4 ms·

Seems the correct project URL is : https://discferret.com https://discferret.com That's interesting i was not aware of this project. I'll take a further look a

by tiben_ 7y ago

Seems the correct project URL is : https://discferret.com https://discferret.com That's interesting i was not aware of this project. I'll take a further look asap. Is there some feature/comparison sheet with Kryoflux available ?

philpem 7y ago
Sorry, quite correct. Apparently I can't even remember my own domain name! It'll do exactly what a Kryoflux can do, including flux-transition-level read and write. (I'm not sure if the Kryoflux can write). The big differences are that it has a complete Shugart drive interface which matches what floppy drive datasheets advise -- so it's fully open-collector, with the right type of gates. This also makes it very flexible -- it's been used to read ST506 MFM/RLL drives and decode the resulting output. It's been connected to NEC 8-inch drives with non-Shugart interfaces. Its only major problem was that it was expensive - about $150 per unit. You could probably get that down a lot by using a more appropriate FPGA. If I did it again, I'd probably use a Lattice MachXO and the Yosys/Nextpnr toolkit, and possibly an STM32 microcontroller. Practically speaking if you didn't need Winchester support, you could probably use the STM32's timer and PWM peripherals with DMA reload, leaving a single-chip solution with a bit of LSTTL for the drive interface.
- tiben_ 7y ago
  Thank you for theses details. Kryoflux can write back a read raw stream or some common image formats (IFP, ADF, G64 etc.)
- pronoiac 7y ago
  Heads up, store.discferret.com isn't resolving.
  - philpem 7y ago
    The store closed years ago. I was working 7am-6pm for a long while and just didn't have the time to put in. I still have about a dozen boards and a few components, actually. Look me up on Twitter (@philpem) or Mastodon (m0ofx@mastodon.social) if you're interested in a board, my usual offer is "beer money plus shipping" :)

by tiben_ 7y ago

philpem 7y ago

Sorry, quite correct. Apparently I can't even remember my own domain name! It'll do exactly what a Kryoflux can do, including flux-transition-level read and write. (I'm not sure if the Kryoflux can write). The big differences are that it has a complete Shugart drive interface which matches what floppy drive datasheets advise -- so it's fully open-collector, with the right type of gates. This also makes it very flexible -- it's been used to read ST506 MFM/RLL drives and decode the resulting output. It's been connected to NEC 8-inch drives with non-Shugart interfaces. Its only major problem was that it was expensive - about $150 per unit. You could probably get that down a lot by using a more appropriate FPGA. If I did it again, I'd probably use a Lattice MachXO and the Yosys/Nextpnr toolkit, and possibly an STM32 microcontroller. Practically speaking if you didn't need Winchester support, you could probably use the STM32's timer and PWM peripherals with DMA reload, leaving a single-chip solution with a bit of LSTTL for the drive interface.

tiben_ 7y ago
Thank you for theses details. Kryoflux can write back a read raw stream or some common image formats (IFP, ADF, G64 etc.)
pronoiac 7y ago
Heads up, store.discferret.com isn't resolving.
- philpem 7y ago
  The store closed years ago. I was working 7am-6pm for a long while and just didn't have the time to put in. I still have about a dozen boards and a few components, actually. Look me up on Twitter (@philpem) or Mastodon (m0ofx@mastodon.social) if you're interested in a board, my usual offer is "beer money plus shipping" :)