KryoFlux V CATWEASEL

[caver99]

I am in the market for one of the above but not sure which one to go fore either an internal one or the usb version andone have these and gime there opinions.

[pmc]

I've owned both. I don't rate the Catweasel very much - I found the drivers and software could be buggy.

I've had problems reading and writing disks with it at various points. I never managed to get it to read anything copy protected but to be fair I don't think that's what it's designed to do.

If you want to backup your own protected stuff then Kryoflux is the only one to go for. Now that write support is virtually there it's the best solution in my opinion.

I can certainly vouch for it in terms of reading a disk to an .adf image. Never had any problems with it on that score.

[thomas]

The Catweasel can only read AmigaDOS disks but has additional features like connectors for Amiga joysticks and keyboards and optionally one or two C64 sound chips.

The Kryoflux is a pure floppy controller without additional features but it can read and preserve all kinds of protections.

[desiv]

As I understand it, the Kryoflux (which I now own, but only just recently) is for imaging (and as soon as write support is enabled) copying of floppies.
You won't hook up WinUAE and point it at the Kryoflux to read disks realtime.

That said, with my Kryoflux, I made an image of my original Faery Tale Adventure and loaded that into WinUAE in minutes...

I plan on using my Kryoflux for C64 and other computers as well...

So, they have some overlap, but they are different products...

For instance, I plan on fixing a few of my broken original disks by overwriting them with images (non-cracks) using my Kryoflux. I'm not sure how I'd do something like that with a Catweasel....

But, if I wanted to have WinUAE read my Amiga disks directly, I think Catweasel is the only option..

desiv

[caver99]

Thanks to the answers

The main reason is to put adf's back to floppy for my a500, i do use winuae to play games on but it's not like playing on real hardware.
I may just wait and see how kryoflux write goes.
If i could i would get both but i can't.

[1time]

Catweasel is the better product if you ask me, im using it myself.

BUT, the support and drivers for this product is terrible.

caver99: you can do that with both products.

[mr.vince]

Originally Posted by 1time

Catweasel is the better product if you ask me, im using it myself.

So let us know... what can we do to make KryoFlux better? The Catweasel obviously has something that you seem to miss in KryoFlux.

[Slayer]

Yes, I tried to get someone interested in porting the software to OS4.x but was met with this weird alignment or preference to catweasel...

The KryoFlux is cool and I'll get that software ported even if I have to do it one day LOL

It's only right the SAM or X1000 be able to write Amiga images back to disks

[mr.vince]

I remember we also had someone interested, but then... don't know what happened to him. The "funny" thing is... with the latest library available for the Amiga, all one would have to do is find the right USB connection stuff and things and that's it. The software is in C so should be portable.

Anyway, in case someone would like to port it to Amiga... feel free to get in touch.

[ElectroBlaster]

My views on these are:

Catweasel - I bought mine many years ago and it works perfectly for the task it was intended for, reading and writing amiga adf's. But it falls over with everything else. It refuses to entertain atari st disks and I havent even bothered to attempt c64 disks. Rather dissapointed with the drivers tbh, all this talk about it not being designed for protected disks makes me wonder... the board has an fcpga so surely it is capable? If only I could program as I would have written a proper set of decent drivers and tools

Kryoflux - This is amazing! Watched as this thing started out small and has suddenly grown into a really good bit of hardware that has made the catweasel look outdated! If it will handle c64 and spectrum +3 disks then im well up for buying one.

[IFW]

It works with both C64 and Spectrum, been so since the first public beta release.
You need to select MFM for +3 and CBM DOS for C64.
More over, there are already Spectrum+3 ipf files avaialble... and Amstrad CPC and Atari ST

[1time]

I have converted about 1000 disks with my catweasel http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=718894&postcount=79 . I have not had any major problems with the card, more than that it's an old card that works best with Windows XP. Which in itself is a reason to use kryoflux if your only purpose is to read/write adf and ipf files.

The benefits that I see in catweasel is the joystick and keyboard output/input along with a proper floppy functionality. I am fully aware that there are other products that do more or less the same thing, but none have the combination on the same card. If you use catweasel with Windows XP and WinUAE, I think you get a lot of functions for the money.

With that said, my purpose is NOT to trash talk the Kryoflux in anyway. It is a great product and a good contribution to the community. I just think catweasel is a better choice for me.

[desiv]

Wasn't sure which thread to put this in, but I just came across this and found it interesting.
I was reading an interview with Jim Drew and this part caught my eye:

Q: Regarding the history of The Shadow board: who developed it? Who came up with the feature list, who designed the hardware, who made the firmware, who was contracted to write the software for it? What were the main reasons why this device did not work or was not successful in the market?

A: A guy named "Jack" developed it. I don't recall his last name. It was his product completely. I had no involvement with it until I turned it into an expensive ram board. This device COULD have worked had this guy been a software engineer. He was a hardware guru, and when that thing worked, it worked perfectly! The problem was it only worked on a few disk drives! The Shadow was a data read/write mechanism. It stored the bit time sequence of data. This means it read the magnetic flux and recorded the amount of time between high and low magnetic flux transitions.

So, there was an early attempt for a C64 Kryoflux type of device..

Just thought that was interesting..

desiv
p.s. Whole article here. Good read:
http://c64preservation.com/dp.php?pg=jimdrew2

[mr.vince]

Yes, but Jim Drew himself was a bit of a problem. There were so many great products that were started and then starved because the software was never finished or still missing major features. I have both Sybil and Super Card Ami II and both have features listed on their packaging that were never delivered.

Apart from that Emplant still is something that really impresses me.

That Shadow Board never worked reliably, but how could it, with the limited processing power they had. Still... the basics are the same. We just happen to have better hardware today and a software with much more formats supported.

[desiv]

Originally Posted by mr.vince

Yes, but Jim Drew himself was a bit of a problem. There were so many great products that were started and then starved because the software was never finished or still missing major features.

Yeah, Jim has an interview where he states that the company he was working for was basically continually announcing things that weren't ready, and he was caught between a rock and a hard place..
Who knows really; but I was impressed with Emplant too..
(Although I was a fan of A-Max a bit more back then..)

I'd never heard of the "Shadow Board" before...

desiv

[dirkies]

this thread made me so curious that I just ordered online the Kryoflux (in backorder but I can wait another month), may give my A500 & A4000 a new lifeline after being switched off for 7 years now!
And perhaps also a way to show support for all those who made this neat device possible