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Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:40 am
by jorodr
Hello guys,

Here is my last disc controller. It is Dos 8D compatible and has Disc II controller and Joystick (data IO) controller integrated. It is usable with real Disc II drives from Apple world, 3,5" drive with HDD extension and SD card reader. You can watch videos here:

using SD card:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vre681BGro8

communicating with PC:

If you don't use SD card reader you could transfer dsk images via cable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbSTHhWPEfg

I have finished the communication today, so it works with old PC with parallel port for now, but will have USB support too.
If have time or someone want I will write tap transfer programs.
Will post joystick support video when a friend of mine finish the driver.

I hope you will like my job :)

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:25 pm
by Godzil
This is the year of the Oric Floppy ;)

What it the SD device you use? It would be perfect for my IIgs :)

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:07 pm
by coco.oric
Nice interface ; with a wonderful red color like your last controler card.
It will be interesting to list the advantages and disadvantages of this solution compared to the cumulus unit.

For godzil who have the chance to have a iigs (a dream for me), may be they're some sd solutions.

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:16 pm
by Godzil
coco.oric wrote:Nice interface ; with a wonderful red color like your last controler card.
It will be interesting to list the advantages and disadvantages of this solution compared to the cumulus unit.
If I understand correctly, it's a clone of the pravetz Disk II interface (plug and use Apple II disk drive on the Pravetz) so it have nothing in common with the Cumulus, it's more like the cumana or the newly build Microdisc clones.
For godzil who have the chance to have a iigs (a dream for me), may be they're some sd solutions.
I'll never give my IIgs :p (but it's a ROM0 with the buggy VGC (can't find original ROM01 chip or the updated VGC..) :()

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:19 pm
by kenneth
Nice. It makes me want to create. :D

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:30 pm
by coco.oric
Godzil wrote:If I understand correctly, it's a clone of the pravetz Disk II interface (plug and use Apple II disk drive on the Pravetz) so it have nothing in common with the Cumulus
May be it's just a clone of the pravetz disk ii interface (i saw one with a pravetz at last visu oric in january) but it can also read a sd card :P
A good option to make a link between dsk images and real 3.5" disk

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:25 pm
by Godzil
No it can't read SD card, he use a SD Floppy emulator for the Apple II which is not provided with the board :)

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:35 pm
by jorodr
The controller is similar to that you have saw at Visu, but is improved for Joystick / Data IO support and don't need external Disc II controller. It has +5V to -12V voltage convertor too, so you could use usual PC PSU. Jean Marc's controller need +5V, + 12, -12 voltage PSU, because the real Disc II drives need -12V. If you use 3.5" drive with hdd or SD card floppy emulator only you even need just 5V.
The idea of data IO cable is not just to transfer disc images. I have wrote a software many years ago to see PC hard drive on the Oric screen and transfer and execute programs, change directories and so on... Unfortunately I have lost it, so now I must write it again. It's not so much sense with SD card support, but I prefer real drives, so this is way to feel my Orics living doing real communication. Someone have wrote at the forum that using SD card is like using an emulator and I agree :) It don't mean that I don't like Cumulus, but I love feeling to work with drives and listen their reaction of Oric commands - the sound of engines :) Fortunately now I have my Microdisc clones + drives and HxC and jORIC controller + Disc II drives + SD card emulator, so I could switch between the old and the new technology :)

About the floppy emulator - I could provide it with the board, because it's creation of a friend of mine that help me with my vintage constructing :)

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:20 am
by Godzil
I'm interested by the floppy emulator itself, is there a link or anything about it? My II hardware will love to use it ;)

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:23 am
by jorodr
No problem. The price of the emulator is $70 + the shipping.

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:46 am
by Godzil
Do you have a link of the functionality/firmware/schematics/... of the Floppy emulator?

Re: Microdisc competitor - jORIC communicator

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:21 pm
by jorodr
No, sorry. I could ask Plamen for the manual, because I have lost it.
The emulator could store up to 16 images, separated in folders from 0 to 15. You just put the image in the folder and with button choose which folder you will use. If some is empty the counter will skip it.
I love this emulator, because keep the feeling yu are using floppy drive. The speed is exactly the same, so the screen messages apear in such speed as floppy drive. But if you want to use it as IIGS drive using internal disc controller you must order it with DB-19 cable connector.