Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

HxC Floppy Emulator on IBM PC and compatible support
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g00ber
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 7:52 pm

Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by g00ber »

I just acquired an old Tandy 1000 EX computer, and there is no software with it. 5.25" floppies are hard to come by, so i'm hoping the HxC will do the trick.

I've been looking up the details, and luckily, the 5.25" drive (360k) does not draw power on the data cable (unlike the HX model).

Here is a pin out of the drive:

* = Active Low Signal

Floppy - 34 pin card (Internal):

1 GND 2 NC
3 GND 4 NC
5 GND 6 NC
7 GND 8 Index*
9 GND 10 Drive Select Int*
11 GND 12 NC
13 GND 14 NC
15 GND 16 Motor On*
17 GND 18 Direction*
19 GND 20 Step*
21 GND 22 Write Data*
23 GND 24 Write Enable*
25 GND 26 Track 0*
27 GND 28 Write Protect*
29 GND 30 Read Data*
31 GND 32 Side Select*
33 GND 34 NC


Will there be any issues with me hooking up the HxC to this? I looked at the specifications for the HxC and everything looks right. I think all I will need is to find a floppy cable that I can hook up to the motherboard that doesn't use the slot style connection that the old floppy drive uses.

Thanks! Your product is awesome too btw.

Jeff
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Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by Jeff »

This seems to be ok !

g00ber
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 7:52 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by g00ber »

Great. I will post a reply and video with the installation soon (the HxC should arrive any day now).

The biggest hurdle I have now is finding and building working disk images. This old computer didn't even have MS-DOS (from the previous owner). :/

mojorific
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by mojorific »

Wasn't able to get the tandy EX to recognize the HXC. I'm going to try the SL/2 model (but it has power over the floppy drive cable, so i'll have to cut some wires out).

I wonder if because the internal drive supports 360k 5.25" floppies only that it may be preventing the hxc from being read. I can get it to power on, and I can select images, but it doesn't appear that any data is being read when the system tries to access it (no green light).

This is testing the new 3.5" HXC emulator.

Doesn't seem to matter whether I use the original drive cable, or if I use a different one. Sorta has me stumped at what may be preventing the HXC from working properly.

mojorific
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by mojorific »

I got it to work!!

Wow - the problem was the pin selection that I had done on the new 3.5" hxc unit.

The instructions on your website are confusing, as they apply to the Rev C version. For the 3.5" unit I had to select the drive A first pin position for the system to see it.

Once I did that, everything worked perfectly. Drive can be seen, and for the first time in a long time, this Tandy 1000 EX booted into DOS.

Thanks for all the helpful advice and information on your forums.

LadyJ
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 8:50 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by LadyJ »

mojorific,
We have gotten rid of our Tandy 1000 ex but just came across a large box of (5 1/4) software and books if you are interested. Mostly games but some applications. Hate to waste anything. We're in PA
LadyJ

mojorific
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by mojorific »

Sorry for the extremely late reply. Yes, I would be interested if you still have the software.

LadyJ
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 8:50 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by LadyJ »

mojorific wrote:Sorry for the extremely late reply. Yes, I would be interested if you still have the software.
mojorific, Yes we still have the software, Tandy external drive, manuals. I'm new to this site, how do we proceed? This may be a dup as I'm having a little problem with it.

mojorific
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by mojorific »

Send me an email (address removed). I don't believe this forum allows you to send private messages. I'll delete this message once I get your email.

Thanks!
Last edited by mojorific on Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

mojorific
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 2:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by mojorific »

I just uploaded some photos if my Tandy EX running the HxC emulator. Works great, and now i'm looking into an IDE interface that works with the Plus style connectors on the board. This will require some work (Plus to ISA connector and XT-CF adapter), but a compact flash hard drive is possible!

http://imgur.com/a/QsgDe

philhassey
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun May 28, 2017 10:41 pm

Re: Tandy 1000 EX and the HxC

Post by philhassey »

@mojorific - Can you tell me what HxC model you used, what sort of ribbon you had to purchase, and what settings you used? I have a Tandy 1000 A with two working 360k drives, which I think is pretty similar to the model you got working.

Thanks!
-Phil

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