HDX -- Users / Status Update

[Omega-TI]

Information can get out-of-date quickly when it comes to 'group buys', like the recent HDX/PCB card purchase by arcadeshopper.

BTW - Greg, it's great that guys like you are around to help others upgrade. THANX!

 

Anyway this poll is here to gauge the current status and user percentage of HDX users.

 

[RXB]

My income is fixed (Retired on Pension) so purchase of anything at all is at a all time low now.

Why I am stuck with emulation as I can not afford to get hardware or get the hardware I own fixed.

 

But this looks like a great device to use.

[+hloberg]

I don't have the room for a PEB now (using CF7+) but interested in HDX along with any other 'advanced cards' while I can still get them.

[gregallenwarner]

I absolutely love the HDX. It's the only add-on that I built myself that worked first time without debugging! (Thanks to the extremely well designed PCB and simple-as-dirt instructions. Super easy to follow.) I highly recommend it.

[CantStopClicking]

I absolutely love the HDX. It's the only add-on that I built myself that worked first time without debugging! (Thanks to the extremely well designed PCB and simple-as-dirt instructions. Super easy to follow.) I highly recommend it.

 

Spot on! Absolutely love this modification, it's rendered my reliance on floppy drives to almost zero.

 

But the best thing.... unlimited storage capacity!!!

 

Now, if we could encourage Fred Kaal to fix a couple of the bugs in the current version we'd be even more set and I'd raise my vote to 10/10 (from 9/10).

 

BTW: The major bug is when you try to copy files with special characters, it will fail, even when using the appropriate substitute (see the docs) characters. So, a small bug which isn't too bad but, can be annoying if your app insists on using special characters in the filenames.

 

Cheers!

 

-Dano

[Willsy]

There are also bugs associated with files other than program image files. Can't remember the specifics now. Fred is responsive to bug reports. He's a top fella!

[CantStopClicking]

There are also bugs associated with files other than program image files. Can't remember the specifics now. Fred is responsive to bug reports. He's a top fella!

 

I think I might have rubbed him wrong at some point because he never answered any of my bug reports. Well one, and implied that it was my system that was the problem but then the next update fixed it.

 

I really hope that I didn't offend him, it certainly wasn't the intent. I'm just good at finding bugs (and I'm not proud of it). LOL

 

I'll try hitting him up again, it's been at least a year. Who knows maybe my emails are going straight to the spam folder and he's never even getting them.

 

I totally couldn't live without his software and hardware mods rock!

[Omega-TI]

 

Spot on! Absolutely love this modification, it's rendered my reliance on floppy drives to almost zero.

 

But the best thing.... unlimited storage capacity!!!

 

 

An evolution in the HDX modification could be a device that plugs into the RS-232/2 port. The unit would emulate the HDX software in firmware and save to a CF card. There would no longer be any need to have a PC hooked up all the time. For all intents and purposes it would be a dedicated SSHD.

[+arcadeshopper]

 

An evolution in the HDX modification could be a device that plugs into the RS-232/2 port. The unit would emulate the HDX software in firmware and save to a CF card. There would no longer be any need to have a PC hooked up all the time. For all intents and purposes it would be a dedicated SSHD.

 

Really all we'd need to do is rewrite HDX for linux..and stick a pi on there

 

Greg

[Omega-TI]

 

Really all we'd need to do is rewrite HDX for linux..and stick a pi on there

 

Greg

 

That would work. I'd install a switched outlet on the TI, taking power from the 110V AC line that used to supply the fan and use it for the Pi's transformer, that way it would come on when the P-Box is turned on.

 

What is the average boot time on a Pi anyway?

[gregallenwarner]

 

Really all we'd need to do is rewrite HDX for linux..and stick a pi on there

 

Greg

 

I've been wanting to write an HDX server for the AVR platform for a while now, to interface with an SD card, but I don't know that there's enough of the HDX standard published to be able to reverse engineer it to write the server. Does anybody know if Fred is open to allowing further development of the HDX server for other platforms besides Windows?

[+Ksarul]

You could always write your software using the ÜberGROM as the connection to the TI--it has a serial I/O port already configured, and space for a program large enough to do anything you want to do when using it. . .and it wouldn't require a PEB either, so just about anyone could use it.

[F.G. Kaal]

Hi all,

 

I was just browsing through Atari-age and found this HDX topic and read about problems, requests and e-mails send to me about the HDX device.

I have never received any e-mails from this forum but I can be reached via a PM.

 

Fred

[+arcadeshopper]

Hi all,

 

I was just browsing through Atari-age and found this HDX topic and read about problems, requests and e-mails send to me about the HDX device.

I have never received any e-mails from this forum but I can be reached via a PM.

 

Fred

 

Welcome Fred!

 

I emailed you about the filename weirdness in the past and you described it as basically "as designed" on the PC side an "illegal" TI filename will be represented by another character in the PC filename while the v9t9header has the correct filename, but when using HDX we can't copy the file over as it will respond "file not found" since the PC filename is renamed to a non-illegal character, yet the v9t9 header still contains the "old TI filename" containing the illegal character..

 

HDX tries to find the file on the PC side using the v9t9 header filename and of course says "file not found" as the pc file has the replacement character.

 

I am forced to rename the PC file to the PC-legal filename for both the TI header AND the pc file, then copy it via HDX and rename it on the TI side once it's copied over.

 

Would be nice if the HDX would recognize that the PC file "has" to have the replacement character and automatically compensated for it. Saving a few steps but when your copying an entire disk of files with "bad" filenames it would save a ton of time.

 

Greg

 

CC: PM

[+arcadeshopper]

 

Welcome Fred!

 

I emailed you about the filename weirdness in the past and you described it as basically "as designed" on the PC side an "illegal" TI filename will be represented by another character in the PC filename while the v9t9header has the correct filename, but when using HDX we can't copy the file over as it will respond "file not found" since the PC filename is renamed to a non-illegal character, yet the v9t9 header still contains the "old TI filename" containing the illegal character..

 

HDX tries to find the file on the PC side using the v9t9 header filename and of course says "file not found" as the pc file has the replacement character.

 

I am forced to rename the PC file to the PC-legal filename for both the TI header AND the pc file, then copy it via HDX and rename it on the TI side once it's copied over.

 

Would be nice if the HDX would recognize that the PC file "has" to have the replacement character and automatically compensated for it. Saving a few steps but when your copying an entire disk of files with "bad" filenames it would save a ton of time.

 

Greg

 

CC: PM

 

After emailing back and forth Fred has determined this is a issue caused by Ti99dir not following the same standards as hdx and his emulator.. He is working on a fix to clear it up..

 

Greg

[+arcadeshopper]

 

After emailing back and forth Fred has determined this is a issue caused by Ti99dir not following the same standards as hdx and his emulator.. He is working on a fix to clear it up..

 

Greg

 

And here's the fixed version.. works for me!

 

under options it now has a checkbox for hdx/ti99w compatibility..

ti99dir55a.zip

Edited August 29, 2014 by arcadeshopper

[+jedimatt42]

This mod is the coolest... Except I haven't built mine yet... Yesterday I prepared the TI-DB25 to DB9 splitter, and a DB9 null modem. I tested those with Mr. Kaal's hdx server software and the CFHDXS1 version of dm2k. That itself is awesome.

 

But I'm stuck on my board build: The parts list describes a 24 pin dip sil socket that gets cut in half... I'm having a hard time finding that part... the part that connects this board to the socket you add to the RS232 card.. Anyone have a better name for this part so my Googling might work? or a link?

 

This way, I can join you all in virtual hard-drive-dom.

[+jedimatt42]

But I'm stuck on my board build: The parts list describes a 24 pin dip sil socket that gets cut in half... I'm having a hard time finding that part... the part that connects this board to the socket you add to the RS232 card.. Anyone have a better name for this part so my Googling might work? or a link?

 

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/150-10-632-00-001101/1212-1073-ND/3757323 <- something like that I suppose. It seems it is literally called an 'ic socket connector' male to male.

I think? 'sil' would be single inline, in which case cutting in half would then be a little different. Which is more of what I'd expect to find. Still not sure exactly what part this should be... maybe cause it just needs to be sufficient.

[+Ksarul]

Here's a SIL version of what you're looking for. . .although the socket you listed in your post would work too, once you trimmed off all of the excess plastic from one side of it.

[fabrice montupet]

I have built one last year for one of my PHP-1220 cards and it works fine.
The HDX is a great !

[+jedimatt42]

Here's a SIL version of what you're looking for. . .although the socket you listed in your post would work too, once you trimmed off all of the excess plastic from one side of it.

 

Awesome! Thanks! I have a lot of new vocabulary to learn

[Fritz442]

First off I must say this HDX is Great! Thank you Fred, and to Greg to make them easily

accessible. I only recently bought 2 boards to try them out and I really like this mod.

I was slightly concerned about not being able to put the card back in the enclosure,

so during the build I searched around and found a position to put the new board. You

must build it as flat as possible but it works...then insulate the area of the card and case.

You must also move jumpers W2 & W3 to the rear of the board.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Fritz442

[JamesD]

I take it HDX is to the TI was Drivewire is to the CoCo. I have no desire to buy a PEB and RS232 card but if there is a small alternative that plugs directly into the expansion port I might be up for that.

[+jedimatt42]

Does anyone have any tips on mounting a switch to re-enable the interrupt for RS232/1? I understand it only needs to be open when there is no DSR loaded. But it needs to be closed to utilize normal serial communication. Or is that just a requirement for the way certain programs are coded?

[+MacRorie]

What is an HDX? Is it like the SIO2PC for the Atari 8-bits? If so, how does one acquire one?