Trackloader without working /RDY pin

phx · 05 October 2017, 11:57

IIRC, the last generation of Amiga Technology A1200 got floppy disk drives without a working /RDY signal? Now I'm trying to make my trackloader compatible with those.

Currently I'm using the /RDY signal in these situations:
1. After turning on the motor, /RDY becoming low shows me that it reached nominal speed.
2. Before setting ADKCON, DSKSYN and DSKLEN to start the DMA transfer, I check /RDY to make sure the drive is ready.
3. At the beginning I'm reading the drive's serial ID code via /RDY to determine which drives and what kind of drives are connected.

For 1. the solution is simple: I will use a timeout of 500ms. When /RDY still didn't become low I will just assume the motor is running at nominal speed and continue.

I'm not sure anymore why I need to check /RDY at 2. Before starting a DMA transfer I usually step the head or change the side, which is followed by a settle-delay of 25ms anyway. Maybe I can remove that?

For the last case (3.) I have no real solution. I guess that a non-working /RDY will always stay high, so I will probably read a $ffff ID, which correctly identifies a 3.5" DD drive. This may also be the reason that trackdisk.device still works with these drives.

ross · 05 October 2017, 12:47

Hi phx, from my loader:
1) no check of /RDY at all (500ms delay), various check after DMA started (DSKSYN bit, timing, ...)
2) settle time respected after delay (18ms)
3) i don't care about ID check.. but is this significative? isn't the floppy hole that make difference?

StingRay · 05 October 2017, 13:03

For 1 I'm also using a 500 ms delay, if the RDY signal is not received during that time I'm trying to read a track which will fail if drive is not ready. This solution works fine for me.

For 2 I also don't see why you need to check the RDY signal again.

For 3 maybe using trackdisk.device (during boot) could help with drive ID's?

hooverphonique · 05 October 2017, 15:52

The drive ID's are available at boot time from trackdisk.device.. I attached some code (which is a bit shady, but should get you in the right direction) to this post a while back.

phx · 05 October 2017, 16:39

That's all I need to know. Thanks to all!

05 October 2017, 11:57	#1
phx Natteravn Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Herford / Germany Posts: 2,510	Trackloader without working /RDY pin IIRC, the last generation of Amiga Technology A1200 got floppy disk drives without a working /RDY signal? Now I'm trying to make my trackloader compatible with those. Currently I'm using the /RDY signal in these situations: 1. After turning on the motor, /RDY becoming low shows me that it reached nominal speed. 2. Before setting ADKCON, DSKSYN and DSKLEN to start the DMA transfer, I check /RDY to make sure the drive is ready. 3. At the beginning I'm reading the drive's serial ID code via /RDY to determine which drives and what kind of drives are connected. For 1. the solution is simple: I will use a timeout of 500ms. When /RDY still didn't become low I will just assume the motor is running at nominal speed and continue. I'm not sure anymore why I need to check /RDY at 2. Before starting a DMA transfer I usually step the head or change the side, which is followed by a settle-delay of 25ms anyway. Maybe I can remove that? For the last case (3.) I have no real solution. I guess that a non-working /RDY will always stay high, so I will probably read a $ffff ID, which correctly identifies a 3.5" DD drive. This may also be the reason that trackdisk.device still works with these drives.

05 October 2017, 12:47	#2
ross Defendit numerus Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Crossing the Rubicon Age: 53 Posts: 4,480	Hi phx, from my loader: 1) no check of /RDY at all (500ms delay), various check after DMA started (DSKSYN bit, timing, ...) 2) settle time respected after delay (18ms) 3) i don't care about ID check.. but is this significative? isn't the floppy hole that make difference? Last edited by ross; 14 November 2017 at 22:45.

05 October 2017, 13:03	#3
StingRay move.l #$c0ff33,throat Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Berlin/Joymoney Posts: 6,863	For 1 I'm also using a 500 ms delay, if the RDY signal is not received during that time I'm trying to read a track which will fail if drive is not ready. This solution works fine for me. For 2 I also don't see why you need to check the RDY signal again. For 3 maybe using trackdisk.device (during boot) could help with drive ID's? Last edited by StingRay; 05 October 2017 at 13:53. Reason: typo

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05 October 2017, 15:52	#4
hooverphonique ex. demoscener "Bigmama" Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Fyn / Denmark Posts: 1,631	The drive ID's are available at boot time from trackdisk.device.. I attached some code (which is a bit shady, but should get you in the right direction) to this post a while back.

05 October 2017, 16:39	#5
phx Natteravn Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Herford / Germany Posts: 2,510	That's all I need to know. Thanks to all!

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