Triads Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 The other day I received an XF551 with a 3.5 Mech from Tempest. Upon receiving the unit, I wanted to know what ROM was inside, a Whooley or HyperXF, so I did a HyperXF test and came back negative, assuming I did the test right. So I decided to open the unit and found a MOD inside I cannot find any information about. The closest thing I could find was this picture from B&C Computer, related to an Archivor addition for the 1050. I have attached 2 pictures, but can take more if necessary. Maybe the one who sold the unit to Tempest could chime in and shed some light.. The ROM itself has a small sticker with a rev number on it, looked like an eeprom. Any info on this is always appreciated This is the link to the PIC B&C provided, the PIC on the right has the Black capsule that is also in my XF. The one difference I did notice is the pic shown on this site has 5 wires, mine has 7. http://www.myatari.com/ebay/sarch1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 The epoxy sealed module and wiring looks similar to that in my CSS Dual Drive upgraded XF551, but without the connections for the second drive. It's likely this is a CSS Single Drive XF551 Upgrade, for use with one 3.5" mechanism. The CSS Dual Drive XF551 Upgrade shown below has 9 connections total, the only wire not part of the upgrade is the yellow wire at the bottom which is used to jumper a broke trace between the SIO ports. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triads Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 The epoxy sealed module and wiring looks similar to that in my CSS Dual Drive upgraded XF551, but without the connections for the second drive. It's likely this is a CSS Single Drive XF551 Upgrade, for use with one 3.5" mechanism. css-xf551-2d-upgrade.jpg CSS Dual Drive XF551 Upgrade Thanks for the quick response and the pic. Are there documents around for this? Or maybe you can tell me what this mod will do versus just changing out a stock ROM for a HyperXF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Thanks for the quick response and the pic. Are there documents around for this? Or maybe you can tell me what this mod will do versus just changing out a stock ROM for a HyperXF? AFAIK the module for the XF Single Drive Upgrade is just copy protection, other than the mechanism & its cabling Bob Wooley's upgrade just replaces the ROM. Many(most?) CSS products contain some type of copy protection, the Dual Drive Upgrade also selects which mechanism to read/write. While some information on CSS products is available on the NLEAUDIO website, the XF Upgrade Manuals aren't available there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 There's another pic here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224939-xf551-upgrade-question/?do=findComment&comment=2980701 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triads Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 There's another pic here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224939-xf551-upgrade-question/?do=findComment&comment=2980701 Well crap, I searched and this topic didn't appear.. Guess my Search-Fu is bad tonight Thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Found the docs too: http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/projects/CSS%20projects/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Thanks for the quick response and the pic. Are there documents around for this? Or maybe you can tell me what this mod will do versus just changing out a stock ROM for a HyperXF? The CSS upgrade gives you UltraSpeed. + some limited PC disk compatibility (read-only, I believe). I don't see any advantage to taking out a working upgrade to put in another that does the same thing. The unit that you have is a really good upgrade for an XF551. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 You guys are too quick, I recognized the mod right away. :-) If you read through to the end of that thread, you'll see that I finished the upgrade with a 3.5" mechanism. Works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Hello guys You can also find the docs on my docs page. Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triads Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Hello guys You can also find the docs on my docs page. Sincerely Mathy I got them from you last night.. Nice site you have there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triads Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 The CSS upgrade gives you UltraSpeed. + some limited PC disk compatibility (read-only, I believe). I don't see any advantage to taking out a working upgrade to put in another that does the same thing. The unit that you have is a really good upgrade for an XF551. -Larry Thanks for the tip. After I opened the XF, I had decided then to leave it alone since it was soldered in anyway. Would like to get the Dual version if one should ever surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobotech Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I'm curious, is it possible to still upgrade XF551s anymore? I have an XF551 somewhere and bought one of those 360/720kb double drives in a single 5 1/4" floppy drive bay a long time ago with the intent on modding it. Copy protection is a non-issue for me, I have plenty of other drives to use for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hello guys When I used the XF with CSS's dual upgrade in really hot weather, it would skip a fixed number of tracks (but only when possible). I "fixed" that by running the second drive off of a PC power supply. A nicer methode, that I haven't tried yet, BTW, would be to replace the 7805 and 7812 by more modern devices like the TSR 1-2450 and TSR 1-24120. Here's how it works on the 1050. Not sure if we can use the same part numbers in the XF551, as I don't know how much power the XF551 draws. Sincerely Mathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 The copy protection here is the hardware for the CSS upgrade, not for disks. :-) I don't know of any available upgrade to install the two drives in the XF551 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hello guys When I used the XF with CSS's dual upgrade in really hot weather, it would skip a fixed number of tracks (but only when possible). I "fixed" that by running the second drive off of a PC power supply. A nicer methode, that I haven't tried yet, BTW, would be to replace the 7805 and 7812 by more modern devices like the TSR 1-2450 and TSR 1-24120. Here's how it works on the 1050. Not sure if we can use the same part numbers in the XF551, as I don't know how much power the XF551 draws. Sincerely Mathy It is possible and has been done. The TSR regulators are of course pin compatible to the 7805 and 7812. Igor Gramblicka has done some work in that area. http://blog.3b2.sk/igi/post/Repasovana-ATARI-XF551-recondition-3.aspx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I don't know about their quality but eBay seller blackboxstudio sells 78xx pin compatible switching regulators based on the TI TPS5430, I did purchase 5 a while back but haven't gotten around to trying them. He sells 3.3V/5V(currently out of stock)/12V versions, I don't know the current limit of these devices but the IC itself is rated at 3A continuous, 4A peak. eBay Auction -- Item Number: 111359294691 The only 78xx pin compatible TSR regulators I could find, the TSR-1 and TSRN-1 series, are only rated at 1A continuous, and 2.5A/2.0A peak respectively. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I'm curious, is it possible to still upgrade XF551s anymore? I have an XF551 somewhere and bought one of those 360/720kb double drives in a single 5 1/4" floppy drive bay a long time ago with the intent on modding it. Copy protection is a non-issue for me, I have plenty of other drives to use for that. Sure. You can always do the Bob Woolley 3.5 upgrade which gives you about 2X SIO. Or you can do the HyperXF upgrade for either the 5-1/4 or 3-1/2" drives. Those are both free. I also believe that I have "new in the bag" CSS single or dual drive upgrades here. (not free! ) But doing one of those combo drives is a different wrinkle. Probably someone here has done one and can tell you about how the wiring needs to be to allow selection. And the 5-1/4" is not very compatible with regular 360K disks. IIRC, AtariMax sold a couple of XF551's with a combo drive, so I'm sure he knows how to do it. Years ago, I did the CSS dual-drive upgrade and had a small case for the 3.5" drive that sat on top of the XF551. Worked very well. That is compatible. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricortes Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I'm curious, is it possible to still upgrade XF551s anymore? I have an XF551 somewhere and bought one of those 360/720kb double drives in a single 5 1/4" floppy drive bay a long time ago with the intent on modding it. Copy protection is a non-issue for me, I have plenty of other drives to use for that. Are you sure it is 360/720kb? Most of the ones I've seen are 1.2 meg and 1.44 meg capacity. If it is right, could you post the numbers/brand? If it is 1.2/1.44, there's been a lot of work one getting those capacities to run as either 8" 77 track drives or 720k respectively. Mostly CP/M and Amiga dudes and dudettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobotech Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I would love to find it but its buried deep in my collection. one of these days I will find it. Sounds like it will be easier to just find a 720kb 3 1/4" drive and mod that in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Although almost anything is possible, the only 5-1/4" 720K drives that I ever remember were full-height. (That's a tough fit in a XF551 case...) So I assumed in my reply that it is a 1.2/1.44 combo drive as Ric suggests. Here is one of those 5-1/4" behemoths: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n7/stusesibmdiscs.html -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricortes Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 My knowledge of 3.5/5.25 720k drives is incomplete. There was at least one half height 5.25" drive that could be made to run 360/720, Teac 55FV or something. I use one in my ATR8000 box. The thing is a pig. It still uses a head load solenoid! I did try using it in my XF551 and it drew so much power the lights in the house literally dimmed. Completely overwhelmed the XF551 built in power supply so I had to use a PC supply. They can be modified to double step/act like a 360k drive, but are incompatible with real drives in that they will write 1/2 width track on existing full width track which pretty much ruins the disk. Of course you can do whatever you want to do. Personally you would have to beat me with a rake to get me to put one of those mechanisms in a XF551! 3.5" 720k drives are really pricey right now. Apparently lots of serious equipment like industrial sewing machines and expensive keyboards/synthesizers used them so we have to compete with them & ST/Amiga user base. Look to pay ~$100 if you don't have one and are in a hurry. Last man standing AFAIK is something like Byteec 1.44 meg floppy. They are the only one still stocked at Fry's anyway. They are identical to the later model SONY MPF920<something>. I've bought a couple of them because they are supposed to have 360 RPM mode => compatible with 8" one meg floppy. These things are just too difficult to work on, magnifying glass is not enough, just about need a microscope. Apparently the SONY drives were designed for use in Laptops and those dual drives like you have because they are thinner then normal mechs. I've even seen a couple of USB floppy drives that use them. Makes sense to make only one drive that does it all and fits anywhere. Anyway, I gave up on mine and never found someone that successfully modified one for 1 meg use. Big manufacturers like Dell and HP stopped including floppy mechanisms about 8 years ago so I rolled over too. Ditto for the new Asus laptop I bought last year: No floppy, no DVD. What is sort of interesting is a lot of people on Fleabay are selling solid state 3.5" mechanisms cheap. They seem to be low cost knock offs of Lotharek's product or maybe original designs? I don't know of anyone that has used one on an 8 bit yet. They seem to come in two flavors: Fixed 1.44 meg for ~$20 and 720k or 720k + 1.44 meg for ~$40. I can't bring myself to pull the trigger on one of these because I know I don't have the time to play with it. Just an opinion, I think if one of those worked it would be the best choice for a replacement drive. Solid state, low power, can take a 2 gig SD card, still being made albeit poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bob1200xl Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I have some Mitsubishi M4853 drives that are 1/2 height and 720K, I think. I know I did make a 720K, 5.25 XF551 that I used for a while. Worked OK, but you can do the same thing with a 3.5, easier and with nicer little disks. I have had good luck removing the head load solenoid if a drive has one. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hueyjones70 Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I have an XF551 that has a good MB but a non-working drive mech. I would like to make it into a 3.5 drive. Where can I find instructions. I also have a 3.5 drive but I don't know if it works and it also has a male pin connector instead of an edge card connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR> Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 You'll need to replace the ROM with one modded for 3.5 mechs. I would suggest the Hyper-XF 3.5 version. There are 3.5" edgecard adapters, or you can replace the cable. That's about all you need. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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