CF card to Amiga 4000 Spare Floppy Bay

[IvanEBC]

Seen a few home projects on this but no-one actually makes them for other folks. I'm not really a builder, working with plastics etc.... but here's my thinking

I did the search and found this...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dual-Comp...oAAOSwvUlWqx7z

I love the dual thing and that they both face the same way, but curious, can i run TWO CF cards at the same time from a single IDE header?

Also, i bought the CF Card reader from amikit initially, this would obviously replace that, .. that's no issue? the Amikit one doesn't have some special coding to make it "Amiga friendly?".

I'll need to make a custom faceplate, never done it before, but worth a shot

If i can get some initial info about running 2 cf cards (be nice to have 8gb, or interchange different test OS's without having to open my Amiga 4000 anymore would be WONDERFUL....

Thanks

[idrougge]

Yes, you can run two cards from the same IDE header. Far from all cards accept being run in slave mode, though.

If you don't want to open your A4000, why not use one of those IDE-CF adapters mounted to a card bracket for mounting in one of the Zorro slots?

[IvanEBC]

Absolutely another idea i had, though getting to the rear of the machine in the way my desk is made (with an over the top monitor holder means i gotta pull it out, but still, the only zorro slot one i found had it listed as discontinued

https://www.startech.com/support/PLATEIDE2CF

[idrougge]

They're all over Ebay and so on.

[alexh]

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/40Pin-ATA-ID...376?nav=SEARCH

[spudje]

What I did was, work a bit on the bracket. Cut of the edges and drilled two wholes in the metal plate so I can attach it to the (expansion opening), saving me a bus slot

[IvanEBC]

You guys are doing excellent on the Zorro slots, but looking for a floppy one - and really hoping for a dual slot one. Also - is switching from molex to floppy for power not going to cause issues, it's a hell of a reach to the rear internally as well. Would rather try for the floopy drive bay than the zorro slot.

I COULD use the Zorro one as a last resort but getting to the rear is difficult (yeah still better than opening the case but i'd be reaching blind to the rear.

And more importantly, still don't know, are these all generic devices, like what i got from Amikit don't matter, any of these convertors will work on the A4000?

[alexh]

They are passive. Just wires. No compatibility issues

[IvanEBC]

Originally Posted by alexh

They are passive. Just wires. No compatibility issues

Thank you.

[Jope]

The only potential compatibility issues arise from the different cards. Some do not want to be slaves and some do not want to have a slave present. :-)

[idrougge]

I have a Transcend Industrial 4 GB as slave in my A1200.

[TjLaZer]

you can remove the bracket and mount it on a modded floppy plate to put under the floppy.

[idrougge]

http://www.ebay.de/itm/StarTech-com-...QAAOSwfcVUIum4

[Mr.Flibble]

That startech one is pretty damned good

[IvanEBC]

WOW, that's a huge amount in $AU! Still, looks good.

I've got the CF card hanging out the front for now, i'll find an old floppy shell later and see what i can build myself.

The dual card holder i listed sucks cause it has the power pins facing the front (who thought that was a good idea??) so some bending and soldering may be required. Not yet purchased while i "think" about it.

My next actual question is this.

Based on some comments above, not all compact flash cards are created equal, in order to make sure master/slaves happily talk, and in order to make sure any cloning of CF cards work properly, is there a brand i should be looking to stick too, once i know its a good one, i'll just buy them in bulk. I noticed some are $40 and others are $5, since the amikit one didn't cost me $40, i'm to assume its a cheapy.

[Mr.Flibble]

Yeah, the Amikit ones are the same as the $5 ones you see all over ebay.
I picked up the Startech one for £15 on Amazon a few months back, and the quality is vastly better.

There's also a delock adapter which is cheaper, but powered by the 44 pin connector, so you can run it with a powered 40 pin -> 44pin cable (amikit sells them)

I'm also going to experiment with a ide44 -> msata adapter and see how that works.

[IvanEBC]

I made my own - tadaahhhhh

I used a real PC floppy that .. well not used anymore (no surprise there) ripped out the guts, so i had only the metal shell, put the Amikit CF reader in it, bent the metal at the back for the IDE and power to go through.
Tough part was the internals lining up, had to get the right height but also the correct distance back, or when inserting, the plastic flap would HIT the CF reader and not open all the way.... was MM precise, and worked out better than expected because i didn't want the card to hang out too far, it is a HDD afterall and don't want any accidental knocks, it looks far in, but it is quite easy to grab cause the floppy drive has those indents for just grabbing.

I'm not a modder in the least, and internally, its a bit of a mess but it is rock solid and won't push in and doesn't move.
Oh pics you say?






PS: WTB - One Amiga 4000 Floppy Eject button.

[SnkBitten]

Very nice. I'm wanting to do something similar to my A4000. I have the CF Reader, and an old floppy drive, I may have to give this a go.

[Mr.Flibble]

I did something similar with a 3d printed blanking plate, although it wasn't until after that I realised I couldn't put it in the lower slot due to clearance issues with the floppy drive, so it doesn't properly match...

Might have to revisit that and do another version which looks better in the upper slot.

[IvanEBC]

I used rubber feet to get the height right... then i used rubber feet cut in half and upsidedown to make it stable against the inside roof... if you opened it up, it's quite messy - like i said, i'm no modder, but it keeps it secure and the card won't hit the feet and you can adjust it to mm perfect so the door doesn't hit the cf reader.

Glad it inspired some folks
Also, i glued the eject button from the inside