Nitz1976 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Hey ST retro users!I've just finished a batch of 30 new USB Floppy Drive Emulators.They come in two flavor for Atari ST machines: USB floppy drive emulator with HxC license (Amiga, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC) -> $45.49 USD USB floppy drive emulator with HxC license wtih sound (Amiga, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC) --> $47.49 USD You can order here or see my site at: www.retronicdesign.comMore details on the HxC firmware can be seen here: www.hxc2001.comYou can hear what the speaker sound looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MNUCxGRb4Cheers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Cool ! After all goodies like track display and sound only thing what I can yet wish is emulating dust effects 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Cool ! After all goodies like track display and sound only thing what I can yet wish is emulating dust effects LOL!!! I can provide a dust bag aside if you want! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLund1 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 GREAT ITEM!!! I wonder what it would look like mounted in an ST without hacking up the case? Big button vs small button FD drive access mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) I saw people mountig it upside down. Why not? Digits can be rotated inside the case. Others prefer to use it as an external drive in a custom enclosure. Edited September 2, 2015 by Nitz1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 So on the ST how does this work? The other HxC devices appear to have LED screens on them to, I assume, select the Image for the drive? How does one select the .ST or .IMA image with this unit form the USB drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 So on the ST how does this work? The other HxC devices appear to have LED screens on them to, I assume, select the Image for the drive? How does one select the .ST or .IMA image with this unit form the USB drive? There is a loader that comes on the USB key, written for ST. First, you copy image files from a PC or MAC. Then, first time it comes up, the file sector will come up (location 000). You can also press both buttons to select this slot later on. Using the boot loader, you simply map your image files to a corresponding slot # (1-15). Then, while in operation, just flip up/down button to scroll through different slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sowden Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Hey there. Now as far as Atari's go, has it been tested on different TOS versions? I own a CosmosEx, and it has problem talking to my 1.00 TOS version. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Hey there. Now as far as Atari's go, has it been tested on different TOS versions? I own a CosmosEx, and it has problem talking to my 1.00 TOS version. Thanks. TOS v1.0 should be upgraded on general principle alone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 TOS v1.0 should be upgraded on general principle alone. Hey there. Now as far as Atari's go, has it been tested on different TOS versions? I own a CosmosEx, and it has problem talking to my 1.00 TOS version. Thanks. Good question. As far as I know, the firmware emulate a floppy drive as it was a real one. So, the TOS version should work anyhow. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sowden Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 I think I'll pick one up then. Is there any difference between the generally available and the HxC firmware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 I think I'll pick one up then. Is there any difference between the generally available and the HxC firmware? For Atari ST, you must select HxC firmware. The generally available firmware is for Amiga only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 For bare floppy drive emulator TOS version matters not. CosmosEx is another story. But upgrading to 1.04 is very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 And the upgrade from earlier versions to TOS 1.4 is almost trivial. Just a matter of replacing 2 or 6 chips, pop 'n play. Interesting stuff on TOS v1.4 on this page: http://www.sarnau.com/static/files/tos_1.4_release_notes.txt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Interesting! I'm taking notes guys. My ST knowledge is limited since mine was lost in the hourglass sand of my stock... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Nitz1976, Im finally getting around to installing my drive and I see a # of jumper pins on the back. S0 is set so I assume that means Drive 1 for the ST. If I change this to S1 then maybe Drive 2? 2 jumpers were provided and the other options are BOOT0 3.3V Tx Rx RST None have jumpers on them and BOOT0 and 3.3V only have 1 pin vs 2. Anything I need to do with any of these jumper settings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Nitz1976, Im finally getting around to installing my drive and I see a # of jumper pins on the back. S0 is set so I assume that means Drive 1 for the ST. If I change this to S1 then maybe Drive 2? 2 jumpers were provided and the other options are BOOT0 3.3V Tx Rx RST None have jumpers on them and BOOT0 and 3.3V only have 1 pin vs 2. Anything I need to do with any of these jumper settings? Nope, you're good. These pins are used to reprogram the drive base firmware. In your case, It's already done and future updates will be done via the USB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Thanks Nitz - its a bit confusing to me but I see now that I use the HxC software on the PC to config the device. I have some other quirks I need help with but will go to the HxC forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 You can use only the loader to select files direcly on your Atari. Just copy files you need on the USB stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Nitz, Im getting a bit more comfortable with the HxC but its confusing looking at the main website since the majority of information is for the SD HxC and not the USB HxC which this unit is. Not sure why the difference but there is. Im having a conflict trying to use my external B: drive with the HxC installed. The firmware is controlled through the .cfg file from what I can tell on the website - I cant figure out how to look/modify the cfg file to ensure the HxC is only emulating the A: drive and not taking over the B: drive. Can help me understand how to manage the .CFG file? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sowden Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hey guys. I have done some messing around with my emulator today (while playing some games that work great by the way) and found some problems. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but my emulator doesn't seem to run MSA files. I don't know if Nitz would know about this, but the HxC website says that it should run MSA files. I also noticed that I can do a firmware update. I know this is different from the Atari software that you have to copy when you get the USB stick. Nitz, do you think its worth doing a firmware update and if it might solve my problem? There is a video on how to update the firmware here. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hey guys. I have done some messing around with my emulator today (while playing some games that work great by the way) and found some problems. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but my emulator doesn't seem to run MSA files. I don't know if Nitz would know about this, but the HxC website says that it should run MSA files. I also noticed that I can do a firmware update. I know this is different from the Atari software that you have to copy when you get the USB stick. Nitz, do you think its worth doing a firmware update and if it might solve my problem? There is a video on how to update the firmware here. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Hello there, This update video is for the wrong HxC type of device. Just copy the .upd file inside the zip file from the website on your USB key and reboot the device while pressing both buttons. This will automatically update the firmware to its latest version. I always recommend to upgrade the device when a new version is out. Many features are still in beta but coming to official release on each revision. I don't know about MSA files, you should ask this in the HxC2001.com support forum. There are different HxC drive models with different softwares. It might not be supported with the GOTEK version you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sowden Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Killer, I'll give that a try now. and the MSA isn't that big of a deal. I found a program called Floppy Imaging and File Transfer that converts from MSA to ST. Thanks man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sowden Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hum. The update worked without a hitch, I'll be sure to look out for updates now, Now once I put a MSA file on (lets sat Slot 005), it says 005 for a second, changes to hxc, then to 000. I'll ask on the HxC forms about it. Also does the software only allow up to 15 slots only? Thanks man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitz1976 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Hum. The update worked without a hitch, I'll be sure to look out for updates now, Now once I put a MSA file on (lets sat Slot 005), it says 005 for a second, changes to hxc, then to 000. I'll ask on the HxC forms about it. Also does the software only allow up to 15 slots only? Thanks man. I'd bet it's just not supported. The loader don't care about file extensions. Might try to interpret it and then dies. Yes, HxC software support up to 15 different slots of A: and B: disk image selections. Don't know if this will be raised in the future... Make your suggestions on the HxC2001 site! Jeff Del Nero and his team are great coders... They are constantly improving their product. I won't be surprised this will be updated in a later version. Edited November 11, 2015 by Nitz1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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