Mass storage options for Oric

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protek
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Mass storage options for Oric

Post by protek »

Now that I have one working Oric Atmos, I’d like to run some apps and games on it. What are my options for mass storage? I understand that Cumana is a floppy controller and you can use a standard cassette recorder with an appropriate cable but are there any memory card based options and are they costly?

Thank you in advance!
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HigashiJun
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by HigashiJun »

You should first check the excellent Dbug's Oriclopedia on mass storage options for Oric:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFl9E1RKp3c
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protek
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by protek »

Thanks! I just watched it. So, basically, I’d be looking either Cumulus, Cumana reborn or Erebus.
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ibisum
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by ibisum »

In my experience, Cumana Reborn is more useful - you can read/write DSK images with it - whereas Erebus is more of a 'fire and forget' option that turns the Oric into a console. My suggestion would be to get Cumana Reborn if you intend to hack on Oric stuff - and Erebus if all you want to do is play games.
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HigashiJun
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by HigashiJun »

As ibisum wrote it, Cumana Reborn is a really nice choice... Let's just expect that a new FlashFloppy firmware taking directly in charge Oric .dsk format (ie. without changing it to .hfe) will be released soon.

Another point worth mentioning is that Zaxon doesn't not seem to produce the Cumana Reborn anymore...

Cumulus is not produced anymore too but you can still find Erebus on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Erebus-Oric-At ... SwRIlejNd5

Have fun with your Atmos !
Last edited by HigashiJun on Tue Jun 02, 2020 2:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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protek
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by protek »

Are there any projects related to making a floppy emulator that runs on an RPi? I got a Pi1541 for my C64 and I’ve been quite satisfied with it.
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HigashiJun
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by HigashiJun »

I don't think there's something for the Oric... The only 2 projects I know are the Pi1541 for the C64 and the CosmosEx for the Atari ST, but I might be wrong...
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Chema
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by Chema »

protek wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:59 pm Are there any projects related to making a floppy emulator that runs on an RPi? I got a Pi1541 for my C64 and I’ve been quite satisfied with it.
The problem with emulation of floppies in the Oric is the controller part. This is quite a complicated piece of hardware, which interfaces through the expansion bus and provides all the decoding of commands, access to controller's ROM, etc. This means crucial timings, amongst other things.

There are some modern clones of Microdisc controller (the most extensively used and with which Cumana is compatible) available out there, but are made on small batches by enthusiasts. These are just controllers, you need an external power supply and a real floppy drive or an emulator (HxC or Gotek with FlashFloppy firmware).

These controllers are great because they are much as the real thing. You can plug up to 4 floppies (3, 3.5, 5.25 or emulators) to your Oric, but are not as handy as a all-in-one solution, such as Cumana Reborn, which includes the controller and a Gotek in the same box. Cumulus is great because it is small, includes the emulation up to 4 floppies (by mounting their images from an SD), and does not need external power unit (but it needs a PSU of 1.5A for your Oric: the original PSU is just 600mA). I think zaxxon may produce new batches for both things if there is enough interest. He has been producing cumulus for some time in small batches, I think.

Erebus is great for tape-based games. An excellent replacement for anything that loads from audio (much better than the usual wav player connected to your Oric). However, disk systems change the Oric completely, rising it to a new level. I think both solutions are complementary.
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Symoon
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by Symoon »

You should also take a look at Orix with Sittler card and Twilighte cards, on the CEO forum.
The project is quite ambitious and I don't know exactly its state, but you might find it interesting.
Mostly in French though: https://ceo.oric.org/community/
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protek
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by protek »

The Cumana board looks like to be DIY friendly as it has through-hole components. I’m just curious, could the 18 logic chips found on the board to be replaced with a single CPLD chip?
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by kenneth »

Someone didi it with Microdisc.
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protek
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by protek »

How do the Cumana and Microdisc boards differ from each other?

Are there any links to the simpler Microdisc controller design?
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by Dbug »

protek wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:51 am How do the Cumana and Microdisc boards differ from each other?
I can't answer about the design, all I can say is that I've owned both a Cumana and a Microdisc, and the Cumana worked fine on every single of my machines, while the Microdisc was super picky and required tweaking the adjustment resistor and I never managed to get it to work with one of my Atmoses.
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HigashiJun
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Re: Mass storage options for Oric

Post by HigashiJun »

You can check the differences by yourself on the following websites:

http://oric.signal11.org.uk/html/cumana.htm

http://www.48katmos.freeuk.com/midisc-new.pdf
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