Commodore,IBM clones drives

[amico]

Most people purchase a commodore 64 new drives,because some company produced today a clones drives for this computer.
How to find (if existing) a new 1.44 mb clones floppy drive to use with older ibm ps/2 and ps/1?
How to find a controller or adaptor to use normal floppy drives with older ibm ps/2 and ps/1?

 

[kb2syd]

I have only seen one IDE floppy dive, and that was a ls120 super disk. Most floppy drives use 34 pin cables and a power connector. Some use custom hacks to provide power though the ribbon cable. Could this be what your referring to? A picture of the drive and a mention of the PS/2 model would probably help a lot.

 

[amico]

ok

ok

Excuse-me for the bad english...
I have a IBM ps/2 with broken floppy drives.
Older IBM 286 have ibm proprietary floppy drives.
This floppy drive is not in sale today,is very old.This is the pictures
http://popcorn.cx/computers/ibm/ps2/50z/50z-08.jpg

Today at the computer market is present the standard floppy drives,this is the pictures
http://www.dansdata.com/images/buildpc/320/flopconnect.JPG

I search information,i need to use,if possible,this floppy drive with old ps/2 and ps/1 with an adaptor.
Or i need to find,if exist,a ibm proprietary floppy drive cloned,at example most commodore fans,purchase easily a new clones drives for your commodore 64.
If is possible,i need this only to install operating system and program when the case is open,successively,i close the case with broken floppy drive inside.

 

[kb2syd]

I don't think these are ESDI drives. I think they are standard floppy drives, with the power over the connector. Get yourself a standard floppy drive and build an adapter using a 34 pin header, a 40 pin header and some cable. Here are the apparent pinouts for the IBM model 50.

PS/2 1.44MB Floppy 40 pin pinout

Pin   I/O   Signal            Pin   I/O   Signal
---   ---   ------            ---   ---   ------
1     n/a   -2nd drive        2      o    -high density select
3     n/a   reserved          4     n/a   reserved
5     n/a   ground            6     n/a   reserved
7     n/a   signal ground     8      i    -index
9     n/a   signal ground     10     o    reserved
11    n/a   signal ground     12     o    -drive select
13    n/a   ground            14     o    reserved
15    n/a   signal ground     16     o    -motor enable
17    n/a   signal ground     18     o    -direction in
19    n/a   signal ground     20     o    -step
21    n/a   signal ground     22     o    -write data
23    n/a   signal ground     24     o    -write enable
25    n/a   signal ground     26     i    -track 0
27    n/a   signal ground     28     i    -write protect
29    n/a   signal ground     30     i    -read data
31    n/a   signal ground     32     o    -head 1 select
33    n/a   signal ground     34     i    -diskette change
35    n/a   ground            36    n/a   ground
37    n/a   ground            38     o    +5 VDC
39    n/a   ground            40     o    +12 VDC

Standard 34 pin floppy

1  Ground  --                  2  /REDWC  Density Select 1=Low/0=High  
3  Ground  --                  4  N/C  Reserved  
5  Ground  --                  6  N/C  Reserved  
7  Ground  --                  8  /Index  0=Index  
9  Ground  --                  10  /MOTEA  0=Motor Enable Drive 0  
11  Ground  --                 12  /DRVSB  Drive Select 1  
13  Ground  --                 14  /DRVSB  Drive Select 0  
15  Ground  --                 16  /MOTEB  0=Motor Enable Drive 1  
17  Ground  --                 18  /DIR  0=Direction Select  
19  Ground  --                 20  /Step  0=Head Step  
21  Ground  --                 22  /WDATE  Write Data  
23  Ground  --                 24  /WGATE  Floppy Write Enable, 0=Write Gate  
25  Ground  --                 26  /TRK00  0=Track 00  
27  Ground  --                 28  /WPT  0=Write Protect  
29  Ground  --                 30  /RDATA  Read Data  
31  Ground  --                 32  /SIDE1  0=Head Select  
33  Ground  --                 34  /DSKCHG  1=Disk Change/0=Ready

Cut line 1 in the cable. Leave 35, 36 unconnected.
Use 37-40 on the PS2 to connect up a standard 4pin power connector.

see http://www.walshcomptech.com/ohlandl/floppy/Floppy_Pinouts.html

 

[amico]

thanks

thanks

Thanks very mouch,but...i'm not able to build this adapter....is not easy!
In additions,the ibm ps2 model 50,not have a cable,in the photo the drives is connected with a card.
This adapter is not in sale? or a new compatible drive cloned?
Commodore 64 users purchase today a cloned drives

 

[carlsson]

You keep repeating Commodore 64. For what it is worth, there are very few C64 compatible drives manufactured new these days. There are one or two do-it-yourself 1581 clone projects, which use a bog standard 3.5" PC floppy drive and a custom interface. You also have the CMD floppy drives, sold by Click Here Software who unfortunately are very unreliable when it comes to ordering and shipping. Other than that, the supply is thin, probably on level with the number of PS/2 compatible floppy interfaces you may find. Of course, you can take in account all old floppy drives sold on eBay, of which the Commodore series may be more common than proprietary IBM ones, but it is a rather moot point.

A friend of mine has a PS/2 he is considering to throw away. I don't know if he has already. Otherwise, I could ask him to disassemble the floppy drives and you could get them for the shipping costs, if they're so desirable.

 

[IBMMuseum]

I don't think these are ESDI drives. I think they are standard floppy drives, with the power over the connector. Get yourself a standard floppy drive and build an adapter using a 34 pin header, a 40 pin header and some cable. Here are the apparent pinouts for the IBM model 50.

PS/2 1.44MB Floppy 40 pin pinout

Pin   I/O   Signal            Pin   I/O   Signal
---   ---   ------            ---   ---   ------
1     n/a   -2nd drive        2      o    -high density select
3     n/a   reserved          4     n/a   reserved
5     n/a   ground            6     n/a   reserved
7     n/a   signal ground     8      i    -index
9     n/a   signal ground     10     o    reserved
11    n/a   signal ground     12     o    -drive select
13    n/a   ground            14     o    reserved
15    n/a   signal ground     16     o    -motor enable
17    n/a   signal ground     18     o    -direction in
19    n/a   signal ground     20     o    -step
21    n/a   signal ground     22     o    -write data
23    n/a   signal ground     24     o    -write enable
25    n/a   signal ground     26     i    -track 0
27    n/a   signal ground     28     i    -write protect
29    n/a   signal ground     30     i    -read data
31    n/a   signal ground     32     o    -head 1 select
33    n/a   signal ground     34     i    -diskette change
35    n/a   ground            36    n/a   ground
37    n/a   ground            38     o    +5 VDC
39    n/a   ground            40     o    +12 VDC

Standard 34 pin floppy

1  Ground  --                  2  /REDWC  Density Select 1=Low/0=High  
3  Ground  --                  4  N/C  Reserved  
5  Ground  --                  6  N/C  Reserved  
7  Ground  --                  8  /Index  0=Index  
9  Ground  --                  10  /MOTEA  0=Motor Enable Drive 0  
11  Ground  --                 12  /DRVSB  Drive Select 1  
13  Ground  --                 14  /DRVSB  Drive Select 0  
15  Ground  --                 16  /MOTEB  0=Motor Enable Drive 1  
17  Ground  --                 18  /DIR  0=Direction Select  
19  Ground  --                 20  /Step  0=Head Step  
21  Ground  --                 22  /WDATE  Write Data  
23  Ground  --                 24  /WGATE  Floppy Write Enable, 0=Write Gate  
25  Ground  --                 26  /TRK00  0=Track 00  
27  Ground  --                 28  /WPT  0=Write Protect  
29  Ground  --                 30  /RDATA  Read Data  
31  Ground  --                 32  /SIDE1  0=Head Select  
33  Ground  --                 34  /DSKCHG  1=Disk Change/0=Ready

Cut line 1 in the cable. Leave 35, 36 unconnected.
Use 37-40 on the PS2 to connect up a standard 4pin power connector.

see http://www.walshcomptech.com/ohlandl/floppy/Floppy_Pinouts.html

Good reference, but some of the signals are inverted for the PS/2 drives versus the later conventional "clone" 1.44Mb drives. There is a slow effort underway for an adapter (five TTL chips on a small circuitboard) to put a conventional 1.44Mb drive on a PS/2 (in my test of the major manufacterers I had all drives pass, with even an ability because of the TTL buffer chips to have the drive externally a few feet away) system. But the best short-term solution is for the OP to post to comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware, where there are world-wide members willing to send various parts.

 

[Terry Yager]

Or, you could pm me an address, and I'll send along the one I have in my hand right now, for shipping cost only.

IBM FDD FRU
PN 79F0983

Panasonic Model JU-237A03W
P/N 72X6074

--T

 

[kb2syd]

Good reference, but some of the signals are inverted for the PS/2 drives versus the later conventional "clone" 1.44Mb drives. .

I've gotta be missing something then. The signals LOOK the same on the two charts. Just do a little re-arranging.

There is a slow effort underway for an adapter (five TTL chips on a small circuitboard) to put a conventional 1.44Mb drive on a PS/2 (in my test of the major manufacterers I had all drives pass, with even an ability because of the TTL buffer chips to have the drive externally a few feet away) system.

You could probably build this "dead bug" and get away with it even. I've cobbled together worse things than that. Sometimes you can't get things off the shelf and you have to make SOMETHING work.

But the best short-term solution is for the OP to post to comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware, where there are world-wide members willing to send various parts.

Great idea. Usenet is still a great resource. Probably find somone giving one away (or even maybe even someone right here).

 

[IBMMuseum]

I've gotta be missing something then. The signals LOOK the same on the two charts. Just do a little re-arranging.

Others have tried to swap the signals around straight-through - and failed (at least they can't get it 100% reliable). There is a personality involved with how the pages are authored. I can't explain it any better than that.

You could probably build this "dead bug" and get away with it even. I've cobbled together worse things than that. Sometimes you can't get things off the shelf and you have to make SOMETHING work.

The prototype I have together is working without fail, amazingly from a Model 50 system just like the OP has...

Great idea. Usenet is still a great resource. Probably find somone giving one away (or even maybe even someone right here).

Exactly my thinking...

 

[carlsson]

Up to now, amico has had two offers (of which I can't vouch 100% for mine) in this thread only. It is possible that shipping to Italy is cheaper from the US than from Sweden.