ADAM IDE compact flash drive questions.

[nectarisneo]

I just installed the IDE compact flash drive in my ADAM this weekend and have a couple of questions. First, is there something special that I need to do in order to boot the games on the #1 partition? When I go through the steps to select partition 1 and then boot the games folder see the opening screen of the cartridge copying program but then get an error message about nothing being on the media or something like that. I am able to successfully boot the games from the #2 partition by using the same method that failed with the #1 partition. The other thing that I was wondering is if there were any disk based games that have been modified to work with this device. If so, how would I go about transferring them to my compact flash card?

 

On another note, I've come up with a clean way to route the power cable for the compact flash board to the rear of the ADAM that doesn't require drilling any holes/splicing wires/special tools/etc. No hardware modifications at all. I'll try to post some pictures in the near future.

 

I have a lot to learn about how to use this drive but like what I've seen so far.

 

Thanks!

[NIAD]

It is best to just leave the BOOT files on partition #01 and not mix in a bunch of other things... although programs like SmartBASIC that are a one file executable are OK. So, you have your BOOT-Roms file in partition #01 and all the rom files as well as the CopyCart menu program are contained in partition #02, #03 and #04. This is really the best way to keep things organized and I would not recommend trying to change it.

 

Tons of info in the following thread that should answer a lot of your questions:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/202664-new-idecompact-flash-interface-for-adam/page-6?hl

 

See Post #94 for links to a Windows backup/restore program compatible with CF Cards and my personal CF Card backup image file with lots of programs already configured and ready to use. Everything that was supplied by ADAMcon on your CF Card is still there on my CF Card image file, just rearranged some stuff.

[nectarisneo]

Thank you very much for the information and CF card image link. Exactly what I was looking for. I'm going to try using that image on a spare card and see if I still have issues with the #1 partition. Also looking forward to trying out Temple of the Snow Dragon with speedy load times.

 

Thanks again.

[NIAD]

Glad to be of help and I hope to get back to configuring more programs soon as well as transferring every rom image that CAN be included... just involved in too many projects right now that are eating up my free time.

[sjgray]

On another note, I've come up with a clean way to route the power cable for the compact flash board to the rear of the ADAM that doesn't require drilling any holes/splicing wires/special tools/etc. No hardware modifications at all. I'll try to post some pictures in the near future.

 

Hi, I have the IDE board and I am connecting the CF board's power directly from the IDE card since it requires so little power. You can see some pics on my page here:

http://www.6502.org/users/sjgray/projects/adam/index.html

 

Steve

[NIAD]

Steve... I noticed your C.F. Card power mod a while back and really like it, but if you have a Parallel Interface installed in Slot 2 like I do, it unfortunately will not fit.

[LoTonah]

I may try to do that power mod on mine (using clips or something for testing without soldering).

[sjgray]

Steve... I noticed your C.F. Card power mod a while back and really like it, but if you have a Parallel Interface installed in Slot 2 like I do, it unfortunately will not fit.

 

Sure, the more cards you have in there the harder it will be. I guess the point was that the cf card can be powered by the Adam rather than the external power adapter. Nothing is preventing you from using the original cf reader and ribbon cable and still tapping power from the IDE board. If you're going to do that I would suggest perhaps some hot glue to hold the wires in place.

 

There is also another possible solution. I don't have the pinouts infront of me, but one pin on the IDE connector is missing the actual pin. It's used as the "key" so you don't plug the IDE cable in backwards. Well, on my CF card reader this pin can also be used to power the card. So you could in theory solder in the missing pin then run a short wire from that pin to +5V and power the card that way. I don't know if the power pin is a standard thing or not, so you'd have to check. And of course, if you add the pin it could prevent some IDE cables from plugging in at all.

 

Steve

[adamcon]

 

Sure, the more cards you have in there the harder it will be. I guess the point was that the cf card can be powered by the Adam rather than the external power adapter. Nothing is preventing you from using the original cf reader and ribbon cable and still tapping power from the IDE board. If you're going to do that I would suggest perhaps some hot glue to hold the wires in place.

 

There is also another possible solution. I don't have the pinouts infront of me, but one pin on the IDE connector is missing the actual pin. It's used as the "key" so you don't plug the IDE cable in backwards. Well, on my CF card reader this pin can also be used to power the card. So you could in theory solder in the missing pin then run a short wire from that pin to +5V and power the card that way. I don't know if the power pin is a standard thing or not, so you'd have to check. And of course, if you add the pin it could prevent some IDE cables from plugging in at all.

 

Steve

Guys, I have been watching this thread with great interest. Power for the cf adapter would be very easy to "steal" from the ADAM itself, I agree. Our concern was this....IF the setup doesn't work when someone buys it, that is an unhappy user. There are significant power issues with the ADAM power supplies, especially after 30 years. Some will work great for awhile, then start to get unreliable after a period of time (Dale has one of those); I personally have one that will run the ADAM fine, but won't power the data drive. A few years back I sold an entire ADAM with IDE card and hd to a monk in the western US, he emailed that he couldn't get it to work; finally I asked if he was using the entire ADAM I sold him. Turns out he had just swapped out the cpu unit containing the IDE and hd; when he also switched out the printer, the system worked great - happy user. Apparently his original printer worked great with his vanilla ADAM, but lacked the extra power to run the IDE card and hd. The goal in using the extra power cube was so that there would be no power load for the adapter being placed on the ADAM power supply. And THAT was our reasoning. Heaven forbid that the IDE card itself put to much load on the buss; it would be ugly, but that also could be trace cut and externally powered I suppose. Anyway, my cardboard soapbox is starting to crush, so I bid you adios for now!

[sjgray]

I agree with you. If you are supplying a solution for others then that's the best/safest way to go. Power supplies can be tricky.

 

Some of us are "users" and some are "hobbyists". Personally, I don't mind experimenting with my stuff. I will take a small risk if the end results are beneficial. For me, this means one less power supply/plug to worry about. Of course, if you are not comfortable fiddling with things then don't try it, or leave it for others to do.

 

Steve

[adamcon]

I agree with you. If you are supplying a solution for others then that's the best/safest way to go. Power supplies can be tricky.

 

Some of us are "users" and some are "hobbyists". Personally, I don't mind experimenting with my stuff. I will take a small risk if the end results are beneficial. For me, this means one less power supply/plug to worry about. Of course, if you are not comfortable fiddling with things then don't try it, or leave it for others to do.

 

Steve

Well said Steve. Actually, I have my setups using ADAM power. I took the cpu apart and soldered the power cable for the adapter card onto the incoming power plug. Works great, but then again it is a radical mod for the average no mechanical user.

[JamesD]

Guys, I have been watching this thread with great interest. Power for the cf adapter would be very easy to "steal" from the ADAM itself, I agree. Our concern was this....IF the setup doesn't work when someone buys it, that is an unhappy user. There are significant power issues with the ADAM power supplies, especially after 30 years. Some will work great for awhile, then start to get unreliable after a period of time (Dale has one of those); I personally have one that will run the ADAM fine, but won't power the data drive. A few years back I sold an entire ADAM with IDE card and hd to a monk in the western US, he emailed that he couldn't get it to work; finally I asked if he was using the entire ADAM I sold him. Turns out he had just swapped out the cpu unit containing the IDE and hd; when he also switched out the printer, the system worked great - happy user. Apparently his original printer worked great with his vanilla ADAM, but lacked the extra power to run the IDE card and hd. The goal in using the extra power cube was so that there would be no power load for the adapter being placed on the ADAM power supply. And THAT was our reasoning. Heaven forbid that the IDE card itself put to much load on the buss; it would be ugly, but that also could be trace cut and externally powered I suppose. Anyway, my cardboard soapbox is starting to crush, so I bid you adios for now!

A solid state CF card requires very little power, even less than the ADAM video RAM.

It should not put a major strain on the power supply.

If an ADAM drive works, a CF card should work.

[jblenkle]

ADAM seems to be a little touchy when it comes to power. I remember a 3rd party power supply I bought at one time that would not power my fully loaded ADAM. If I unplugged any one of anything (including a disk drive - which seems a little odd since it has its own power supply), then it would power the rest fine.

 

A solid state CF card requires very little power, even less than the ADAM video RAM.
It should not put a major strain on the power supply.
If an ADAM drive works, a CF card should work.