HXC Sd Floppy emulator on A600

lolafg · 28 March 2010, 11:31

Hello , i recently bought that :

Now , i'm opening this thread to ask how you would install it on an A600 (cutting the case ? Where? etc...) ?

All your ideas are welcome !!

It's a read only device so i'd like to keep the real floppy drive and was thinking in a switch witch could swap the two devices to permit saves on real floppies...Zetro , any idea ?

Thanks in advance for all your ideas

mfilos · 28 March 2010, 11:51

Tbh it wouldn't be so easy to switch between 2xfloppies with just a switch (not difficult to make if you know about relays etc.) but it wouldn't be nice imho.
The best you can do is to either remove floppy and put the HxC SD in floppy's possition... having an external floppy for either boot or access (as DF1) or just leave the floppy as it is, and build an external enclosure for the HxC SD and it's LCD and have it act like DF1

lolafg · 28 March 2010, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfilos

Tbh it wouldn't be so easy to switch between 2xfloppies with just a switch (not difficult to make if you know about relays etc.) but it wouldn't be nice imho.
The best you can do is to either remove floppy and put the HxC SD in floppy's possition... having an external floppy for either boot or access (as DF1) or just leave the floppy as it is, and build an external enclosure for the HxC SD and it's LCD and have it act like DF1

thank you for this first idea

Retro1234 · 28 March 2010, 12:00

Nice buy

There is a way check here.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...hlight=saxabar

Id like abit more info on switching.

lolafg · 28 March 2010, 13:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boo Boo

Nice buy

There is a way check here.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...hlight=saxabar

Id like abit more info on switching.

Thanks Boo Boo !!

The switch for me is to have both devices (Hxc Sd / Real floppy Drive) as DF0 to make saves possible...and as you , i need more info about...

zombie10k · 29 March 2010, 03:26

I bought the same device for my A600, but mainly because I was planning on taking the floppy out to fit the A603 + Indivision flicker fixer. I also have the A608 8 meg expansion in the computer already and didn't think I was going to miss much by not being able to write to the floppy.

so.. what will I be missing? I would use it mainly for demos and a way to get applications installed on the system.

thx!

lolafg · 29 March 2010, 06:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombie10k

I bought the same device for my A600, but mainly because I was planning on taking the floppy out to fit the A603 + Indivision flicker fixer. I also have the A608 8 meg expansion in the computer already and didn't think I was going to miss much by not being able to write to the floppy.

so.. what will I be missing? I would use it mainly for demos and a way to get applications installed on the system.

thx!

You are asking the right question here , we won't miss a lot by not being able to write to the floppy

So now which way would be the best to install it on the A600 ? The lcd screen and buttons can be deported...

DyLucke · 30 March 2010, 04:19

Well, i think this device would be really useful. However, i'm not buying it, under my point of view and to be useful for me, i would need it to be installed already in a case, just in the way the SDrive Nuxx for the Atari 8bit, or the FlexiDrive S4 are installed.

A box ready to plug on the external FDD drive connector.

Or even better, this actual design fitting into the miggy case, with a little case and a cable to stick the controls and the screen on the miggy case, avoiding to make a hole on the case in order to be able to make the display visible.

What do you think?

lolafg · 01 April 2010, 18:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by DyLucke

Well, i think this device would be really useful. However, i'm not buying it, under my point of view and to be useful for me, i would need it to be installed already in a case, just in the way the SDrive Nuxx for the Atari 8bit, or the FlexiDrive S4 are installed.

A box ready to plug on the external FDD drive connector.

Or even better, this actual design fitting into the miggy case, with a little case and a cable to stick the controls and the screen on the miggy case, avoiding to make a hole on the case in order to be able to make the display visible.

What do you think?

Yes a case like the SDrive Nuxx would be cool with this device

Nice find !!

Amiga1992 · 02 April 2010, 02:20

I want one of these REAL bad, it would solve a lot of problems for me (MSX/Speccy +3 drives too) but I am skint for the moment

Info-Seeker · 12 April 2010, 17:25

Hey guys,

I actually picked up 1 of the USB HxC Emulators a while back.. and I mounted it in an external 3.5 floppy case, works qutie well. The only issue I have with it is I can not play NDOS games off it because they always try to default to DF0: somewhere in the middle of loading.

The Solution I came up with is a small switch that will allow me to route the tracer from DF0 out the external floppy port. By swapping it with DF1 or DF3, I can swap the internal floppy in and out with the external HxC. It is a very nice solution, and allows me to use the HxC on multiple Amigas. A piece of hardware goodness this cool should nto be tied down to 1 Amiga...

It's the Amiga equivalent to a Hot looking Bi Chick... you want to spread it around as much as possible!!! I have scored the schematics for the 1200, 500, and 2000, though I haven't designed the mod yet. Trying to find the easiest place to cut the trace and connect up to both sides of it with minimal effort and the least amount of risk...

If you like this solution, I would be happy to share my resources and collaborate on the matter... I am sure it would be welcomed by the community...

Info-Seeker

and Buddy the Amiga Ferret!

all hosted on my Underground-Gamer Account! Thanks UG!!!

Retro1234 · 12 April 2010, 18:41

Sweet ,Any info you or Amiga ferrat can give about routing df0: tracer to the external would be great.

Info-Seeker · 12 April 2010, 18:44

I asked him but he just made a face at me then went to sleep. So maybe he is thinking about it...

Jope · 13 April 2010, 14:48

On a non-surface mount Amiga, the easiest way is to just add a little PCB between the CIA chip and the CIA socket, which switches DS0 and DS1 around.

mfilos · 13 April 2010, 15:18

I made a similar post over Amibay some days ago. Procedure is easier than I thought it would be (despite I haven't made it yet nor I know if I could due to possibly mounting an HxC inside, instead of getting DF0 onto external drive).
http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=5648

According to Zetr0 and Rkauer though, you only need to cut trace of pins 9, 11 from the internal floppy connector (CN11) and wire 2 pins from U8 chip to Pins 9,11 of the connector. That will make DF0 into DF1 and the external floppy connector into DF0!

From the following picture you can understand what I mean:
1. Yellow = cutting trace of these 2 liness
2. Red = wires you need from U8 to CN11

Info-Seeker · 13 April 2010, 16:26

is this the same on every Amiga?

mfilos · 13 April 2010, 16:38

Well dunno mate... You can download the schematics for the Amiga you want and check it out
http://www.devili.iki.fi/mirrors/4x4.hopto.org/

Cheers

Jope · 13 April 2010, 19:53

The basic idea is the same on any Amiga, but naturally the best way to perform the modification differs per machine.

When I did an A500, I removed the CIA chip, bent out the DS3 pin and then bent DS0-2 upwards so that DS0 went to where DS1 used to go, DS1 -> DS2 in the socket and DS2 -> DS3 in the socket. The pins were just long enough to go into the next holes in the socket.

This way I didn't have an internal drive at all, just a bunch of externals.

28 March 2010, 11:31	#1
lolafg Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tours/France Age: 52 Posts: 1,233	HXC Sd Floppy emulator on A600 Hello , i recently bought that : Now , i'm opening this thread to ask how you would install it on an A600 (cutting the case ? Where? etc...) ? All your ideas are welcome !! It's a read only device so i'd like to keep the real floppy drive and was thinking in a switch witch could swap the two devices to permit saves on real floppies...Zetro , any idea ? Thanks in advance for all your ideas

28 March 2010, 11:51	#2
mfilos Paranoid Amigoid Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Athens/Greece Age: 45 Posts: 1,978	Tbh it wouldn't be so easy to switch between 2xfloppies with just a switch (not difficult to make if you know about relays etc.) but it wouldn't be nice imho. The best you can do is to either remove floppy and put the HxC SD in floppy's possition... having an external floppy for either boot or access (as DF1) or just leave the floppy as it is, and build an external enclosure for the HxC SD and it's LCD and have it act like DF1 Last edited by mfilos; 28 March 2010 at 12:27.

12 April 2010, 17:25	#11
Info-Seeker Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Palm Beach, Florida USA! Posts: 75	Hey guys, I actually picked up 1 of the USB HxC Emulators a while back.. and I mounted it in an external 3.5 floppy case, works qutie well. The only issue I have with it is I can not play NDOS games off it because they always try to default to DF0: somewhere in the middle of loading. The Solution I came up with is a small switch that will allow me to route the tracer from DF0 out the external floppy port. By swapping it with DF1 or DF3, I can swap the internal floppy in and out with the external HxC. It is a very nice solution, and allows me to use the HxC on multiple Amigas. A piece of hardware goodness this cool should nto be tied down to 1 Amiga... It's the Amiga equivalent to a Hot looking Bi Chick... you want to spread it around as much as possible!!! I have scored the schematics for the 1200, 500, and 2000, though I haven't designed the mod yet. Trying to find the easiest place to cut the trace and connect up to both sides of it with minimal effort and the least amount of risk... If you like this solution, I would be happy to share my resources and collaborate on the matter... I am sure it would be welcomed by the community... Info-Seeker and Buddy the Amiga Ferret! all hosted on my Underground-Gamer Account! Thanks UG!!! Last edited by Info-Seeker; 12 April 2010 at 17:33. Reason: add pix...

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28 March 2010, 12:00	#4
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,773	Nice buy There is a way check here. http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...hlight=saxabar Id like abit more info on switching.

29 March 2010, 03:26	#6
zombie10k Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 28	I bought the same device for my A600, but mainly because I was planning on taking the floppy out to fit the A603 + Indivision flicker fixer. I also have the A608 8 meg expansion in the computer already and didn't think I was going to miss much by not being able to write to the floppy. so.. what will I be missing? I would use it mainly for demos and a way to get applications installed on the system. thx!

30 March 2010, 04:19	#8
DyLucke Cookie Muncher Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Spain Age: 49 Posts: 239	Well, i think this device would be really useful. However, i'm not buying it, under my point of view and to be useful for me, i would need it to be installed already in a case, just in the way the SDrive Nuxx for the Atari 8bit, or the FlexiDrive S4 are installed. A box ready to plug on the external FDD drive connector. Or even better, this actual design fitting into the miggy case, with a little case and a cable to stick the controls and the screen on the miggy case, avoiding to make a hole on the case in order to be able to make the display visible. What do you think?

02 April 2010, 02:20	#10
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I want one of these REAL bad, it would solve a lot of problems for me (MSX/Speccy +3 drives too) but I am skint for the moment

12 April 2010, 18:41	#12
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,773	Sweet ,Any info you or Amiga ferrat can give about routing df0: tracer to the external would be great.

12 April 2010, 18:44	#13
Info-Seeker Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Palm Beach, Florida USA! Posts: 75	I asked him but he just made a face at me then went to sleep. So maybe he is thinking about it...

13 April 2010, 14:48	#14
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	On a non-surface mount Amiga, the easiest way is to just add a little PCB between the CIA chip and the CIA socket, which switches DS0 and DS1 around.

13 April 2010, 15:18	#15
mfilos Paranoid Amigoid Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Athens/Greece Age: 45 Posts: 1,978	I made a similar post over Amibay some days ago. Procedure is easier than I thought it would be (despite I haven't made it yet nor I know if I could due to possibly mounting an HxC inside, instead of getting DF0 onto external drive). http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=5648 According to Zetr0 and Rkauer though, you only need to cut trace of pins 9, 11 from the internal floppy connector (CN11) and wire 2 pins from U8 chip to Pins 9,11 of the connector. That will make DF0 into DF1 and the external floppy connector into DF0! From the following picture you can understand what I mean: 1. Yellow = cutting trace of these 2 liness 2. Red = wires you need from U8 to CN11

13 April 2010, 16:26	#16
Info-Seeker Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Palm Beach, Florida USA! Posts: 75	is this the same on every Amiga?

13 April 2010, 16:38	#17
mfilos Paranoid Amigoid Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Athens/Greece Age: 45 Posts: 1,978	Well dunno mate... You can download the schematics for the Amiga you want and check it out http://www.devili.iki.fi/mirrors/4x4.hopto.org/ Cheers

13 April 2010, 19:53	#18
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	The basic idea is the same on any Amiga, but naturally the best way to perform the modification differs per machine. When I did an A500, I removed the CIA chip, bent out the DS3 pin and then bent DS0-2 upwards so that DS0 went to where DS1 used to go, DS1 -> DS2 in the socket and DS2 -> DS3 in the socket. The pins were just long enough to go into the next holes in the socket. This way I didn't have an internal drive at all, just a bunch of externals.

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