eightbit Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Received this email tonight from Rich Dreher: "Apple II Fans: This is the first email status update for the CFFA3000 Run #5 project.If you are no longer interest in this project, there should be an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email.This is my first attempt at using my ISP's email marketing tool so hopefully this works well.I have ordered all of the parts and PCBs for the next run.This run will be 1000 units in size. I currently have about 560 people who have expressed an interest in buying one or more boards.Maximum units per address will probably be three.The bare PCBs have been manufactured and most of the parts have arrived,but I am still waiting for about 5 back-ordered parts that will not arrive until mid / late December.This means it will be mid / late January before I have finished boards back from the assembly company in California.Once I have tested the boards I will open up the web site for pre-orders and contact you again.The reason I am calling them "pre-orders" is because I won't be able to fill all orders quickly.So like previous runs, you may end up very near the front of the order queue or near the back depending on when I receive your payment.I will explain all of the ordering details in a future email so you can make an informed decision before you purchase anything from me.If there are any more unexpected delays I will contact you at that time.Many of you have waited a very long time for this batch and I appreciate everyone's interest in this project.It is hard to believe I have been making some kind of CFFA for 15 years now!It shows just how much people love their Apple II computers.Thanks,-Rich" This is supposedly the LAST run he will make. If you have a IIGS or Apple II I would definitely recommend getting on the list. I have one already (it is probably my favorite of these types of devices for vintage computers) but plan on purchasing a spare when they are ready because...well....its just that good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMenard Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I registered for one... Here's hoping I make the cut... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I'm sure you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGQuarterly Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Is there something I need to do besides adding myself to the "interest list"? I've been putting off getting one of these things for years, but now I'm trying to get a nice IIgs setup going. I have a floppy emu, but a CFFA seems like a no-brainer addition to my project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 There's nothing else you need to do right now if you signed up through the link on his site. I imagine that once he has these, he'll just start emailing/invoicing people in the order they signed up on the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Pretty much.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 1000 units! That just blows me away... I'll definitely be getting one more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumerNivek Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Just signed up two nights ago for his email address. I have yet to get any type of Apple II computer, but started looking into getting one this past week. After researching hard drive options this week, I stumbled across the CFFA 3000 and other options. As luck would have it, Mr. Dreher is doing another run right when I decide I want to get into the Apple II/IIgs scene. I just signed up for his email, so here is hoping I can get one of the 1000 and then an Apple II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I'm sure there's going to be plenty available. If the interest level was approaching the final 100 available I'm sure (again) it would be big news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted November 26, 2017 Author Share Posted November 26, 2017 Well, he does have 560 (at last count I saw) people interested and who knows how many expressed interest in more than one. I suspect they will be gone in a few months after release...and then that's it apparently. Should be enough though (hopefully) to cover the people interested in a device like this I have to say that I *love* mine. Jumping from classic Apple II games to IIGS games and IIGS hard drive images is a blast and really makes the IIGS (the computer I am using it in) a whole heck of a lot of fun without the need for hard drives or disks. I also ran a USB extension cable from the card to the outside of the machine so that I can simply pop in a USB flash drive with newly downloaded stuff right to the IIGS, or even save my work to it and back it up on a PC. Very very cool device indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 CFFA3000 Run#5 Status Update #2 Apple II Fans:This is the 2nd email status update for the CFFA3000 Run #5 project.If you are no longer interest in this project, you can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.All of the parts, except 2, have arrived at the assembler in California today. I am still waiting for two parts from Arrow.com to arrive before assembly can begin. The current estimate of arrival is the first week of Jan 2018.My best estimate for completion of assembly is now the end of February. Once I have the boards back and tested I will open up for pre-orders. Even though I will have the boards in stock, I must still call them "pre-orders" because I can't ship the boards quickly. On previous runs I could only ship 30 to 50 boards per week and it took many weeks to get through all of the pre-orders. I am working on ways to speed up the order filling process. My kids are now teenagers and will be paid to help out on this run, but it will take time to work through 500 to 700 orders. I will explain all this in greater detail when pre-ordering time comes so everyone knows how long their wait will be.This will be the final run of this board design. The costs for these old 5v parts is just getting too high. If there is demand for more cards in the 2020 time-frame, I think a new FPGA based design would be the way to go. Ironically an FPGA could hold the design of the entire Apple IIBut I know how much we like to use our real Apple II hardware, otherwise this card would not be useful.Unfortunately the parts costs have increased for this run and that has pushed up the cost somewhat. I now have Run #5 final pricing as follows:1 CFFA3000 will cost: US$179.95(Includes a 128MB CF card containing the user manual, card firmware, and a couple disk images.)1 Remote Switch/Cable will cost: US$29.95When you order both together they will cost: US$199.95.Shipping over seas is still crazy expensive! If you can find a friend to combine your order with to split the shipping costs, I am happy to accommodate those kinds of arrangements.I'm sorry for the delays, and thanks for supporting the project.-Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 It's still well-worth the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 It's still well-worth the money! With how much I use this thing it is more than well worth the money The enjoyability factor of using the IIGS went up 100 fold after obtaining one of these devices. So simple and no need for setting up software to draw a UI for manipulating floppy and hard disk images is just a thing of beauty. It just works and is easy to bounce around from one application to another at will. I have a space reserved for my IIe for another one of these when they become available and $200 is small change for what you are getting...trust me on that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 Also the hard drive compatibility patches by myself, qkumba and others make the CFFA more useful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 What sort of mods or patches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 I would like to see support for the AppleSauce file format .woz I put Rich and John together but Rich never followed up. https://wiki.reactivemicro.com/Applesauce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 What sort of mods or patches? Patching the disk I/O code to use ProDOS-8 instead. You know, these: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/collections/san_inc_prodos/ ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/collections/usotsuki_prodos/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 oh ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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