KryoFlux: IPF write support

[Lord Aga]

Sorry for the lack of technical knowledge, but let me see if I got this right...
Simplified to the max
My PC + USB cable + Kryoflux board + ordinary PC floppy drive, and I can write ADFs to floppies from Windows ? Then, use them on my real Amiga(s) ?

[chunky_tesco]

not sure what model it is but I'm using a drive i bought from maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/3.5in-floppy-disk-drive-161 and it works fine

[IFW]

Currently IPFs, which are images of original Amiga games as they were sold back in the day.
Slightly later normal files like ADF as well.

[desiv]

I figured it out!!
It's kipper2ks fault!! I'm sure you guys have been wanting to release write support for weeks, but every time you are just about to, kipper2k chimes in with something like "Wait, you need support for the Protovision 4 disk format that was only used in 1987 twice by 2 guys in their garage; I'll send you the specs and an image!"
And you reply, "Buy we need to release!" And kipper2k replies, "That's what you get when you picked me for private beta! Mwahahahaha"

...

OK, maybe not... This is me being patient by the way...
Seriously, I've made a few images of some of my originals. So far so good.
Think I have a line on a 5 1/4" drive, so we'll see how that goes.
I have tracked down a few enclosures, so I'm working on layout and mounting options..

Still having fun and being patient...



So patient...

...

desiv

[mr.vince]

email me and join the beta...

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by desiv

I figured it out!!
It's kipper2ks fault!! I'm sure you guys have been wanting to release write support for weeks, but every time you are just about to, kipper2k chimes in with something like "Wait, you need support for the Protovision 4 disk format that was only used in 1987 twice by 2 guys in their garage; I'll send you the specs and an image!"
And you reply, "Buy we need to release!" And kipper2k replies, "That's what you get when you picked me for private beta! Mwahahahaha"

...

OK, maybe not... This is me being patient by the way...
Seriously, I've made a few images of some of my originals. So far so good.
Think I have a line on a 5 1/4" drive, so we'll see how that goes.
I have tracked down a few enclosures, so I'm working on layout and mounting options..

Still having fun and being patient...



So patient...

...

desiv

LOL, i want what you been smoking, i must have been sleeping when all that was wrote. IPF's work great, i even found a 512k expansion board for my amiga 500 that now plays Ghosts n Goblins, so i am batting 100% with ipf images.

Word of Warning... don't be too quick to throw out original Amiga floppy drives as modified ones seem to work for most but not all, and others seem to work for the ones that didnt work on other modified drives. Very bizarre!

examples... Flood, Barbarian 2 seem to work on some modded drives and not others but work fine on original chinon drives

anyone know of modded amiga drives that work with both of these 2 let me know. I do not have an Amiga modded drive that will play both of those 2 games, but i have lots of modded drives that will play one or the other

Like i said, anyone with a modded Amiga drive that can play both, let me know

[Supamax]

Perhaps off-topic (off-thread):

is it possible - with a hardware hack or similar - to force a 5.25 HD (1.2MB) drive to function as a DD (360KB) drive?

I mean: those drives can read HD or DD floppies. What I would want is to force mine to work in "DD mode" only.

[mr.vince]

Would have to take a look, but afaik 360KB is 40 tracks and a bigger head... Which in this case would mean you could of course make it work in 360K only, but you can't get the bigger head. Again, have to check. Late.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by mr.vince

Would have to take a look, but afaik 360KB is 40 tracks and a bigger head... Which in this case would mean you could of course make it work in 360K only, but you can't get the bigger head. Again, have to check. Late.

Absolutely correct! I was about to post the exact same reply myself. (Was distracted by end of an eBay auction, but didn't win it. )

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by mr.vince

Would have to take a look, but afaik 360KB is 40 tracks and a bigger head... Which in this case would mean you could of course make it work in 360K only, but you can't get the bigger head. Again, have to check. Late.

Damn, I didn't think that in "1.2MB" mode the drive uses 80 tracks... and when they are in "360KB" mode they are using double stepping of the head.
So you're right, these HD drives have smaller heads than DD 40-tracks ones .
Will this make a big difference during floppy reading? Or is it really important during writing only?

[desiv]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

LOL, i want what you been smoking

Scary thing is that was straight.. I've always been afraid that if I did anything like that, as I can't get any crazier, I might end up totally normal for a bit..

Originally Posted by mr.vince

email me and join the beta...

I think I will do that. I wasn't going to and I was just going to be very patient (as only I can be.. ), because I knew I needed to setup my 5 1/4" drive that I don't have yet (but I think I have a lead on one)..
So I was being patient(ish).
But, this weekend, I pulled out my C64, and it's broke!!! So I'll have to troubleshoot it, so no point in waiting for that setup.
I almost have my Kryoflux and 3.5" floppy in a nice case setup.
I just need to attach the Kryoflux to the back and I should be good to go, so I should have a pic of that in a few days..

desiv
p.s. Still having fun!!! And even without my C64 working, I can at least grab some images of my C64 floppies (when I get the 5 1/4" drive) and use them on an emulator for testing until I get it fixed/replaced...

[mr.vince]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Damn, I didn't think that in "1.2MB" mode the drive uses 80 tracks... and when they are in "360KB" mode they are using double stepping of the head.
So you're right, these HD drives have smaller heads than DD 40-tracks ones .
Will this make a big difference during floppy reading? Or is it really important during writing only?

Well 80TRK drives can read 40TRK disks. But: This won't give better results, instead, slight misalignment might cause problems. If you only want to read, you have the chance to read until its good. When writing, I would recommend using the larger head, just to be sure.

Too bad when you have to clone a 1541 disk. This drive has an 80 track mechanism with a larger head. Hassle!

[amigoun]

kipper2k: Just tested - both Flood & Barbarian II worked for me on modded Samsung SFD-321 floppy, while on modded old Mitsumi fdd worked only the Barbarian II. (Disks were written on an old Sony MP-F17W-85 drive).

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by amigoun

kipper2k: Just tested - both Flood & Barbarian II worked for me on modded Samsung SFD-321 floppy, while on modded old Mitsumi fdd worked only the Barbarian II. (Disks were written on an old Sony MP-F17W-85 drive).

Thanks for the heads up, i'm gonna go find me one for testing


Do you have pics for the mod ? and which model... 321B, 321s, 321J etc ?

[mr.vince]

Guys... this is an issue with the protection that also happens on some original Amigas with different drive models. The protection uses a trick to create "no flux" areas. The bad thing is that this has to do with the analogue preamp being fooled with. As I said in other threads it's extremely dangerous to do so because results can vary.

This protection is used in an earlier Copylock by Rob Northen and I guess we now know the reason it was discontinued and replaced by the "popular" density based protection.

Just avoid drives that don't work.

The mod is just the standard mod applied to PC drives; like line swapping (mainly for READY and some other stuff). You can basically test if a drive has been modded successfuly, if e.g. the Giana Sisters loader (talking of the crack here) works or not. It relies on the ready signal.

[IFW]

Any protection using no flux reversal areas must be written on DD disks. Using HD drives may be required too.

[amigoun]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Do you have pics for the mod ? and which model... 321B, 321s, 321J etc ?

Its the 321B model rev EF.

modded following this guide:
http://www.amigaportal.cz/forum/show...hlight=samsung

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by amigoun

Its the 321B model rev EF.

modded following this guide:
http://www.amigaportal.cz/forum/show...hlight=samsung

Thanks, I'll do some testing. according to the pictures, the drive modded was a 1996 model revision (The 8th digit in the serial number H = 1996 and the value increments alphabetically every year) According to a post by Narmi he used a 1998 model (J) successfully. If people are using this ok, can you please post the 8th digit of the serial number so we can see what year revisions are actually working

Thanks

P.S. The /EF after the model type just means the buyer name and is not important for our needs

[amigoun]

ok, the digit is K which means year 1999 and it is exactly the year when I Bought it
This modded fdd seems to be very good in comparitions to other ones.

[Alpha One]

Any proceedings with write support? I just can't wait anymore. :-)