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Big Tandy's and HxC Floppy Emulator

Update, I'm going to check through all the Tech Bulletins before going any further. Drive 1 still throws Error 8 too much, even when spinning, and the bulletin about the jumpers has me thinking it might need fixing.
 
Ok, its not the jumpers. If I put HxC as Drive 0 on internal, programmed with 1 drive internal, I get Boot Error D0. If I try and read it when booting of a real disk, I get drive not ready. It seeks the head, does the 5 steps out on boot if its 0, homes it, just cant read it. I did check the disk image and its 357RPM, so it did get setup right when doing the conversion I guess.

I give.
 
NF6X said:
Just some minor things:

Folks are reporting not being able to format a blank image (as opposed to using an existing image of a formatted diskette), apparently because of the different track densities used on track 0 vs. the rest of the tracks. Others have suggested that there's a way to address that, but I'm not clear on the details yet. Even if this isn't just a matter of training the user, it sounds to me like something that could be addressed in firmware on existing HxC hardware.
Click to expand...

This is supported. You just to set the HFE track 0 S0 & S1 as FM and the other as MFM. and then just reformat the HFE.

To generate this special blank HFE, you can use an xml description file. For example this one :

Code: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!-- HxC Floppy Emulator Disk Layout -->
<disk_layout>
	<disk_layout_name>AUTOGENERATEDLAYOUT</disk_layout_name>
	<disk_layout_description>Auto Generated Disk Layout</disk_layout_description>
	<prefered_file_extension>img</prefered_file_extension>
	<interface_mode>GENERIC_SHUGART_DD_FLOPPYMODE</interface_mode>
	<file_size>0</file_size>
	<layout>
		<number_of_track>35</number_of_track>
		<number_of_side>2</number_of_side>
		<format>IBM_MFM</format>
		<start_sector_id>1</start_sector_id>
		<sector_per_track>1</sector_per_track>
		<sector_size>128</sector_size>
		<formatvalue>0</formatvalue>
		<gap3>255</gap3>
		<bitrate>250000</bitrate>
		<pregap>0</pregap>
		<rpm>300</rpm>
		<track_list>
			<track track_number="00" side_number="0">
				<format>IBM_FM</format>
			</track>
			<track track_number="00" side_number="1">
				<format>IBM_FM</format>
			</track>
		</track_list>
	</layout>
</disk_layout>

you can ignore the settings of the sector since you will reformat the hfe.
just load the xml and export to the hfe format.
 
Excellent! Thank you!

Does the HxC hardware have any extra outputs which might be repurposed to generate a double sided media detection output?
 
Jeff, good to see you here.

The HxC is a wonderful device, and for most normal and many abnormal floppy formats it works extremely well. I have one set up with my REH CPU280, and it works perfectly. I recommend the HxC emulators any time the subject of floppy emulation comes up, since they are that good.

However, the TRS-80's can have some really abnormal density mixtures thanks to their use of the Western Digital 1771/1791-derived floppy controllers. The 1791/1793/2793/2797 are capable of mixed density operation within any single track as well as on different tracks; I have disks that have both MFM and FM sectors on the same track, and on more than just track 0; with these controllers it is possible to have essentially two half-tracks on one track, one half FM and the other half MFM, with overlapping sector numbers, even. David Keil's DMK format acknowledges and supports this ability. I would like to see a discussion of HxC true intermixed density support; what would be the best place to do that? Over at the HxC forums?

Now, back to the Model II's boot track, what at least one of the TRS-80 Model II operating systems, LS-DOS 6.3.1, does is actually format all 77 tracks to MFM. It's only when you backup the system files to a disk that it re-formats track 0 to FM. This makes it a bit difficult to pre-make the disk image, since the FM support to track 0 needs to be automatic and dynamic, following the controller. But I understand it's a bit difficult for the drive to know what the controller is doing, relative to FM and MFM, especially if the encoding is changed on-the-fly (which the WD controllers are able to do, and TRS-80 operating systems and utilities actually do in practice).

Just looking for some ideas for the already great HxC to be a little better, at least from the TRS-80 side of things.
 
So, I finally figured out what was wrong. Well I don't know why or what caused it, but I refreshed the BIOS with the non beta release and all good (this is the HxC Lotharek rev F)
 
lowen said:
Jeff, good to see you here.
However, the TRS-80's can have some really abnormal density mixtures thanks to their use of the Western Digital 1771/1791-derived floppy controllers. The 1791/1793/2793/2797 are capable of mixed density operation within any single track as well as on different tracks; I have disks that have both MFM and FM sectors on the same track, and on more than just track 0; with these controllers it is possible to have essentially two half-tracks on one track, one half FM and the other half MFM, with overlapping sector numbers, even. David Keil's DMK format acknowledges and supports this ability. I would like to see a discussion of HxC true intermixed density support; what would be the best place to do that? Over at the HxC forums?
Click to expand...

The DMK -> HFE conversion support mixed density tracks. At least it was last time i tested it ;).
 
Jeff_HxC2001 said:
The DMK -> HFE conversion support mixed density tracks. At least it was last time i tested it ;).
Click to expand...

Good to know. What about the creation of mixed-density tracks in-system? Can I take a blank HFE and have the host system format mixed-density tracks on the HxC itself, or must I use a piece of physical media, do the DMK read, then convert to HFE? I guess I need to either buy another HxC or take my one HxC off of my CPU280 and put in my TRS-80 Model 4P and try it.
 
lowen said:
Good to know. What about the creation of mixed-density tracks in-system? Can I take a blank HFE and have the host system format mixed-density tracks on the HxC itself, or must I use a piece of physical media, do the DMK read, then convert to HFE? I guess I need to either buy another HxC or take my one HxC off of my CPU280 and put in my TRS-80 Model 4P and try it.
Click to expand...

I know you're asking Jeff, but its been my experience that I cant write or overwrite a specially mixed density tracks on a virtual disk, it can read it fine. I have a working master of PowerTool from Radio Shack. Short of building a custom track via the XML I dont know how to get this to the emulator, but eventually I'll get that hardware solution that lets you clone. I want to preserve this one, and will keep it safe until then.
 
Tibs said:
I have a working master of PowerTool from Radio Shack.
Click to expand...

PowerTool is one of the weirder ones, for sure. I have two copies of it, and attempted to read with my CatWeasel to DMK a while back of both of them. I don't think I was successful; I'll have to review my DMKs to see. I tried 9 separate reads, it looks like, and none of them match any other's checksums.
 
lowen said:
PowerTool is one of the weirder ones, for sure. I have two copies of it, and attempted to read with my CatWeasel to DMK a while back of both of them. I don't think I was successful; I'll have to review my DMKs to see. I tried 9 separate reads, it looks like, and none of them match any other's checksums.
Click to expand...

A Kryoflux may be able to read it and make a copy.
 
Alphasite said:
A Kryoflux may be able to read it and make a copy.
Click to expand...

I actually figured out how to make one using Kim's tools. At first it doesnt make sense, but I can make them all day long now. Just cant write to a HxC, and the MIRE doesnt support track writes so I cant use that either.

If any of you really want one, shoot me a PM, I'll send you a working copy for probably $4 just to cover the bubble mailer, media mail and a floppy. Its nostalgic for me, OCD completeness thing. I prefer SU anyway.

What it does is formats twice, lays the boot loaders, program and logos in different densities. Its really goofy how Kim did stuff, but wow a brilliant programmer.
 
lowen said:
When you say you 'learned how to make one using Kim's tools' which tools are you referring to?
Click to expand...

I dont remember how I learned, but it requires a disk, you prep that disk using a different disk, then you can copy that disk to other disks, but you cant use that disk. Its so convoluted. This was all Kim's stuff.

I've bene knee deep in floppy drives today aligning and cleaning, so I have not had a chance to chew out the few the were asked for. Once I get them, I'll update on how I make them. I cant remember if it worked on the Model I now....I'm getting a bad case of CRS this week....Cant Remember %$%
 
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