SkydivinGirl
Retro Girl
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to take a minute to share a quick and easy little project. As many of you are well aware, the HxC is Floppy Disk Drive Emulator that comes in two basic flavors; USB and SD. The USB version needs to be connected to a host computer to serve up the floppy disk image files and the SD one stores the images files on a SD card. The SD card is definitely the most convenient because it can be installed internally in a retro system.
The hardest part about using the HxC SD in any system is that it comes in an odd shape, instead of a classic 3.5" shape. The Rev F addresses that deficiency but putting the HxC in a nice 3.5" shaped container. Unfortunately, the front of the Rev F sticks out farther than a traditional disk drive so you can see the metal edge all the way around the device.
Because the Rev F was not perfectly flush with the other devices in my A4000D, I decided to use it in a different way. Buslink used to make a USB floppy drive that was actually a standard 3.5" floppy drive inside an external case with USB connections. I have a couple of these, so I decided to see if I could use my Rev F in it!
[Buslink Model FDD1 USB Floppy Drive]
The great news is that the Rev F HxC works perfectly in the case! It is easily powered by the USB port and you can even boot from the virtual floppy disks on systems that support USB floppy drives.
[FDD1 Internals Before and After]
Buslink was even generous enough to mount a power connector on the opposite side of the board, so I didn't have to wire a longer cable. Since the mounting holes on the Rev F are farther back than on a real disk drive, I had to drill new holes in the Buslink PCB so the back of the enclosure would close completely.
Very little hackery involved, but it is a nice little setup. You can still find the Buslink FDD1 online, but it tends to be a bit pricey for a USB floppy drive.
Thanks for looking!
Heather
*EDIT* I forgot to mention that only one drive is recognized using the HxC this way even if the HxC is configured as two drives. It can be used in conjunction with an Internal drive. The USB drive automatically becomes Drive B in this situation.
I just wanted to take a minute to share a quick and easy little project. As many of you are well aware, the HxC is Floppy Disk Drive Emulator that comes in two basic flavors; USB and SD. The USB version needs to be connected to a host computer to serve up the floppy disk image files and the SD one stores the images files on a SD card. The SD card is definitely the most convenient because it can be installed internally in a retro system.
The hardest part about using the HxC SD in any system is that it comes in an odd shape, instead of a classic 3.5" shape. The Rev F addresses that deficiency but putting the HxC in a nice 3.5" shaped container. Unfortunately, the front of the Rev F sticks out farther than a traditional disk drive so you can see the metal edge all the way around the device.
Because the Rev F was not perfectly flush with the other devices in my A4000D, I decided to use it in a different way. Buslink used to make a USB floppy drive that was actually a standard 3.5" floppy drive inside an external case with USB connections. I have a couple of these, so I decided to see if I could use my Rev F in it!
[Buslink Model FDD1 USB Floppy Drive]
The great news is that the Rev F HxC works perfectly in the case! It is easily powered by the USB port and you can even boot from the virtual floppy disks on systems that support USB floppy drives.
[FDD1 Internals Before and After]
Buslink was even generous enough to mount a power connector on the opposite side of the board, so I didn't have to wire a longer cable. Since the mounting holes on the Rev F are farther back than on a real disk drive, I had to drill new holes in the Buslink PCB so the back of the enclosure would close completely.
Very little hackery involved, but it is a nice little setup. You can still find the Buslink FDD1 online, but it tends to be a bit pricey for a USB floppy drive.
Thanks for looking!
Heather
*EDIT* I forgot to mention that only one drive is recognized using the HxC this way even if the HxC is configured as two drives. It can be used in conjunction with an Internal drive. The USB drive automatically becomes Drive B in this situation.
