Alternative Hardware Design for Floppy Interface

[Philip Pemberton]

e.stiebler wrote:
> Chuck Guzis wrote:
>> An old PC with some ISA slots (free, usually) and a few ISA prototype 
>> boards (about $20 or so the each) would seem to satisfy the basic need 
>> pretty handily, wouldn't it?  Easy to program, free tools, etc.
>>
>> Or am I missing something important here?
> 
> Nothing important, probably all a matter of personal preference. I'm 
> trying to get rid of PCs(running out of space) and a card which can do 
> the job sounds better. But as always, YMMV ;-)

I think I've mentioned my USB floppy drive controller here before...

At the moment the design is 90% done - I just need to add the I/O buffers to 
the schematic and route the PCB. For the latter part, I'll probably need to 
rig up some form of KiCAD-to-FreeRouting (via SPECCTRA DSN) interface.

If I can get the PCB done reasonably quickly (say before noon tomorrow) I'll 
cook up a prototype. Of course, to achieve that, I'll have to get off my lazy 
butt and probably stop listening to the CDs I just bought...

Current target price is £50 (or about $100 US at current exchange rates).

Of course, if you want portable, you get a Linksys NSLU2 and bolt the FDC onto 
that via a USB port. Add a pendrive and a 5V power supply (and whatever your 
floppy drive wants) and you've got a portable one-touch floppy disc reader. 
Better to use a laptop, though, then you can analyse the image and make sure 
it decodes properly.

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