Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

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paulnott1234
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:18 pm

Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by paulnott1234 »

Hi,
I'm trying to get a Gotek USB device running with HxC firmware on a Casio FZ 1

I am using the STM based Gotek with 3 digit display.

I have installed what I understand to be the latest firmware and have set one jumper SD0.

I am now able to load FZF images from the internet that have already been converted to HFE.

I have been unable to;
- convert existing FZF files to HFE and get them to load
-save anything from the sampler to the USB


I'm not so worried about (1), but (2) is quite critical for me.

Can anyone help throw some light as to what might be wrong? I have tried different USB sticks and tried different 'blank' HFE images, all with no luck?

I really appreciate any assistance.

Cheers Paul

teevee
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by teevee »

paulnott1234 wrote:Hi,
I'm trying to get a Gotek USB device running with HxC firmware on a Casio FZ 1

I am using the STM based Gotek with 3 digit display.

I have installed what I understand to be the latest firmware and have set one jumper SD0.

I am now able to load FZF images from the internet that have already been converted to HFE.

I have been unable to;
- convert existing FZF files to HFE and get them to load
-save anything from the sampler to the USB


I'm not so worried about (1), but (2) is quite critical for me.

Can anyone help throw some light as to what might be wrong? I have tried different USB sticks and tried different 'blank' HFE images, all with no luck?

I really appreciate any assistance.

Cheers Paul
Hi Paul,
1. How did you convert the raw Casio FZ-1 images? Did you do like on this picture, but with Casio CZ-F1 as the “Predefined Disk Layout”?
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/161121/jb4xvvt5.jpg

2. what symptoms do you get, when you try to save on the USB stick? (messages, errors etc....)

paulnott1234
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:18 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by paulnott1234 »

teevee wrote:
Hi Paul,
1. How did you convert the raw Casio FZ-1 images? Did you do like on this picture, but with Casio CZ-F1 as the “Predefined Disk Layout”?
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/161121/jb4xvvt5.jpg

2. what symptoms do you get, when you try to save on the USB stick? (messages, errors etc....)

Hi Teevee,
1. Yes, I've tried the procedure as in the image (using Predefined Disk Layout). I've also tried the batch converter. Anything I create from in either place, using an FZF (that I can load using midi into the FZ1) fails to be usable. If I try and load them, the sampler just hangs after a few seconds. In some cases it totally crashes with all leds on as though it's overwritten a protected memory space on the machine.

2. With the saving, it's a little different - Depending on the empty HFE I've tried, I get different results. If I create one in the software and export it, the FZ1 tells me there is no space on the floppy, but there's nothing I can delete from the machine itself. If I try a blank HFE that I downloaded, the FZ1 tells me that the file already exists - if I perform a delete to remove the file using the FZ1, and then try to make a full dump, it starts working and then after about 5 seconds the machine hangs and the floppy access light remains on permanently.
The same occurs if I take a working HFE and delete the contents with the FZ1 to make it blank - saving onto this image will hang the machine.

Note, I have also tried formatting the HFE in the FZ1 - the format seems to run indefinitely.
I have also tried backing out the revision of HxC firmware on the drive - I think I went back to the last 2.x version from May 2016. I also tried an older version of the software.

It strikes me that somehow the disk format is wrong, but I can't see why. The HFEs that contain images I downloaded all work fine and load up without issue. Anything I create doesn't work :(

Cheers,
Paul

paulnott1234
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:18 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by paulnott1234 »

paulnott1234 wrote:
teevee wrote:
Hi Teevee,
An update, I managed to get a converted FZF file to load by using "Load" (not "Load Raw Image"). If I then export this I can load it on the FZ.

I'm still stuck on the saving though.

Cheers,
Paul

paulnott1234
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:18 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by paulnott1234 »

As a further update, I have it working!

It seems that the MOT jumper needs closing (as well as SD/ID0). I wonder if this is related to the fact that the original FZ-1 drive motor runs continuously when a disk is inserted (?)

I can now;

- load library HFE images
- create my own HFE images form FZFs and load them
- save to a library blank HFE (here the Full Dump is erased first from the FZ)
- save to my own created blank HFE (here the blank HFE needs formatting in the machine)

The only drawback I see so far is the slow save and format performance (load is quite quick/normal). Is this likely related to the type of USB stick?

Good work on getting HxC firmware ported to these USB devices though - it's breathing new life into older equipment!

Cheers Paul

Robber
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:39 am

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by Robber »

[/quote]

Hi Teevee,
An update, I managed to get a converted FZF file to load by using "Load" (not "Load Raw Image"). If I then export this I can load it on the FZ.

I'm still stuck on the saving though.

Cheers,
Paul[/quote]

Hello,

I have explained almost everything what you should know about the HxC floppy emulator for the CASIO FZ range on this forum, read this thread thoroughly:

http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=408

Concerning the USB floppy emulators, both Gotek and HxC, HxC software does not support writing:
Here are the main features of the USB HxC Floppy Emulator:
Hardware specification:
- Read only Floppy emulator (SD,DD,HD & ED mode)
(!!!!!! No Write Support !!!!! Have a look to the SD Card version for the write support!)
And just a warning, if your FZ's display is getting dim it might corrupt data transfer, MIDI, Serial port and even to and fro the floppy drive which may result in corrupted floppy images i.e. voice, bank, effect and full dump. It also causes all of a sudden no adio output anymore.
Beware! The EL-panel is causing this due to a wrong design. Disconnect the EL-panel from the inverter on the MIDI board by just carefully pulling out the small molex plug connected to the EL-panel. Better no backlight than no FZ sampler at all.

I'm working on a replacement for the FZ backlight:

http://www.vintagesynth.com/forum/viewt ... 6&start=90

teevee
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by teevee »

The problem on this forum/community is that no one is locking the topics with an end conclusion, which then could be used as knowledge and reference for all future-raised questions on same device.

No one is interested in reading 7 pages of investigation, users want a solution and that is what we should focus on :)

Incorrect and misleading information copy pasted from the main HxC page below.
Robber wrote:
Here are the main features of the USB HxC Floppy Emulator:
Hardware specification:
- Read only Floppy emulator (SD,DD,HD & ED mode)
(!!!!!! No Write Support !!!!! Have a look to the SD Card version for the write support!)
This is another product with USB, which Jeff refers to on the main page and many users often get mislead due to the bad layout on the main page.
Image

mondo1976
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2015 3:54 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by mondo1976 »

paulnott1234 wrote:The only drawback I see so far is the slow save and format performance (load is quite quick/normal). Is this likely related to the type of USB stick?
My understanding is that the USB stick will definitely affect saving performance but to a limited degree. I think there's a serious bottleneck as far as the hardware write cache/buffer goes and that there isn't much that can be done about it. I think Jeff mentioned the intention or possibility of using a RAW image type that may speed up write times to a certain extent, but I'm not sure if/when that will manifest or how much of a difference it will make.

I could have some of that wrong, though.

Saving seems really hit-or-miss depending on how tolerant the host machine is. Most things seem to work fine, but I have an E-mu Emax that throws a fit when doing anything but loading, even with a USB stick that is supposedly quick with small size writes. If you can successfully save at all, I would count that as a victory.

Robber
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:39 am

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by Robber »

It seems that teevee is right:

https://hxc2001.com/download/flo ppy_drive_emulator/USB_HFE_hxc_ floppy_emulator_firmware_releas e_notes.txt

USB for HxC and Gotek is write supported for almost 2 years now but not without bugs afaik.
With the latest firmware it looks like most/all problems are solved. If this is also for the FZ sampler I don't know but I guess it is, though on this and other fora concerning the FZ sampler some FZ owners proclaim that they still have problems with saving and sometimes loading, perhaps they didn't install the lates firmware yet.

For the CASIO FZ is crucial to have the ability to write to the USB stick or SD card if you edit voices and banks from the FZ. Saving them through MIDI is very slow but once you've done this converting to a .hfe file is easy but...converting is only for .fzf(full) dumps.

.fzb(bank) and . fzv(voice) files you can only load from the HxC if you save them first to a USB stick or SD card from a full dump
You can't convert these files directly to a .hfe file. Not even by changing the extension .fzb and .fzv into .fzf as has been suggested.
I tried this but as expected it didnt work. I only got errors.

If you downloaded .fzv and .fzb files you have to load them from the PC through a MIDI dump program or with a special cable and software through the serial port to the FZ.
Once inside the FZ you can save them to the Gotek or HxC USB stick as a voice, bank or full dump on the hfe virtual floppy (remember, a file larger than 1MB needs 2 "floppies").

From floppy to .hfe is a different story if you only have one FZ sampler. Load from floppy, save with MIDI as .fzf to PC, convert .fzf into .hfe and swap FZ floppy drive for the Gotek or HxC emulator.

The other thing is saving FZ files as .hfe takes up about 3 x more disk space as a .fzf file. A .hfe file will always be 3.281MB. For a 2 MB file you'll need 2 .hfe files.
The benefits of FZ MIDI files are that they can be any size up to 2MB and you can load them in one go, so no need for "2 floppies" if the file is larger than 1MB.

That's why it is really important to be able to write directly from the FZ to the USB stick as it is for the SD card.

r4ar
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:50 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by r4ar »

Sooooooooooo, is it worth using a Gotek in my FZ-10 and FZ-1 or is it too buggy??
Does it work or not work?
What are these saving bugs and how bad are they?
Anyone using a Gotek (with HxC firmware) perfectly fine in their FZ's?

teevee
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Re: Casio FZ 1 and Gotek with HxC Firmware

Post by teevee »

r4ar wrote:Sooooooooooo, is it worth using a Gotek in my FZ-10 and FZ-1 or is it too buggy??
Does it work or not work?
What are these saving bugs and how bad are they?
Anyone using a Gotek (with HxC firmware) perfectly fine in their FZ's?
I will merge my reply to here -> http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopi ... 562#p15562

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