Reply by Didi March 13, 20082008-03-13
Robert Adsett wrote:
> ... > I contacted them about that time. I did hear back asking for more > information about the application and haven't heard back from them since > I suggested I only wanted one or two. I think they mey be looking for > OEM only.
Oh come on, it is obvious they just do not have it and want to design the thing if they see the cash. When I got the inquiry I offered to build 100 at $450 each or a few (4-5 units) at $30k. This probably beats their price and my timing will probably beat theirs (certainly if they - as I would - are also starting from scratch, which is most likely the case :-). Actually I pointed the guy by whom I got the inquiry to them when I saw their anouncement (a few months later), I may ask him what he found out there.
> ...Although why you would OEM that is a bit of a mystery to me, > adding MMC/SD seems easier.
Those looking for MMC/SD card floppy drive replacements are generally people using machines with some computer which only has an FDD as a transfer medium - for cutting shapes or whatever. Some of the FDDs are only DD (not HD, 1.44M), try to find such a diskette. They use HD diskettes which sometimes may work... (DD disks used to work fine as HD ones, the reverse was not true IIRC - 20 or so years ago). So there is no OEM market for that, customers are probably individual only - and not that many. Dimiter ------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments http://www.tgi-sci.com ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.flickr.com/photos/didi_tgi/sets/72157600228621276/ Robert Adsett wrote:
> In article <f8607900-d74c-4ec5-9875-87c930c777d9 > @s12g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, Didi says... > > > I have found a promising hardware here: > > > http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html > > > but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to > > > it. > > > > > > Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it. > > > > A while ago in a similar thread someone posted this one: > > > > http://www.datexeurope.com/emulator/DTX200en.htm > > > > May be worth a check - I have no idea whether they really have it > > etc. Since this question seems to come up every few months > > (once I even got an inquiry on such a thing by someone who must have > > thought the development costs were within his reach), > > please let us know if you find something out about it. > > I contacted them about that time. I did hear back asking for more > information about the application and haven't heard back from them since > I suggested I only wanted one or two. I think they mey be looking for > OEM only. Although why you would OEM that is a bit of a mystery to me, > adding MMC/SD seems easier. > > Robert > > -- > Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Reply by Robert Adsett March 12, 20082008-03-12
In article <f8607900-d74c-4ec5-9875-87c930c777d9
@s12g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, Didi says...
> > I have found a promising hardware here: > > http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html > > but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to > > it. > > > > Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it. > > A while ago in a similar thread someone posted this one: > > http://www.datexeurope.com/emulator/DTX200en.htm > > May be worth a check - I have no idea whether they really have it > etc. Since this question seems to come up every few months > (once I even got an inquiry on such a thing by someone who must have > thought the development costs were within his reach), > please let us know if you find something out about it.
I contacted them about that time. I did hear back asking for more information about the application and haven't heard back from them since I suggested I only wanted one or two. I think they mey be looking for OEM only. Although why you would OEM that is a bit of a mystery to me, adding MMC/SD seems easier. Robert -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Reply by Bu March 12, 20082008-03-12
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:21:35 -0500, "pehatemp" <pehatemp@freemail.hu>
wrote:

>>Are there any commercial adaptors that would replace a floppy drive with >>some type of flash storage (sd, mmc, thumb drive)? To the host, this >>would have to look just like the floppy drive it replaced, but use >>different media. > >I can see that the last post here is from last september. > >Have you had any luck with this device yet? >I am looking for a solution for it too. > >I have found a promising hardware here: >http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html >but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to >it. > >Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it. > >Thanks, >David > >
Hello. I do not know what the initial question was or the application Here: www.thesvd.com you can find a virtual disk for some old computers. Also it does not use a flash card or so. But the nice thing is it connects to a PC so you can use all kind of memory (:-) Bu
Reply by Didi March 12, 20082008-03-12
> I have found a promising hardware here: > http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html > but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to > it. > > Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it.
A while ago in a similar thread someone posted this one: http://www.datexeurope.com/emulator/DTX200en.htm May be worth a check - I have no idea whether they really have it etc. Since this question seems to come up every few months (once I even got an inquiry on such a thing by someone who must have thought the development costs were within his reach), please let us know if you find something out about it. Dimiter ------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments http://www.tgi-sci.com ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.flickr.com/photos/didi_tgi/sets/72157600228621276/ pehatemp wrote:
> >Are there any commercial adaptors that would replace a floppy drive with > >some type of flash storage (sd, mmc, thumb drive)? To the host, this > >would have to look just like the floppy drive it replaced, but use > >different media. > > I can see that the last post here is from last september. > > Have you had any luck with this device yet? > I am looking for a solution for it too. > > I have found a promising hardware here: > http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html > but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to > it. > > Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it. > > Thanks, > David
Reply by pehatemp March 12, 20082008-03-12
>Are there any commercial adaptors that would replace a floppy drive with >some type of flash storage (sd, mmc, thumb drive)? To the host, this >would have to look just like the floppy drive it replaced, but use >different media.
I can see that the last post here is from last september. Have you had any luck with this device yet? I am looking for a solution for it too. I have found a promising hardware here: http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html but it is only capable of reading from a virtual floppy, not writing to it. Please, if you already have a working solution, tell me about it. Thanks, David
Reply by Didi September 12, 20072007-09-12
> It did support formatting. That's easier with ST-412; a floppy can be > FM or MFM encoded.
But it must have been an impressive piece of work, I can well appreciate it! Dimiter ------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments http://www.tgi-sci.com ------------------------------------------------------ On Sep 13, 2:41 am, ghel...@lycos.com wrote:
> On Sep 6, 8:14 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > > > > ghel...@lycos.com wrote: > > > On Sep 5, 12:00 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > > >>ghel...@lycos.com wrote: > > > >>>On Sep 4, 3:17 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > > >>>>>A while back I created a gizmo that connected an IDE drive to a ST-412 > > >>>>>controller, so it can be done, and reliably. > > > >>>>As I understand it this is was an IDE controller, not a FDC controller. > > >>>>I can go out and buy an IDE to CF or SD adaptor, but I don't see any FDC > > >>>>to X adaptors. I have seen a few hobbyist attempts to do this but > > >>>>nothing commercial. The more I read the more I see there were quite a > > >>>>few different densities and disk formats, probably more so with the > > >>>>equipment I am talking about. > > > >>>Not really. This gizmo emulated an MFM hard disk drive. The IDE > > >>>drive was just to record the data. > > > >>>The data format of a floppy is not that different from the data format > > >>>of an ST-412 drive. MFM is MFM. > > > >>>G., > > > >>I thought one difference between the FDC and IDE interface (right at the > > >>connector), was that the FDC does talk at that lowest level so that MFM, > > >>FM, GCR whatever is present right on the ribbon cable, but for IDE this > > >>lower layer is done by chips on the drive itself. At least that is what > > >>I thought a modern IDE drive did. I now see that the ST-412 was one of > > >>the very first. Was it considered IDE back then? > > > > You don't seem to understand; the gizmo I made adapted an IDE drive > > > (which one can still buy) so that it would emulate an MFM hard drive > > > (ST-412). > > > > It could be used to replace an old MFM drive, which you can NOT buy > > > anymore. > > > > G. > > > Now I see. Pretty much the same set of design goals I am looking at, but > > at a higher speed. Did your gizmo also support disk formatting? This is > > one part that may not translate easily between different media. > > It did support formatting. That's easier with ST-412; a floppy can be > FM or MFM encoded. > > G.
Reply by September 12, 20072007-09-12
On Sep 6, 8:14 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote:
> ghel...@lycos.com wrote: > > On Sep 5, 12:00 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > >>ghel...@lycos.com wrote: > > >>>On Sep 4, 3:17 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > >>>>>A while back I created a gizmo that connected an IDE drive to a ST-412 > >>>>>controller, so it can be done, and reliably. > > >>>>As I understand it this is was an IDE controller, not a FDC controller. > >>>>I can go out and buy an IDE to CF or SD adaptor, but I don't see any FDC > >>>>to X adaptors. I have seen a few hobbyist attempts to do this but > >>>>nothing commercial. The more I read the more I see there were quite a > >>>>few different densities and disk formats, probably more so with the > >>>>equipment I am talking about. > > >>>Not really. This gizmo emulated an MFM hard disk drive. The IDE > >>>drive was just to record the data. > > >>>The data format of a floppy is not that different from the data format > >>>of an ST-412 drive. MFM is MFM. > > >>>G., > > >>I thought one difference between the FDC and IDE interface (right at the > >>connector), was that the FDC does talk at that lowest level so that MFM, > >>FM, GCR whatever is present right on the ribbon cable, but for IDE this > >>lower layer is done by chips on the drive itself. At least that is what > >>I thought a modern IDE drive did. I now see that the ST-412 was one of > >>the very first. Was it considered IDE back then? > > > You don't seem to understand; the gizmo I made adapted an IDE drive > > (which one can still buy) so that it would emulate an MFM hard drive > > (ST-412). > > > It could be used to replace an old MFM drive, which you can NOT buy > > anymore. > > > G. > > Now I see. Pretty much the same set of design goals I am looking at, but > at a higher speed. Did your gizmo also support disk formatting? This is > one part that may not translate easily between different media.
It did support formatting. That's easier with ST-412; a floppy can be FM or MFM encoded. G.
Reply by tns1 September 7, 20072007-09-07
ghelbig@lycos.com wrote:
> On Sep 5, 12:00 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > >>ghel...@lycos.com wrote: >> >>>On Sep 4, 3:17 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: >> >>>>>A while back I created a gizmo that connected an IDE drive to a ST-412 >>>>>controller, so it can be done, and reliably. >> >>>>As I understand it this is was an IDE controller, not a FDC controller. >>>>I can go out and buy an IDE to CF or SD adaptor, but I don't see any FDC >>>>to X adaptors. I have seen a few hobbyist attempts to do this but >>>>nothing commercial. The more I read the more I see there were quite a >>>>few different densities and disk formats, probably more so with the >>>>equipment I am talking about. >> >>>Not really. This gizmo emulated an MFM hard disk drive. The IDE >>>drive was just to record the data. >> >>>The data format of a floppy is not that different from the data format >>>of an ST-412 drive. MFM is MFM. >> >>>G., >> >>I thought one difference between the FDC and IDE interface (right at the >>connector), was that the FDC does talk at that lowest level so that MFM, >>FM, GCR whatever is present right on the ribbon cable, but for IDE this >>lower layer is done by chips on the drive itself. At least that is what >>I thought a modern IDE drive did. I now see that the ST-412 was one of >>the very first. Was it considered IDE back then? > > > You don't seem to understand; the gizmo I made adapted an IDE drive > (which one can still buy) so that it would emulate an MFM hard drive > (ST-412). > > It could be used to replace an old MFM drive, which you can NOT buy > anymore. > > G. >
Now I see. Pretty much the same set of design goals I am looking at, but at a higher speed. Did your gizmo also support disk formatting? This is one part that may not translate easily between different media.
Reply by September 6, 20072007-09-06
On Sep 5, 12:00 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote:
> ghel...@lycos.com wrote: > > On Sep 4, 3:17 pm, tns1 <t...@cox.net> wrote: > > >>>A while back I created a gizmo that connected an IDE drive to a ST-412 > >>>controller, so it can be done, and reliably. > > >>As I understand it this is was an IDE controller, not a FDC controller. > >>I can go out and buy an IDE to CF or SD adaptor, but I don't see any FDC > >>to X adaptors. I have seen a few hobbyist attempts to do this but > >>nothing commercial. The more I read the more I see there were quite a > >>few different densities and disk formats, probably more so with the > >>equipment I am talking about. > > > Not really. This gizmo emulated an MFM hard disk drive. The IDE > > drive was just to record the data. > > > The data format of a floppy is not that different from the data format > > of an ST-412 drive. MFM is MFM. > > > G., > > I thought one difference between the FDC and IDE interface (right at the > connector), was that the FDC does talk at that lowest level so that MFM, > FM, GCR whatever is present right on the ribbon cable, but for IDE this > lower layer is done by chips on the drive itself. At least that is what > I thought a modern IDE drive did. I now see that the ST-412 was one of > the very first. Was it considered IDE back then?
You don't seem to understand; the gizmo I made adapted an IDE drive (which one can still buy) so that it would emulate an MFM hard drive (ST-412). It could be used to replace an old MFM drive, which you can NOT buy anymore. G.
Reply by D. September 6, 20072007-09-06
Steve at fivetrees wrote:
> "D." <user@server.net> wrote in message
>> Would you by any chance accept to ship some of those databooks away, >> instead >> of binning them? I'm always looking for data on some old CPUs I've got >> here, >> so you may well have some books that would be useful here... > > Ah. I'm afraid you're slightly too late. We've already bagged up all the > books for disposal. Sorry.
Ah I see. I can understand that: saturday is two days away!
> If I get the chance to sort through them again, I will, but I can't > guarantee it. We're now very short of time.
No problem.
>> PS: I tried to send you a direct email -- it bounced back with a >> cryptic >> Deferred: 451 Temporary failure, please try again later. >> 451 4.4.1 reply: read error from mail.fivetrees.com. >> Deferred: 451 Temporary failure, please try again later. >> 451 4.4.1 reply: read error from mail2.fivetrees.com. > > Yes, that's normal and benign. The fivetrees servers operate greylisting > as an antispam measure: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greylisting > > But you shouldn't see bounces - your mailserver should quietly retry and > will succeed after an hour or so. Unless you're doing stuff manually, of > course, and not using a well-behaved mailserver. A bit like a spammer > ;).
I understand now. But apparently my ISP's mail server isn't well-behaved, as it had been trying for four hours before sending me what is actually a notification, not a bounce, my mistake. It seems that fate didn't allow me to have your books: had you received the original message in time, there may have still been a chance that they would not have been in the bags yet!
> Steve > http://www.fivetrees.com
Thanks and regards, D.