My Internal DF1 Gotek Solution

AzuraBayta

New member
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Posts
7
Country
United States
Region
Florida
I just finished installing a Gotek inside my A1200 as DF1, and even though it's kind of a simple mod, I'm super happy with how it turned out so I thought I'd share!

I've had a Gotek in my A500 for a few months as a DF0 replacement, and it's been working out pretty great for my needs, but there are a couple things about it that have really started to bother me. First, I miss having a real floppy drive in that machine. I just like physical media! Second, I used one of those 3D-printed bezels for the OLED, which is fine, but it just sort of sits on top, and moves out of place if I so much as breathe on the thing.

Most of the reason I did it the way I did is because I didn't want to make any irreversible alterations to the case, while getting the most out of the Gotek. My A500 It was originally my dad's, so the thing is kind of sacred to me in a way, you know? I ain't gonna go drilling holes in it. I don't have the same reservations about my A1200 though, which is in a new A1200.net case. For this, I wanted the benefits of a tidy internal Gotek, but as DF1, leaving the floppy drive in its rightful place as DF0. I also wanted a larger OLED, along with a bezel that better fit the case, both physically and aesthetically. I also wanted the whole thing to be securely fixed to the case such that I can easily remove it in the future for cleaning, servicing, etc, so absolutely no hot snot!

I ended up mounting the Gotek on a thin sheet of plexiglass, and made respective cuts around the top case's edges (ribs?) that it could slide into. This was then properly affixed to the case with screws and nuts. It's sturdy as heck, and the screws don't mess with the case's look nearly as badly as I was afraid they might've. Next to the Gotek, I've got an external drive adapter that I've had to modify a bit to make it fit in the cramped space it had. Jumper pins were removed, floppy power header was removed in favor of soldering the cable directly to the adapter, and the 34-pin header was replaced with a right-angle socket connector, negating the need for another cable. This all connects to the external floppy port outside the case, which isn't ideal, but honestly, it's out of the way enough that it doesn't bother me. For the OLED, I got a cheap 0.96'' screen off eBay, and paired it with a 3D printed bezel. I cut out a portion of the grill on top of the case for it to sit inside, and it fits in there pretty snug, with plenty of room for the wires to pass through to the Gotek.

Imgur gallery with pics

This probably didn't need several paragraphs. Oops. Anyway, anyone else got any neat solutions for this kind of thing you want to share?
 
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