O
the	O
units	O
to	O
order	O
until	O
late	O
1986	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
time	O
the	O
decision	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
turn	O
over	O
the	O
production	O
,	O
marketing	O
and	O
customer	O
support	O
to	O
Xetec	O
Inc	O
.	O
Fiscal	O
continued	O
to	O
provide	O
secondary	O
technical	O
support	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
free	O
DOS	B-Operating_System
upgrades	O
,	O
until	O
December	O
1991	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
time	O
production	O
of	O
new	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
systems	O
ceased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
shutdown	O
of	O
Xetec	O
in	O
1995	O
,	O
private	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
was	O
carried	O
on	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
by	O
Ron	O
Fick	O
until	O
his	O
untimely	O
death	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
uses	O
a	O
5	O
"	O
Hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
with	O
a	O
capacity	O
of	O
10	O
MB	O
and	O
later	O
up	O
to	O
330	O
MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
uses	O
MFM	B-Protocol
modulation	O
to	O
encode	O
data	O
and	O
a	O
ST-506	B-Device
interface	O
to	O
the	O
OMTI	O
5300	O
intelligent	O
SASI	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
controller	O
board	O
presents	O
a	O
SASI	O
interface	O
(	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
)	O
externally	O
that	O
is	O
connected	O
via	O
a	O
cable	O
with	O
DB-25	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
in	O
both	O
ends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
is	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
host	O
adapter	O
that	O
handles	O
the	O
SASI	O
signals	O
and	O
protocol	O
with	O
a	O
controller	O
that	O
plugs	O
directly	O
into	O
the	O
44-pin	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
expansion	O
slot	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
physical	O
edge	O
connector	O
that	O
mates	O
the	O
controller	O
board	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
bus	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
connection	O
between	O
the	O
computer	O
host	O
adapter	O
(	O
DB-25F	B-Protocol
)	O
and	O
the	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
unit	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
cable	O
with	O
two	O
DB-25	B-Protocol
connectors	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
key	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
is	O
its	O
sophisticated	O
disk	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
behaves	O
much	O
like	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
Point	O
4	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
that	O
Fiscal	O
was	O
reselling	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high	O
degree	O
of	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
is	O
possible	O
with	O
simple	O
typed	O
commands	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
had	O
never	O
been	O
seen	O
before	O
in	O
the	O
8-bit	O
Commodore	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
features	O
a	O
keyed	O
random	O
access	O
filing	B-Operating_System
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lt	B-Device
.	I-Device
Kernal	I-Device
was	O
favorably	O
and	O
comprehensively	O
reviewed	O
in	O
The	O
Transactor	O
,	O
which	O
praised	O
the	O
drive	O
's	O
speed	O
,	O
storage	O
capacity	O
,	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
criticism	O
was	O
levied	O
at	O
the	O
product	O
's	O
incomplete	O
documentation	O
,	O
its	O
drain	O
on	O
the	O
resources	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
computer	O
(	O
particularly	O
with	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
whose	O
limited	O
memory	O
requires	O
frequent	O
paging	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
DOS	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
an	O
automated	O
backup	O
utility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
noted	O
the	O
drive	O
's	O
particular	O
suitability	O
for	O
professional	O
programmers	O
,	O
business	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
BBS	B-Application
sysops	O
.	O
</s>
