Replacing floppy
in [Design]
|
From: Jan Panteltje on 27 Apr 2010 07:14 On a sunny day (Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:04:49 +1000) it happened Grant <omg(a)grrr.id.au> wrote in <gl6ct5t6cummc363jq87cf9enir69b0s3i(a)4ax.com>: >I would like to replace the floppy interface in a TDS3034 DPO with some >USB or Ethernet interface. > >Emulating a floppy is a possible method? > >Would a PIC chip do that? Hang off the floppy drive cable, intercept >and interpret the signals? Make the DPO think it's talking to a real >floppy disk? If you ask me outright 'can a PIC do that?', that would take a lot of investigation. Much simpler is in my view to use one of the many dedicated floppy controler chips *together with* a PIC. I used the 8272A in the past (same as in the IBM PC).
From: Archimedes' Lever on 27 Apr 2010 07:33 On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:53:36 -0500, "George Jefferson" <phreon111(a)gmail.com> wrote: >I have an old keyboard that uses floppy to hold its os. It takes about 3 >mins to fully load if that. Also the disk can become corrupt overtime. > >I was thinking of replacing the floppy with a ssd type of system. What I'm >thinking is possible is to "hijack" the floppy interface cable and simulate >a floppy disk but provide a faster system. Essentially emulating the floppy >disk protocol, which I imagine it uses some existing standard, but reading >off a ssd/eeprom. If you boot from an SSD, it appears as drive A: on some Motherboarss, and drive C:" on others, and still others allow selection in the MOBO BIOS as to how it gets treated. > >Am I on the right track? No. Just get the USB multi card reader. I installed Vista and W7 from a mem stick onto a Revo, which has no floppy. Also, if you boot DOS on a mem stick, it usually definitely shows up as drive A: > Here the biggest problem is probably getting the >protocol correct and the electronics would be rather simple? Probably can be >done with a pic and not much more... > The data rate on a floppy interface bus is too slow, even if the 2.88MB choice is used.
From: Archimedes' Lever on 27 Apr 2010 07:49 On Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:44:43 GMT, Jan Panteltje <pNaonStpealmtje(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >Yes that should be possible. Chimes in Jan, with yet more guess as you go stupidity.
From: Archimedes' Lever on 27 Apr 2010 08:01 On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:27:41 -0400, Jamie <jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1lpa_(a)charter.net> wrote: Set your clock right, dingledorf.
From: Spehro Pefhany on 27 Apr 2010 08:30
On Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:53:36 -0500, the renowned "George Jefferson" <phreon111(a)gmail.com> wrote: >I have an old keyboard that uses floppy to hold its os. It takes about 3 >mins to fully load if that. Also the disk can become corrupt overtime. > >I was thinking of replacing the floppy with a ssd type of system. What I'm >thinking is possible is to "hijack" the floppy interface cable and simulate >a floppy disk but provide a faster system. Essentially emulating the floppy >disk protocol, which I imagine it uses some existing standard, but reading >off a ssd/eeprom. > >Am I on the right track? Here the biggest problem is probably getting the >protocol correct and the electronics would be rather simple? Probably can be >done with a pic and not much more... > http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html Best regards, Spehro Pefhany -- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff(a)interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com |