Hi everybody,
I have searched through the forum for answers to my questions, but I have not really been able to conclude if the answers given matches my exact scenario, so I apologize if this is a duplicate of someone else, and hope you will answer me anyway or refer to a matching topic.
I have an Amiga 500 with a boot selector for DF1:, DF0: and DF2, and a "SD HxC Floppy Emulator REV C", updated to firmware 1.8.2.40 and running file selector v2023.1.12.
When using the floppy connector for the original DF0:, I get proper emulation for DF0: and DF1:, but have to have permanent cables hanging out of my machine, so I would like to use an external drive with my HxC instead. I tried this and set the boot selector to DF1:, and my system boots just fine with the HxC appearing as DF0:, but there does not seem to be any DF1: present.
Am I supposed to set the Shugart / Atari ST / Amiga jumpers in a certain way? I tried ID0 as A, ID1 as B (and even ID2 as B and ID3 as A), but it does not seem to make DF1: function.
Could it be something with my external drive? I noticed the HxC starts up, even if the 1/0 switch is set to 0.
I am also looking for a case for my HxC Rev C, but those seem to be impossible to find these days. I could make my own, but would prefer a proper one, and maybe even 3D-print one if anybody has a file for that?
TL;DR: Can you run HxC REV C in an external drive, emulating two drives on an Amiga 500?
External drive DF0: and DF1: on Amiga 500 with boot selector
Re: External drive DF0: and DF1: on Amiga 500 with boot selector
Ok, so I searched some more and found this thread, indicating that it is indeed possible to emulate two drives when using a boot selector and external drive electronics: viewtopic.php?p=10921#p10921
So I took out the printed board from the case and found out where pin 9 on the input DB23 connector and pin 12 on the IDC34 connector are located, and soldered a small wire between these. So, just to be clear, the DB23 is the port on the back of the drive where you would normally connect a second external drive to work as DF2:, and IDC34 is the pins where you connect the floppy drive to the printed board (normal floppy cable).
I tried booting up with Workbench 1.3 in one drive and Extras 1.3 in the other, and the both of them actually showed up in workbench, so it seems to have worked. One peculiar note though, is that the second drive is identified as DF3:, where I was expecting DF2:, since the boot selector as far as I understand removes DF1: from the equation when selecting the external drive as boot.
Anyway, I have tested a couple of games, and they seem to utilize DF3: just fine, and I guess DF2: would be a problem as well if the game was hardcoded to only use DF0: and DF1:.
So, it is indeed possible to have two drives emulated with the HxC, when mounted in an external drive
I took some pictures of the modification, so please let me know if it would be helpful for any others with the same ambitions
So I took out the printed board from the case and found out where pin 9 on the input DB23 connector and pin 12 on the IDC34 connector are located, and soldered a small wire between these. So, just to be clear, the DB23 is the port on the back of the drive where you would normally connect a second external drive to work as DF2:, and IDC34 is the pins where you connect the floppy drive to the printed board (normal floppy cable).
I tried booting up with Workbench 1.3 in one drive and Extras 1.3 in the other, and the both of them actually showed up in workbench, so it seems to have worked. One peculiar note though, is that the second drive is identified as DF3:, where I was expecting DF2:, since the boot selector as far as I understand removes DF1: from the equation when selecting the external drive as boot.
Anyway, I have tested a couple of games, and they seem to utilize DF3: just fine, and I guess DF2: would be a problem as well if the game was hardcoded to only use DF0: and DF1:.
So, it is indeed possible to have two drives emulated with the HxC, when mounted in an external drive
I took some pictures of the modification, so please let me know if it would be helpful for any others with the same ambitions
Re: External drive DF0: and DF1: on Amiga 500 with boot selector
Update: I thought a lot about the strange DF3: identification for drive B after doing my modification, and I think it is because I connected the IDC34 (floppy cable) to the external DB23 port of the pcb (for daisychaining) and not the cable that you connect to the Amiga. This way, I am technically connecting to the sel2 signal of the second external floppy drive, which I guess would be the third external drive = DF3:
Oh well, so far it seems to work well, and I guess it would actually work if I daisychained a second drive, as that would probably be identified as DF2:
I do think it is quite a bit easier to figure out the correct points to solder to when using the external connector instead of the incoming cable from the Amiga.
Now I am just missing a good enclosure to protect my HxC and make it more professional looking
Oh well, so far it seems to work well, and I guess it would actually work if I daisychained a second drive, as that would probably be identified as DF2:
I do think it is quite a bit easier to figure out the correct points to solder to when using the external connector instead of the incoming cable from the Amiga.
Now I am just missing a good enclosure to protect my HxC and make it more professional looking