Kelevance Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I bought an Apple IIe Platinum a few years ago via eBay and an Apple IIgs via Craigslist a few years before that. The IIgs came with a bunch of software, and I also bought some things for the IIe via eBay when I got the machine. At the time, I remember reading a bunch about the mythical CFFA3000 which was much beloved, but out of print. Now that it's readily available again, as someone who's looking to get back into the Apple II scene, where would you recommend I begin: the CFFA3000 or Floppy Emu? My knowledge is somewhat limited of how to use an Apple II, and I've never used a hard drive with one before, so I think for that reason i was leaning towards the Floppy Emu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick3092 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Personally, I prefer the Floppy Emu. Mostly because I have a IIe, //c, and a IIgs. So I can easily move it around to whichever I'm using, without having to open up cases and swap cards. Plus the //c doesn't have slots. The other advantage of FE is it can run WOZ files (5.25" only, it doesn't support 3.5" WOZ). WOZ files are low level flux images of disks. So low level that the copy protection is intact and can't tell the difference. You are basically using an identical image to the original disk. No cracks or modifications. Unless anything has changed recently, CCFA3k can't use them. The IIgs has smartport built in. So it can run hard drive images like Total Reply off the FE natively. For the IIe, you would need something like a softSP card, or just replace the disk II controller with a Yellowstone card (made by the guy who makes the FE). Yellowstone is nice in the sense it does this with only one slot, instead of wasting two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelevance Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 1 hour ago, nick3092 said: Personally, I prefer the Floppy Emu. Mostly because I have a IIe, //c, and a IIgs. So I can easily move it around to whichever I'm using, without having to open up cases and swap cards. Plus the //c doesn't have slots. The other advantage of FE is it can run WOZ files (5.25" only, it doesn't support 3.5" WOZ). WOZ files are low level flux images of disks. So low level that the copy protection is intact and can't tell the difference. You are basically using an identical image to the original disk. No cracks or modifications. Unless anything has changed recently, CCFA3k can't use them. The IIgs has smartport built in. So it can run hard drive images like Total Reply off the FE natively. For the IIe, you would need something like a softSP card, or just replace the disk II controller with a Yellowstone card (made by the guy who makes the FE). Yellowstone is nice in the sense it does this with only one slot, instead of wasting two. Thank you! This is really helpful. I had been taking a look at the Yellowstone card to add SmartPort functionality to the IIe, so this makes a lot of sense. Sounds like Floppy Emu is a great place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 If you have a IIGS then the best course of action is a MicroDrive/Turbo and a Floppy Emu as a complementary device. It is the device with Direct Memory Access and loads GSOS the fastest. If you have a IIe then a hard drive replacement makes less sense unless 100% of the stuff you do is in ProDOS. In that case I'd probably go with a CFFA3000, which is still available from ReActive Micro. But I'd always have a Floppy Emu as a complementary device no matter what. Smartport addition to a IIe makes a lot of sense, too, but you'll find you'll probably come to really like the CFFA3000 and its ability to use both DOS 3.3 and ProDOS images (along with hard drive images) seamlessly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radventure Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 I went with a SoftSP Card + wDrive, which has some WOZ support AFAIK(no expert, barely aware of the fact there are WOZ images). So far it's great, but my requirements are low at this point of my learning. Choices also come down to where you are geographically these days I feel (in terms of shipping costs especially!!). I bought through mfa2lab. Be aware of the "Pin 12" thing if you're using a II, II+ or IIe, Disk II interface card, a SoftSP card and the Floppy Emu (doesn't affect the Disk II + SoftSP + wDrive combo). Simple to avoid, isolating Pin 12 on the connecting cable or adapter. Read more here (BMOW) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.