Gotek Floppy emulators and Amiga computers now working together! :)

[robinsonb5]

Originally Posted by Total Eclipse

Quick question. If you have no 7 segment display, is there an easy way to get to a high disk number, or do you have to be patient, remember the number you were on last, then click the button the corresponding number of times?

Without actually trying it, I'm pretty sure the numbers "wrap round", so with the latest firmware you can press both buttons to return to Disk Image 0, then press the down button to go to the last image in the list.

[chromium]

Originally Posted by Anemos

Main Gotec with external buttons (no cut - no holes ..)

Nice, I was thinking about doing something like that but ended up just taking a hacksaw to my case



Mine has a display so I wouldn't be able to see it if I didn't cut the case.

[Total Eclipse]

Originally Posted by robinsonb5

Without actually trying it, I'm pretty sure the numbers "wrap round", so with the latest firmware you can press both buttons to return to Disk Image 0, then press the down button to go to the last image in the list.

That seems logical. I was thinking more about if I had (say) 250 images on my USB. If I last used disk 73 and now wanted to load disk 134, I assume there's no way other to get to 134 than making sure nobody interrupts me while I'm counting the difference as I repeatedly press the up button.

Perhaps a simple modification to the selector application could give the use an option to select the disk that will boot, meaning that a quicker way could be to press both buttons then use the selector to specify disk 134 on next boot?

The non display Gotek gives a much neater installation, but I worry it might get frustrating in use.

[Foul]

Any way to support ADF zipped files ?

[Johan1973]

I understand that this is done as a hobby project, and as such there is a limit to the features we can request. It would be interesting though if some people could work on developing the selector application, or an alternative to it.

I think it would be very beneficial if we could get the following features, though I guess this is something that would require a team effort;

1. USB Drive mount software - Access to the USB stick in the gotek, to copy/move/delete adf files and rename them on the amiga side. For example being able to access it through Directory Opus etc.
Or simply use the amiga to make images of real disks to .adfs without having to store them on the hd and transfer to pc first in order to use them with the gotek.
2. Mount list support - Create a text file with list of disk images, and allow to simply select this in order for it to mount the adfs in the slot you select and forward. Would make it great for showing demos etc, and even gaming.
3. Option in selector software to create a new blank floppy disk image (adf) on the amiga side, in order to prepare save disks etc.

[XDelusion]

And or perhaps alternative software that is designed to run in a window as opposed to full screen, within Workbench. Or at least being able to save and exit the software without having to reboot the AMiga.

I have been using it more as an adf manager inside Amiga OS 3.9, and not so much for games atm, so the reboots annoy me.

[Johan1973]

I agree, that is the way I have been using it as well, to install programs and games. The software as it is now is fine for a machine that has no harddrive, though it is unsuitable for machines that has one, where you want to use the drive to install software mostly.

[tomse]

Originally Posted by XDelusion

And or perhaps alternative software that is designed to run in a window as opposed to full screen, within Workbench. Or at least being able to save and exit the software without having to reboot the AMiga.

I have been using it more as an adf manager inside Amiga OS 3.9, and not so much for games atm, so the reboots annoy me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one wanting a WB alternative ;-)
I made a comment about it in HM's blog post

[bubbob42]

Originally Posted by tomse

I'm glad I'm not the only one wanting a WB alternative ;-)
I made a comment about it in HM's blog post

I also asked him a while ago and he wrote, that he'd release the API once the firmware is finished.

[XDelusion]

Originally Posted by bubbob42

I also asked him a while ago and he wrote, that he'd release the API once the firmware is finished.

Great to know! I'd love to see someone produce something to handle the Gotek via Magellan II...

...though really, anything is fine.

[bubbob42]

I"d start with an OS friendly app almost immediately. Herve, are you reading this?

[Johan1973]

I have done some experimenting. I want to first say that I do not fully understand the logic circuit involved in the amiga floppy drive handling, and this experimentation was done to learn. And in this I did find some interesting things that I want to report.

My experiment was to try to get an internal floppy drive in the amiga as DF0 and the Gotek Drive as DF1 internal. Thinking I could put it on top of the floppy in the A1200, and have easy access. I began by making a floppy cable that is straight all the way, but have two headers for floppies.
A cable that is main header for floppy port > Middle connector > End connector.

I also made a cable to hook it up as external drive according to this;
http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/de...wiring_V2a.png

I expected the gotek to need a 74LS74 and 74LS38 to recreate the logic of an external floppy drive in order to function. However, it seems to do fine with just the SEL signal, and not using the MTR or RDY signal on the floppy port.

Hooked up internally, with gotek in middle and floppy on the end, I get DF1 and DF0 working. Though accessing DF1 (GOTEK) will spin motor on DF0 (Floppy). If I reverse the floppy and gotek so that the floppy is in the middle and the gotek is at the end of the cable, it does not work.

Having just the floppy (DF0) internally, and the gotek externally connected (DF1), it also works. Though with the same problem that motor on DF0 spins.

So it seems that the logic for external drive is necessary for the amiga, as far as I can understand it. Though the gotek might do without it it.
I hope that I have made some sense in trying to explain this, and that I have relayed the relevant facts as well as possible, and then I also hope that people who are greater wizards of the amiga floppy electronics can make some sense of what to make out of it.
Can we do away with the added logic by modifying the firmware of the gotek, or do we need the logic for the sake of the amiga? I do not know.

[ikonsgr]

I just tried a gotek emulator with my A500 too.
Apart from the fact that, in order to flash the new firmware you need to do it under windows xp only (at least this seems to be the way, if you are going to use a cheap usb to rs232 adapter) and that he didn't seem to work with all 3 usb sticks i tried (possibly this is caused by a crappy usb connector on the gotek i bought, which doesn't make good contact with all usb sticks plugged) it works just fine!
I also tried with another Amiga 500 with a "hacked" 68000/14.2Mhz and it seems to work fine too. I was wondering though, if it could be possible to double the transfer speed in case of an amiga with 68000/14Mhz (as it is now,it works with exactly the same speed like on a stock A500).
The 'E' clock signal from a double clocked 68000 cpu it's also doubled, and this 'E' signal drives the 2 I/O CIA chips, where one of them controls the floppy drive signals. Also, i'm pretty sure that paula, which is responsible for the actual encoding/decoding of the mfm data stream from/to the floppy drive is capable of doing it in double speed. So if gotek could send/receive data in double rate maybe you could have a "drive" working at double speed! :-)
So if the only issue is changing the setting of bitrate of the mfm stream in gotek firmware, and if this is rather easy to be done, maybe it's worth to give it a try! ;-)

[Johan1973]

If you double that clock, you get timing issues, which means some loaders etc. may not work at all (more likely they wont work).

[ikonsgr]

So far i've tried about a dozen of games (all cracked versions.... :-) ) and the only problem i found out was in battle squadron, where music was played at double speed!
Anyway, the point is if it's possible to have a "custom" firmware for gotek which will have the mfm bitrate doubled. This way i could make a test and see if it will work or not.

[tomse]

just to kill your so called fact, the "win xp only" part..
you're wrong..
The issue around flashing can be the driver of the cheap serial interfaces and Win7.

That being said, I have one of the cheap usb to serial converters, but I've flashed all my gotek drives (so far 5) on Win7 x64.

and I haven't had any issues with any of my usb drives, of which some are received as commercials.. so probably very cheap.

[Nobby_UK]

I have 4 USB sticks,
2 named brands = SanDisk + Integral
and 2 un-named, works with all of them...

But not with any adapters
IE MicroSD to USB etc...

[ikonsgr]

Originally Posted by tomse

just to kill your so called fact, the "win xp only" part..
you're wrong..
The issue around flashing can be the driver of the cheap serial interfaces and Win7.

That being said, I have one of the cheap usb to serial converters, but I've flashed all my gotek drives (so far 5) on Win7 x64.

and I haven't had any issues with any of my usb drives, of which some are received as commercials.. so probably very cheap.

I have also tried for almost 2 hours to make the flashing under win 7/64 (i also tried specific drivers for the specific chip of my usb to serial adapter and not the generic windows driver, and make the loopback test successfully) using a cheap usb to serial converter with no results.In the end i thought something wrong with my gotek, until i tried to do it under win xp and everything worked fine!
So i really can't see why your experience should be considered as a "fact" or more "valid" than mine!
As for the issues with usb sticks i also had, i clearly mentioned that probably this is a connector's problem with my gotek and NOT with the firmware!
In the end,i only expressed my personal experience and NOTHING more, and i can't understand why someone would have a problem with that...

Btw,contrary to Nobby_UK's experience i tried a couple of sd card's using a cheap usb adapter and worked fine for me!
But certainly i can't claim that my experience "kill the fact" that someone else would probably have also problems with adapters as Nobby_Uk had...

[Johan1973]

Some of these usb to serial port devices have drivers for later windows versions, some dont. Make sure when you buy them that yours have.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400524483249...84.m1497.l2649

There are the ones I use, they have drivers that works even up to windows 8.1 x64. No problems.

[voyager]

If paula was capable of double speed, then why is a amiga HD floppydrive spinning at half RPM in HD mode? It's to reduce the reduce the data rate right?