Omega-TI Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 You know, I would like one of those too, but I could never justify spending that much money. I still have faith that someday, somebody will design and build a new 720K (or possibly even a 1.44) controller, hopefully within the next year or two. Now, with all the people buying Lotharek HxC's lately, and hard drive controller cards being pretty much 'unobtanium', this is probably the most viable solution for the widest audience. The Lotharek can pretty much store EVERYTHING a user could ever want on a single SD card, and with one being able to emulate two drives at once, well it's pretty practical too. So I'm ready for a new controller card, even if it's only just to keep all my 'Rasmus Games' on a single disk for quick single menu access! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazoo Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 There was talk a few years ago of making a run of Myarc Floppy Controller cards. It's a pretty simple card, with the WDC1772 still available (just checked Ebay). I think there may be a Pal on the card, and I believe it is not a locked one. It would not be too difficult a task to replicate the card, but Richard Bell's permission would be required, as he owns the intellectual rights to Myarc. I'd be willing to assist in the project if there's enough interest. Gazoo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 I'd be willing to assist in the project if there's enough interest. Gazoo Hmmmm, I guess I'll take another poll... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 There is also an auction ending in just over six hours of a Myarc DSDD 80 (720K) disk controller card. It'll control up to 4 drives at 720K each. So with 4 drives or 2 HxC's you could access to up to 2.88M at the same time. Check out the auction << HERE >> Good to know, this controller is now laying in my cupboard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Good to know, this controller is now laying in my cupboard Well, that post was a month old after all! Glad to hear someone from AA got it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, that post was a month old after all! Glad to hear someone from AA got it! Yes, late postings will happen more, b´cause i am "new" have to look around everywhere but, what is AA ? (think here u can see that I am new 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 AtariAge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) AtariAge MataHariAge (sad, was thinking it is my AA-rating ) Edited February 10, 2015 by schmitzi 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willsy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Wow, check out that board. The voltage regulator has literally scorched it. Not good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 no no, don´t worry, it should run. This is only an extra-mod for cold winterdays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 no no, don´t worry, it should run. This is only an extra-mod for cold winterdays The board discoloration is found on many of the Myarc cards where a heat sink is missing. Before using the card, I recommend you install a small heat sink on the regulator. If you are comfortable doing so, I also recommend you replace the two electrolytic capacitors and the regulator. Finally, if you are unaware, the old clamshells are conductive - do not place a Myarc card into a TI clamshell without clipping or covering the metal tabs inside the shell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 oh yes, thanks for the info. but I have not the possibility with soldering and this things so first, it dont use it, yes, that it better. have to find somebody how is able to check. too wothy to blow up. yes, by random, I am aware of this clamshell-problem, saw it here on the forum some weeks ago. so that is one reason why I do TI-things very slowly yes to the capacitator-problem, I ever wear protective glasses when starting old hardware after long time But ie with this machine here, pls see link below, I had good luck. After 30 years, forgotten in the haunted basement of horrors, battery had no acid, and also the machine runs. Sometime things just work https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.336182413240385.1073741842.326551627536797&type=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 you mean this parts ? hmmmmmmmm maybe I can handle that... but which parts do I need ? from eBay ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I see who won that board now (I was the underbidder). LOLOL You have pointed out the right components, Ralf. the Voltage regulator is a 7508. I'd have to check my Myarc card to see what the value of the two capacitors is, but you have pointed out the right ones. Note--soldering on Myarc boards that have been charred like that is not always easy, as you need a really good solder sucker to get the old solder off--and it isn't ROHS, so mixing whatever is left with the ROHS solder you can get in Europe now isn't a good idea (different metal mix). The traces may be torn off the board if you fail to do it right too--making the eventual repair harder (I have trace repair equipment, but it is a pain to use). Using an old dead cartridge board as your experimental test object for parts removal is probably a good idea. . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 It would also help if I wasn't being a bit dyslexic in the last post--the regulator is a 7805 (not a 7508). . .the Myarc needs 5 volts--not 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Hi Ksarul, thanks for all this infos, I think, for me, it doesn´t matter 5 oder 8 volt I will crash it, so or so, I´ll find a way So I wait with the part now, try to find some physical help on it. eBay-auction was cool, hehe, yes, I bid much for it, also in maximum ...and there were some more interesting parts where we "met", I think Ralf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I wouldn't doubt that at all, Ralf! You and I seem to be of the very active collector type. . .and that is a good thing. I probably have all of the parts you need, so I can send them in an envelope along with some solder wire of the right type once I dig them all out. Then you just need to find someone with the right skills to do the update safely. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 yes, Ksarul, that would be my best chance, thanks a lot. And I would try on testobjects before, I am interested in that work. (But also worry about trashing the worthy parts) My first solderings in life were all my PEBs, changing the fans, did that last year (1 of them "exploded", but was depending on a 110er on 240V I think haha But this fans work some good, so I can look forward to try more soldering... But please let me send take photo from the soldering-tools I have, so maybe we can reduce it a bit. I bought some stuff from conrad.de last year I think (yes please laugh, I know I will look tonight. Yes, I collect TI for my life (But this obsession is new) Great deal, thx again Ralf PS: I have some new HexBus-Cable and a modem for CC40 what I want to get rid off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 SpecOps Swat-Sold(i)ering Equipment / Mode: McGyver (I think I better forget about that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 You not a Uber programmer until you can just view the HEX code and know completely what is doing and where and how, without even using any form of disassembler, just by blindly viewing the hexcode. All I see is blonde, brunette, red-head... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vectrexroli Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Hi, thanks to this forum here I came to the idea that I will upgrade my PEB with the 80 tracks mod and I would like to install 1 Lotharek USB drive and 1 3,5" disk drive later. I have a question now and I hope this here is the right thread to ask that: I got the new replacement ROMs for the Floppy Disk Controller from atrax27407 quite fast and I asked him for the 80/80/80 option (so all 3 drives can use 80 tracks). I put the new ROMs in (using IC sockets of course) and as I don´t have the proper power cables for my 3,5" disk drive yet, I had the idea to use the old huge disk drive that originally came with the PEB to see at least if the disk controller is still alive. What surprised me now is that it is still working like normal, so I can format it with 40 tracks in Disk Manager, I can put files on it and read from it. So even I got the 80/80/80 ROMs it seems to backwards compatible, which could make sense, the only question is then what is the reason that you also can order a 40 track option, if your old 40 track disk drive works also with the 80 track ROM anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 . Hi, I am not sure at all, but I think that - if you write 40-tracks with 80-track-control - that you may run into problems if you use this floppy in a normal, pure 40-tracked-drive/controller, because there are differences in writing/formatting due to double-stepping on positioning the head/motor in the 80-config. For me, in my 80-modded systems, I have at least one pure 40-track-drive, with 40-track-inBios for that, for a "clean" exchange with systems which use pure 40-track-systems only. I have this 40-track-config on all DSK1´s in my systems. I don´t know if that was a good idea, but at all, it is no problem to reburn the chip to change that later Please wait for more answers here, as I am no specialist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 You can imagine an 80-track drive having a write head that is half as wide as the one in the 40-track drive. If the file system says it has 40 tracks, the controller (like the HFDC) must use double stepping (double the track number). When we consider the structure of that disk, this is the desired behaviour: The controller knows that it takes two pulses to go to the next track. As long as you stay with reading, nothing bad happens. When you start writing on a 40-track drive, only half of the track will be overwritten; with a fine tip you cannot draw a thick line. This, of course, does not bother the 80-track drive; when you read the next time, everything will be found because you reach the same tracks. But when the "fat" read head of the 40-track drive hovers again over the tracks, it will find a blend of two tracks: the even-numbered that have been changed by the 80-track drive, and the odd-numbered that remained from the time when this disk was lastly written with a 40 track drive. These cannot be read. There is no way to emulate a 40-track drive with an 80-track drive; you could have the idea to write each track twice (on an even and the next odd position). However, you cannot ensure that the tracks perfectly align with each other, and writing would become half as fast. In MESS the effect is visible in the way that when you insert a DSK medium in an 80-track drive, it will automatically double its size, and will henceforth only be readable with the 80-track drive. Ah, did I actually warn about this issue? OK, then I'll do now. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vectrexroli Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 OK thanks, so that would also explain that I still could read another 5,25" TI disk written on another 40 track drive/system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) I have a question and as I haven't been active in the TI world for a very long time till lately, this may have been addressed and discarded years ago, is it possible to use the Western Digital WD2793A, like used on the Corcomp controller and get double density with some modification as well as a DSR change? Stuart you may have done this before after seeing your website. Curious Edited January 28, 2016 by RickyDean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.