15 April 2009, 00:00 | #181 |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Hi All,
The first thing I did this evening was completely strip my Escom A1200 apart to get to the underside of the motherboard and check for a link between pin 34 of the internal floppy connector to pin 1 of the external connector. There was none. I have an unmodified Rev 2B motherboard. Once I was certain about that, it meant I didn't have to check the Panasonic drive, as it would play no part in the test. I had already downloaded and decompressed the Sanity Arte and State of the Art demos. When I checked them on WinUAE emulating an A1200 with 2MB chip RAM only (which is all my Escom has ATM), Sanity Arte ran fine, but State of the Art straightaway crashed the emulated machine. I assume that State of the Art requires some fast RAM. Nevertheless, I prepared both Sanity Arte and State of the Art floppies to use for the testing. I replaced the Panasonic drive in the Amiga with the Mitsumi PC drive and adaptor combination, again using the external 5V supply. The clip I attached to a paper clip inserted in pin 1 of the external floppy drive connector. I didn't require the external floppy drive for this test, because I have already verified that the adapter successfully converts a PC floppy drive for use in external configuration, and both demo disks require booting in any case. I switched on the Amiga to check that the disk drive was operating correctly, inserted the Sanity Arte disk and rebooted the machine. The demo started up and played right through without a hitch, before auto-rebooting and starting up again. At this point, I disconnected the clip from the external drive socket and rebooted once more. The floppy disk booted up, but produced only a cyan screen, although the disk continued to spin. When I reconnected the clip, the demo started up instantly! When I tried the State of the Art demo, it ran for a few seconds with a the image of a hand with splayed fingers moving about on the screen, before giving a Guru software error! This is further than it got in WinUAE, but I don't think it will run with just 2MB chip RAM. Aminet doesn't mention the memory requirement. I think this test confirms that Stedy's adapter works just as well in an unmodified Escom A1200 than it does in more 'compatible' Amigas. Thanks to Stedy and others for your help with this. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I will be pleased to try and provide the answers. prowler PS. I was wrong previously about the adapter suppressing the clicking which accompanies the disk sensing activity. In fact, it does not. The internal and external drives in close proximity for the initial tests must have made it difficult to resolve two clicks. Last edited by prowler; 15 April 2009 at 02:51. |
15 April 2009, 22:58 | #182 | |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Quote:
I have tested the adapter externally by fitting it between the interface board of a Cumana external floppy drive and the Mitsumi PC floppy drive, and it worked flawlessly. The problem with this is that the interface board has a couple of chips and a few capactors on it, so Stedy's adapter is not actually connected directly between the PC floppy drive and the Amiga's external drive port in this configuration. The interface board / floppy disk drive assembly (without Stedy's adapter)is shown in this post: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=513373&postcount=23 if you wish to take a look. There is also a pass-through connector on the rear of the floppy drive enclosure, which allows connecting further external floppy drives DF2: and DF3: in a chain, and one function of the interface electronics is probably to make sure that floppy drives connected further down the chain are correctly addressed. If you did not wish to connect more than one external floppy drive to the Amiga, then I would think that Stedy's adapter could indeed be used on the external port, with a correctly wired 23-way D-type to IDE34 adapter. prowler PS. The Amiga will supply power only to the first floppy drive on the chain. There is no power available at the pass-through connector on the rear of the Cumana external floppy drive enclosure. The second and third drives fitted to the chain must be supplied from a separate power source. Last edited by prowler; 16 April 2009 at 00:19. |
|
16 April 2009, 08:23 | #183 | |
-
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Helsinki / Finland
Age: 43
Posts: 9,900
|
Quote:
Most Amiga external drives will pass through the voltages just fine. |
|
16 April 2009, 21:08 | #184 | ||
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Quote:
If I can put together a suitable DB23 to IDE34 adapter, then I suppose I could check whether or not Stedy's existing design is compatible with the external drive port. It should also be possible to derive a circuit diagram for the Cumana's interface board from the layout, which will tell us whether it provides functions other than discriminating the drive from others connected to the chain. Quote:
I am not certain that the Cumana has this 'feature'. I acquired this drive second-hand without a user manual. I had just assumed that manufacturers of external disk drives for the Amiga would have complied fully with Commodore's specifications. In any case, I wouldn't like to take the chance that my Amiga could supply two or more external drives without damage to the motherboard printed circuit, and I would warn others not to do so either. @Stedy: Do you wish me to return this adapter, or would you prefer me to keep it as one of the two I had originally wished to order? If I should keep it, I could order and pay for two using your online ordering system, and then you can send me just the other one. How does that sound? As I live locally, couldn't I bypass the online ordering system and save you the cost of postage? PM me. prowler |
||
17 April 2009, 08:54 | #185 | |
-
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Helsinki / Finland
Age: 43
Posts: 9,900
|
Quote:
We all did it in the 90s, X-Copy and then later SuperDuper chugged away at our computer club meetings with stacks of floppies and drives on top of the machines. |
|
17 April 2009, 16:38 | #186 | |
1 Potato to Spam´em all!
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Lost in a Wine Country
Age: 48
Posts: 572
|
Quote:
|
|
17 April 2009, 20:27 | #187 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 46
Posts: 733
|
Hi,
I've been a bit busy. The user and assembly manuals should be online this weekend. Just need to proofread before I PDF them. @Prowler You can keep that unit as one of the two you requested. I'm sure we can bypass the payment system @Thread I have contacted Westfield connectors about availability of 23 way d-subs, waiting to hear back from them. This could help with external drives and I need some connectors for a video device I'm working on. Have also done some experiments to see if I can make an HD adaptor but not had much success so far. Pin 2 of the PC floppy drive is the density select pin, normally an input but on some drives it can be an output. Well on the 3 drives I have tested so far, it is not used The only way to detect HD/DD is to wire onto the switch inside the drive, not elegant. Will keep investigating. I would like to start a list of drives used with my adapter so when you receive your orders, could you add any details to this thread. I have tested these drives so far: Alps DFE354H090F Epson SMD300 Mitsumi FA404M (FDD portion only). Time for dinner. Ian |
17 April 2009, 21:15 | #188 | ||||
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Quote:
Thanks for the encouraging response, mate! I'll get to work on it while I've still got all the bits out on the bench. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
prowler |
||||
18 April 2009, 01:06 | #189 |
Turpentine
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Kent, United Kingdom
Posts: 744
|
I think the only other option you have for density select would be a switch.
|
18 April 2009, 01:13 | #190 | |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Quote:
Yes, a switch or even a jumper. That would be an easier solution and not too much of an inconvenience for the end-user. prowler Last edited by prowler; 18 April 2009 at 02:01. |
|
20 April 2009, 01:17 | #191 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 46
Posts: 733
|
Hi,
The user manual is now online,http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/download...ser_manual.pdf 271K PDF and the assembly/build manual is also online, http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/download...ild_manual.pdf 804K PDF. Feedback appreciated. Ian Last edited by Stedy; 09 May 2010 at 12:33. |
20 April 2009, 01:26 | #192 |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Thanks, Ian!
Will let you know what I think. prowler |
20 April 2009, 23:24 | #193 |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Hi Ian,
I've studied the PDF manuals you uploaded and I've found only one mistake in the User Manual on Page 3. The JP1 2-3 header suggests that this is the normal position for the jumper, and this is correct. However, in the text which accompanies it, the 1-2 and 2-3 jumper positions are wrongly described. Apart from that, everything's OK! prowler |
21 April 2009, 00:33 | #194 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 46
Posts: 733
|
@Prowler
Thanks for reviewing the document. I have corrected the document and uploaded V1.1 to my website. @Thread An updated PCB design will only be considered once I have sold the first batch, I still have 35 PCBs/units to sell. Support for DF1 without a cable twist and possibly an option for a DB23 connector are possibilities. I like the idea of a switch/button to select High density disk support. This will be a separate project though. The logic device needed costs 2.5x the price of the logic device used in the current design (£0.68 versus £1.68) and I need to build/buy a PAL programmer so there new unit, if successful, will cost more. Thanks to the testing by Prowler, the Escom fix has been validated so if you want to use this unit to replace a drive in an Escom/AT A1200 please order when ready. Bye, Ian |
21 April 2009, 00:42 | #195 | ||||
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Thanks very much for all your effort, Ian! prowler |
||||
21 April 2009, 09:45 | #196 |
A1200 040 SAM440EP 667
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Lisbon / Portugal
Posts: 873
|
Hi ppl,
My PC floppy adaptor arrived yesterday, it´s the #4 Thanks for your great work Ian |
21 April 2009, 15:04 | #197 |
Global Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Sidcup, England
Posts: 10,300
|
|
22 April 2009, 00:19 | #198 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Thunder Bay, Canada
Posts: 4,323
|
Hi Ian,
Do the plastic tabs on the floppy drive have to be broke in order for the power connector to be able to fit. I have about 4 different type of Floppy drives and the connector will not fit on any ?. edit: nm, i broke the tabs off so it would fit on the floppy 4 pin header. Quote:
Last edited by kipper2k; 22 April 2009 at 01:16. |
|
22 April 2009, 03:00 | #199 |
(Amigas && Amigos)++
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Anrea
Posts: 999
|
@Stedy
If it is the case that the connector on floppy drive must be broken for most floppy drives, shouldn't a normal floppy connector be used? The one in the picture does not look like the standard one which has part of the back of the plastic indented to make it slimmer (and therefore I imagine it would then fit the floppy's connector without any mods). |
22 April 2009, 11:29 | #200 |
The 1 who ribbits
|
now i look at that power connector I see that it is indeed not a floppy power connector, more of a motherboard fan conector
still bending the plastic at the back of the pins should allow you to use it without any problems. Niggles aside Ian lovein the work |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Amiga to VGA adaptor | Doc Mindie | Hardware mods | 19 | 24 January 2013 00:04 |
USB adaptor for Amiga Joysticks | Nono Nano | support.Hardware | 4 | 16 April 2011 18:03 |
CF - IDE44 Adaptor & Amiga | W4r3DeV1L | support.Hardware | 8 | 15 November 2009 22:29 |
CD32 with floppy and PS2 adaptor | daznic | MarketPlace | 0 | 09 September 2009 01:12 |
Is there any USB-AMIGA joystick adaptor? | frikilokooo | support.Hardware | 12 | 16 April 2009 00:25 |
|
|