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echo: apple
to: comp.sys.apple2,comp.sys.apple2.pro
from: Alex Freed
date: 2009-02-02 16:29:38
subject: Re: annc: GS/OS AppleDisk5.25 Project

I have one new idea on an Apple 2 peripheral, but it
involves a lot more software than hardware, so I want
to hear from the driver experts.

A while ago I saw a very interesting project:
http://avr.15.forumer.com/a/fat-floppy-drive-interface-avr-asm_post1006.html

The original project page is not there any more, but I have a copy.
Almost no hardware - just an ATMEGA8 uC, like the one I used in PD8
and a few resistors. Everything else is the firmware inside the uC
and it reads and writes *high density* MFM floppies.
It should not be hard at all to add a bit of firmware to read/write
Apple compatible floppies, both 5.25" and 3.5" - it is very easy to
implement the Woz Machine on a 16 MHz AVR.

It is also a fact that 3.5" disk controllers are relatively rare and
expensive. So a very simple board from the hardware perspective can
be an interface to the "industry standard" 5.25" or
3.5" drives and
read/write both MFM and GRC. Given the right drivers that is. Even 
emulate the Disk ][ interface for 140K disks just like PD8.

Anybody interested so far?

-Alex.
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