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Author Topic: Creating EXDOS card clone (Read 105600 times)

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #120 on: 2018.July.29. 10:29:16 »
Yes.... Give him congratulations from me for having such good idea....

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #121 on: 2018.July.29. 11:27:38 »
It comes already programmed with the FlashFloppy firmware.
Is available direct mode programing documentation for it?

Offline pear

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #122 on: 2018.July.29. 16:02:08 »

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #123 on: 2018.July.29. 16:25:45 »
Yes, but what Zozo needs are the direct commands to access the USB pen-drive FAT16/32 format, not the selected disk image format.

There is information, but disperse. I have found some code about the modification made to the Amiga and Atari ST HxC managers to work with the new FlashFloppy firmware. But this is made in C, and Python, very different to what Zozo needs, direct hardware access.

I will try to ask directly to Keir Fraser (keirf) if I find a way to contact him.


Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #124 on: 2018.July.29. 17:41:11 »
I have found his email address and sent him a petition. Probably we will have news from him soon.

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #125 on: 2018.July.29. 18:58:23 »
It has happened incredibly soon...

This is the complete conversation until now:

Hello Keir.

My name is Gustavo, and I am a Spanish enthusiast of the Enterprise computer.

If you don't know about it, it was a very advanced English designed computer from the early eighties. The company, Enterprise Computers LTD, went bankruptcy only two years later than the release of the computer, and all the stock sold at the other side of the Russian Iron Curtain on Hungary.

It is just because of this that almost all Enterprise users are Hungarians, with still very active clubs and web pages, like Enterprise Forever: https://enterpriseforever.com/index.php

The Enterprise was designed with an external floppy controller totally compatible with MS FAT12, and in the last years some HxC units have been adapted to the system, and later Gotek units with HxC firmware.

An user of the Enterprise Forever web page wrote on 2013 an HxC Manager that have suited us these years, but it doesn't works with your new firmware. The name of the developer is Zozo or Zozosoft( Nemeth Zoltán) and is, from my point of view, the highest guru of the Enterprise.

Zozo wants to adapt the Enterprise HxC Manager to your excellent firmware, and for it he needs to know what has changed on how to directly access the FAT16/32 format of the SD card or USB pen-drive, and how to directly select the disk images.

A lot of Enterprise+Flashed-Gotek users would appreciate if you could provide that information to Zozo...

I can act as a messenger if you want, or better you can join to the Enterprise Forever web page and givepersonally the information to  Zozo.


Thanks in advance and please continue with your good job.


---------------------------------------

Hi,

FlashFloppy is intended to be fully compatible with the hxc protocol. For example the Cpc file manager works fine with FlashFloppy and older versions of the Amiga and ST managers also worked (Jeff recently broke compatibility explicitly with FlashFloppy based on firmware reported version number).

So the incompatibility cannot be a major issue. The quickest resolution will be if Zozo is prepared to install a debug build of FlashFloppy on a Gotek. Then he can collect serial logs as his file manager runs and can see from FlashFloppy point of view what is happening. He will understand that with this insight on both sides of the protocol (file manager and firmware) that any bug will be easy to find, whether it is in his code or mine.

I can give further advice if useful.

Regards,
Keir 


---------------------------------------

I should add that of course because FlashFloppy is open source he can also read my protocol implementation. If he clones the github repo then the implementation is in src/image/da.c - and this is where he would add extra debug logging as required to pin down the incompatibility. 

---------------------------------------

Thanks Keir for your ultra fast response... I didn't expected it so soon...

Ok. I understand you, it is better to debug it practically with the real hardware and the logging option.

Thanks, I am going to communicate with Zozo immediately.

Gustavo.

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #126 on: 2018.July.29. 19:09:28 »
Keir has added:

Yes and the key is: there is no theoretical reason it is not working. 

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #127 on: 2018.July.29. 19:25:05 »
A clarification about who is Jeff, mentioned in Keir's text:

The original HxC was created by Jean-François DEL NERO(Jeff), and is actually distributed by Lotharek. So it was Jeff who have been selling the HxC firmware for the Chinese Gotek, doing the competition to Lotharek...

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #128 on: 2018.July.29. 19:33:39 »
In the Hungarian forum one user tried Gotek with FlashFloppy. My HxC Manager listed the files, only the mounting don't working. Config files looks diferrent. (My Manager using the HXCSDFE.CFG file) There is details about the FlashFloppy configuration files?

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #129 on: 2018.July.29. 19:42:36 »
I have recently received a flashed Gotek, but I am now on summer holidays until September, sorry.

Offline gflorez

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #130 on: 2018.July.29. 20:03:58 »
Probably we no more need to convert the disk images to be recognised. We have to try the old DSK or IMG file images.

Yes, the config file seems to have more options.

And yes, I have been following Dr.OG's adventures with the drive units...

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #131 on: 2018.July.29. 20:26:46 »
Yes, the config file seems to have more options.
Documentation about it? :oops:

Offline szalai56

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #132 on: 2018.July.29. 21:50:23 »
Kicsit off : pear, mennyi lenne egy exdos kártya esetleg 1772 nélkül?

Offline pear

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #133 on: 2018.July.31. 15:58:37 »
I apologize for the delay, I had a few days leave.
The EXDOS Compact card without the WD1772 chip costs 49 EUR.
I have VL1772 chips for 9 EUR, which, as a replacement, work correctly in my card (I'm not sure if in the future they will work in HD mode).
------------------------
Elnézést kérek a késésért, néhány napot hagytam.
Az EXDOS Compact kártya a WD1772 chip nélkül 49 EUR.
VL1772 zsetonjaim vannak 9 EUR, amely helyettesítőként megfelelően működik a kártyámon (nem biztos, hogy a jövőben HD módban fognak dolgozni).

Offline Zozosoft

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Re: Creating EXDOS card clone
« Reply #134 on: 2018.July.31. 16:53:13 »
I have VL1772 chips for 9 EUR, which, as a replacement, work correctly in my card
It is work with simple EXDOS Format command?
VL1772 chips what we got about 25 years ago, can't format with EXDOS Format, it is say: *** Not ready...
My FAFO also worked with these chips.

I don't know, only this serie are buggy, or all VL1772 :oops: Can you test it?