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LaserFD-100 Floppy Drive
- Thread starter theos911
- Start date
david__schmidt
Well-known member
It's a Disk II-compatible with a DB19 connector. What do you want to know? ;-)
david__schmidt
Well-known member
There is an adapter to go from the 20-pin header to DB19 out there like this:
But half of the Disk II controllers had the DB19 connector on them; i.e.
vs.
Yes. For further reference, see this page:
http://www.vintagemacworld.com/drives.html
In your post I see two different cards. I see a Disk ][ Card and an Apple 5.25 Drive Controller Card.
So basically, this drive can be used in current form on a 5.25 Drive Controller Card and with that dongle it can be used on a Disk ][ Card? (Whereas even with that dongle a Unidisk 5.25 / Apple 5.25 Drive would not work on a Disk][ Card?)
/as you can tell, I'm a mac guy, not a ][ guy, lol
)
So basically, this drive can be used in current form on a 5.25 Drive Controller Card and with that dongle it can be used on a Disk ][ Card? (Whereas even with that dongle a Unidisk 5.25 / Apple 5.25 Drive would not work on a Disk][ Card?)
/as you can tell, I'm a mac guy, not a ][ guy, lol
)
david__schmidt
Well-known member
Yes, I was demonstrating the difference between the DB19 and the 20-pin headers on them. It's actually the same electronics on those cards... only the connectors (and number of connectors present) are different.
I'm sure there are/were adapters that went both ways for various reasons. They're all compatible, with various restrictions mostly having to do with daisy-chaining. You can daisy-chain two Disk II drives on an Apple 5.25 Drive Controller Card (there was only one connector on there...) but you have to hook up drives one-for-one on the Disk II card. And of course only the A9M0104 and A9M0107 drives had the daisy chain connectors on the back to begin with.
Oh wow! That is handy to know. The apple docs make it sound like putting a different drive than the card is named for on it will make them both explode. So all you need is a DB19 to 20-Pin-Header adapter and any drive is good on any card; that's pretty awesome.
I guess that means no DuoDisk on a Disk ][ card then? (/wants a DuoDick)
Yesterday I only happened to be in a ][ mood and decided to organize my stuff. Today, I have a mission. A lady from my church wants to recover her data in the form of 5.25 Floppies said to be made on apple ][ (not sure what model). I told her I would see what I can do. So, I'm off to try and learn DOS.
Thanks for your help David!
I guess that means no DuoDisk on a Disk ][ card then? (/wants a DuoDick)
Yesterday I only happened to be in a ][ mood and decided to organize my stuff. Today, I have a mission. A lady from my church wants to recover her data in the form of 5.25 Floppies said to be made on apple ][ (not sure what model). I told her I would see what I can do. So, I'm off to try and learn DOS.
Thanks for your help David!
david__schmidt
Well-known member
Well, there are some very real scenarios where magic smoke can be released if you don't line pins up correctly. There's a good amount of current available at 12v on some of them thar pins. And we're strictly talking about 5-1/4" drives. 3-1/2" drives are another story altogether.
Probably not. Both are likely recipes for disaster.
Neat. The next things you'll want are ADTPro and CiderPress.
You bet. Good luck!Thanks for your help David!
I'm not talking about sing them both on the same card... even with my limited ][ knowledge I know not to do that.
8-o :-x xx( [xx(] ]'> [:I] ]'>
Funniest typo, EVER! :approve:
Those are so incredibly awesome, I cannot even put it into words.
This also means I don't need to buy a 3.5 drive/card to get her files back. YAY! (Though, I will need to buy a cord }
)EDIT- As for cabling (IIe w/Super Serial II) Would I need the male DB-25 - female 9-pin DE9 Null Modem or Straight Through? To use the USB, it appears I need the Null, but what is the difference?
david__schmidt
Well-known member
You can't use 3-1/2" drives on either of those cards, period.
You only need a straight through if you have a SSC, since it can play both DTE and DCE roles. Even with a USB cable in the middle.
david__schmidt
Well-known member
There really isn't room to talk about all the possible permutations without scaring folks off. But with the switch block, the SSC can use either a straight-through or null modem.
david__schmidt
Well-known member
Yes - it's a function of the jumper block of the SSC that you can switch that makes it possible to use either a null or straight cable. All other types of serial connections (IIc, IIc+, Laser 128, Franklin 500, IIgs) need to have a null modem.
So a null cable is usually for connecting two computers and a straight through is usually for connecting a computer to a device?
Then, for this purpose, there really isn't a difference in functionality? (Unless of course, you wanted to use this same cable to connect your SCC to an actual device)
Then, for this purpose, there really isn't a difference in functionality? (Unless of course, you wanted to use this same cable to connect your SCC to an actual device)
david__schmidt
Well-known member
The function of the device (DTE vs. DCE) and the wires connecting them was what I was referring to earlier, confusing you. Here is a decent explanation of the terms:
http://ckp.made-it.com/dtedce.html
The functionality of a null modem is to cross the send and receive lines of a serial connection. A DTE and DCE device will already communicate to each other on these send and receive lines (send-receive, receive-send). Two DTEs will have send hooked to send, and receive hooked to receive - which won't work. Which is why a null modem is needed in between, crossing those lines. With the SSC, you can physically choose which way the lines go.
Noob question, but since this has already diverged a bit I might as well ask it here:
First off: Inventory- I have a 5.25 Drive Controller Card, a 107 showing a "1" on the front near the red, a 107 with no number near the red, 2x 107 w/ #2 on front near red, and the above mentioned FD-100.
I'm trying to use two drives at a time. Only the one with a "1" and the FD-100 will boot my DOS 3.3 Disk. The other just make that clackity start-up sound and then spin, ignoring the disk. No matter what combination I have tried of daisy chaining, I cannot get any of them to be able to succeed on a COPYA. My card is on Slot 6 and I'm asking it to copy from Drive 1 to 2. It reads from Drive 1 fine, but then it goes to formatting on Drive 2 and after 3-4 Seconds, it says "UNABLE TO WRITE". The disk's write-protect tab is not covered. I've tried multiple Floppies, so I don't think it is a floppy issue.
I've tried several combos for daisy-chaining it. I must boot from the #1 labeled drive, seeing as it is the only one that boots the machine and has a pass-through.(The FD-100 = No Pass Through). However, with #1 connected to the Apple IIe and the FD-100 or any of the other 3 drives connected to it's passthrough, it all results the same as above.
Now, I could understand that the 3 Apple drives won't daisy-chain to #1 seeing as they won't boot, but I don't understand why the FD-100 won't work.(Seeing as I know it reads disks just fine)
I'm stumped, am I just daisy-chaining wrong?
First off: Inventory- I have a 5.25 Drive Controller Card, a 107 showing a "1" on the front near the red, a 107 with no number near the red, 2x 107 w/ #2 on front near red, and the above mentioned FD-100.
I'm trying to use two drives at a time. Only the one with a "1" and the FD-100 will boot my DOS 3.3 Disk. The other just make that clackity start-up sound and then spin, ignoring the disk. No matter what combination I have tried of daisy chaining, I cannot get any of them to be able to succeed on a COPYA. My card is on Slot 6 and I'm asking it to copy from Drive 1 to 2. It reads from Drive 1 fine, but then it goes to formatting on Drive 2 and after 3-4 Seconds, it says "UNABLE TO WRITE". The disk's write-protect tab is not covered. I've tried multiple Floppies, so I don't think it is a floppy issue.
I've tried several combos for daisy-chaining it. I must boot from the #1 labeled drive, seeing as it is the only one that boots the machine and has a pass-through.(The FD-100 = No Pass Through). However, with #1 connected to the Apple IIe and the FD-100 or any of the other 3 drives connected to it's passthrough, it all results the same as above.
Now, I could understand that the 3 Apple drives won't daisy-chain to #1 seeing as they won't boot, but I don't understand why the FD-100 won't work.(Seeing as I know it reads disks just fine)
I'm stumped, am I just daisy-chaining wrong?
Ignoring the daisy-chaining issues for a moment: How would I clean the heads of my 5.25 Drives. Even my bootable drive is failing like 75% of the time to write any data and I'm assuming these drives haven't been clean since 1984. Also the firts time I gave a bit of blow to the front slot I got a face full of dust, so I'm guessing the heads are covered. I saw resources for cleaning Disk ][]s, but not for any of the Unidisk type drives.
Update:
I managed to get one of my 5.25 drives open. It wasn't hard, just that the screws were hiding... Anyway, after a thorough cleaning it now writes reliably to masters of all sorts. However, for my other floppies, I know like halfof them are HD and the other half I've no way of knowing. I'll probably pick up some guaranteed DS/DD ...and that cable... and see where it takes me.
I've also gotten almost fully through "A Touch of Applesoft Basic". I've never programmed anything except HTML, so this is quite the new ground for me.(and fun as well)
I managed to get one of my 5.25 drives open. It wasn't hard, just that the screws were hiding... Anyway, after a thorough cleaning it now writes reliably to masters of all sorts. However, for my other floppies, I know like halfof them are HD and the other half I've no way of knowing. I'll probably pick up some guaranteed DS/DD ...and that cable... and see where it takes me.
I've also gotten almost fully through "A Touch of Applesoft Basic". I've never programmed anything except HTML, so this is quite the new ground for me.(and fun as well)
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