8" Floppy for PC?

[Raven]

Has there ever existed a way to connect an 8" floppy drive to a PC? I assume that if there was, a catweasel would be capable of driving it. I have only ever SEEN one 8" floppy drive and floppy (magnificent beast), and iirc it had a strange connector that's totally different from most PC standards (as it is OFC older and probably intended for a mainframe machine of some kind). Is there an adapter? Is there a PC-compatible version of one of these?

Why, you ask? I like floppy disks, and even bigger ones I'd wager I'll like even more. As well, with modern disk formats/etc. I bet they can hold a decent amount of information.

 

[wthorbjo]

If the floppy controller in your PC is capable of controlling a 5.25" HD drive, it will most likely also work with an 8" drive. The only modification you need to do is to the connector on the floppy cable. Have a look at this site for more info: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img04715/cnct.htm

Disclaimer: I haven't actually done this myself, but I did some research a while ago. Turns out the floppy controller in my PC is too new, and will only work with 3.5" HD drives...

--
wthorbjo

 

[Raven]

Very cool link. When I get my hands on an 8" drive I will certainly try this out.

 

[Chuck(G)]

There have been ways to connect an 8" floppy to a PC since almost the time the 5150 came out.

I assume that you're trying to handle non-DOS formats (CP/M perhaps?). You'll need software to handle the format; and, as far as I am aware, all such software does not use the PC BIOS.

That means that you can use any ISA card with a floppy controller on it--even 16-bit hard-floppy cards, ignoring the hard disk section (all conventional floppy controllers are 8-bit).

Yes, you can also use a Catweasel, but observe that it's not your usual floppy controller and so has its own software.

FWIW, "do it yourself" 8" drive connection was published in the 22Disk documentation starting in 1987--and I doubt that it was the first.

 

[Raven]

I have no 8" disks, so I don't know what format I'll be trying to read - I really just want to USE an 8" drive, and I don't have mainframes kicking around. I'll read whatever format they end up being when I get them really.

 

[Micom 2000]

Just to perhaps muddy the waters of this issue.

I have an IBM external 5 1/4 FDD. I also have about 4 floppy 8-bit controller cards used for the drive. The fixed cable on the drive has a 37-pin connector. The full-length cards also have a normal internal 5 1/4 edge connector on the other end. One would wonder whether an 8" fdd adapter was ever made for these cards.

And yes, several of the cards would be available for trade or sale.

Lawrence

 

[Lou - N2MIY]

The method described above by wthorbjo works quite nicely. I have done it and been using it for a while now. Here is my setup:

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/album.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3

No catweasel, no compaticard. The only reason I would ever go that route would be to read/write dec RX02s. For now, RX01 is good enough for me, because I have real RX02 drives on the pdp-8/e and pdp-11s.

Lou

 

[Chuck(G)]

I have an IBM external 5 1/4 FDD. I also have about 4 floppy 8-bit controller cards used for the drive. The fixed cable on the drive has a 37-pin connector. The full-length cards also have a normal internal 5 1/4 edge connector on the other end. One would wonder whether an 8" fdd adapter was ever made for these cards.

Micro Solutions had the following adapter and shipped it with two cables--the first was a DC-37 to 34-position edge connectors and a 50 position ribbon header to 50 position edge connector.

And don't forget the FDADAP available from DBIT.

I have a stack of PS/2 external drive enclosures, all ending in DC37M connectors housing various drives (tape and disk), as well as a few larger 8" drive boxes, all plugging into the same DC37. On the PC side, I have various controllers; some homebrew, others not (e.g. Compaticard) and some halfway (e.g. a Catweasel driving another board with OC buffers that allows for long external cables).

 

[Raven]

The method described above by wthorbjo works quite nicely. I have done it and been using it for a while now. Here is my setup:

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/album.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3

No catweasel, no compaticard. The only reason I would ever go that route would be to read/write dec RX02s. For now, RX01 is good enough for me, because I have real RX02 drives on the pdp-8/e and pdp-11s.

Lou

Shame, I had one of these and I murdered it's case trying to build a luggable PC (which I succeeded at, but also fried a Geforce 8800 GTX I paid $650 for in the process).. One of my stupider moments, but I learned a valuable lesson. I still have the original parts to that box though, so that means the floppy controller is intact.

OFC my goal is to run this sort of drive on a brand new machine (Core 2 Duo) so it wouldn't have helped with that anyway.

 

[Raven]

Micro Solutions had the following adapter and shipped it with two cables--the first was a DC-37 to 34-position edge connectors and a 50 position ribbon header to 50 position edge connector.

And don't forget the FDADAP available from DBIT.

I have a stack of PS/2 external drive enclosures, all ending in DC37M connectors housing various drives (tape and disk), as well as a few larger 8" drive boxes, all plugging into the same DC37. On the PC side, I have various controllers; some homebrew, others not (e.g. Compaticard) and some halfway (e.g. a Catweasel driving another board with OC buffers that allows for long external cables).

Any chance you feel like selling an 8" drive in an external enclosure? That'd be brilliant considering I have no way to mount an 8" drive in my case. I can try to make an adapter, and then when I get my catweasel (next month or so) I could hook it up straight away. Then all I'd have to do is find some 8" disks. (I never thought in a million years that external 8" enclosures existed!)

Edit: I found some BRAND NEW IN WRAPPER 8" floppies on Ebay in great britain for anyone who's interested. I'd buy 'em but I don't have a drive/setup or the money, and the shipping is too much since they'd go overseas anyway really..

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-DS-DD-Floppy-...erComponents_BlankCDsDVDs?hash=item4838883a79

I made an offer on a Zenith floppy drive in an enclosure - he wanted $414 (AS IS! crazy) but I offered $45..

 

[Chuck(G)]

Any chance you feel like selling an 8" drive in an external enclosure? That'd be brilliant considering I have no way to mount an 8" drive in my case.

No, sorry. But 8" external drive enclosures are more common than you'd think. My first external 8" enclosure was made using 3/8" acrylic sheet. Even JDR sold empty external drive boxes.

The main consideration for most (but not all) 8" drives is that they use +24 volts for the positioner, not +12 like their junior cousins, although some of the Tandon half-height 8" units can be jumpered to use +12.

 

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

No, sorry. But 8" external drive enclosures are more common than you'd think.

There was a nice dual 8" external floppy unit that just sold for $222.50. More than I would want to pay. If you want one I suggest you keep looking on eBay. Another will come up and with any luck you'll get it for a better price. They aren't cheap though and seem to be getting more expensive.
I saw that Zenith unit for $414.99. Whenever I see prices like that I click away from the page. It's nice, but not that nice. Watch, someone will probably buy it for that price.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Keep an eye on eBay for non-obvious stuff. It wasn't that long ago that I saw a dual 8" drive from a National Starplex go for $50.

Times keep changing. The last couple of drives that I picked up I paid $0.50 per pound for (NIB Siemens FDD-200) at a parking-lot sale.

 

[Micom 2000]

Wow !! That is an amazing collection and great pics. I have a PC 350 which is part of the workstation set-up I use daily. The 350 I use mainly because of it's large number of connectors.
It almost inspires me to couple up a TRS dual 8" drive I have, if only to transfer some of the data off some 8" TRS MII floppies as well as possibly making some 8" Pickles and Trout floppies from images. Your efforts are truly inspiring.

Lawrence.

The method described above by wthorbjo works quite nicely. I have done it and been using it for a while now. Here is my setup:

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/album.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3

No catweasel, no compaticard. The only reason I would ever go that route would be to read/write dec RX02s. For now, RX01 is good enough for me, because I have real RX02 drives on the pdp-8/e and pdp-11s.

Lou

 

[Raven]

There was a nice dual 8" external floppy unit that just sold for $222.50. More than I would want to pay. If you want one I suggest you keep looking on eBay. Another will come up and with any luck you'll get it for a better price. They aren't cheap though and seem to be getting more expensive.
I saw that Zenith unit for $414.99. Whenever I see prices like that I click away from the page. It's nice, but not that nice. Watch, someone will probably buy it for that price.

I got that guy down to $250 on the Zenith, but that is still too expensive for me.

I am currently bidding on a caseless 8" drive:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&Category=4193&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=2

If I get that I won't be able to use it until I get some 8" floppies and my catweasel, but it looks like a steal at that price. Another day left though, so I may not get it - not that I'd be too disappointed, I really shouldn't be spending even that much at the moment - so feel free to bid on it.