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jwg1962, Let us know if you decide to make available some of your non-working disk ][ cases. As it turns out mine are working, fortunately, so I would be needing a non-working one.
I just tested the 3D parts in my case and they fit perfect;y.
So anyone who wants a parts kit please PM me.
$20 shipped in USA
THanks
Bill
IMG_7377.jpeg
Let me look this weekend and see how many I have and I would certainly make them avaialble. I know some of them have the cable cut off them, but that shouldn't matter because it is an IDC 20 pin on the inside too, you just will not have a cable.
Thanks,
Jay
Hi Jay,
Just the 2 halves of the steel case. Doesn't need the front panel as that is replaced by the aluminum manufactured panel.
Also needs the 4 screws that go in through the bottom to hold the 2 steel halves together. I've been meaning to ask. Does anyone know the screw size for those base screws. Ive been thinking of adding those to the kit in case people didn't have them, but I didn't know what size they were. Mine is currently held together with one screw which i stole from one of my other drives. So I want to buy some anyway.
Cheers
Dave
Thanks Dave.
Then I have four drive shells I can make available. #6-32 1/4" long black oxide pan head screws.
It's also a reasonable option to print the entire Disk ][ case, for those who don't have spares. Here's an example model, not sure if anyone has tried to print it or not:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:167541
- Alex
Just got my 3d printed parts from retro-bill, in preparation for when the kits are ready. Can confirm their of good quality. Thanks
Glad to hear they showed up.
Have fun with them!
Thanks
Bill
I was worried about that as I don't have access to a 3d printer
I may take you up on it.
Hi All,
Quick update. Interest is there but am short of the target of 30 required for the discounts from FPE.
I have 12 confirmed interest at the current price . So I'm waiting to see if numbers increase. I reached out to FPE to see if they could sweeten the price a bit, but the discount for 30 hasnt changed. I'm trying to find other ways of dragging the price down to spark a few more orders. Not real keen on trying another supplier as its going to stretch time out any further and introduces further unkowns. Was thinking of getting a quote from Takachi Enclosures in Japan or Metcase in Australia which I suspect actually manufactures in the UK. Trouble is neither of them provide free software package for panel design and I suspect they also dont offer the perspex window service. FPE does and are also a known entity to me regarding ease of use, quality etc.
Regarding postage, I think it will come in under 250g so postage should be pretty close to USD$15 to the US and USD$19 to Europe.
I've ordered eveything except panels and Larger OLED screens. Those will be done at go time if it gets up.
Some things have come fast, some things there is still no sign of. I hope they come soon.
Anyway.... thats where its at.
IMG_3457.jpeg
Man I'll be glad when this is done so I can actually play with the Apple ][ again. ;)
Cheers
Dave
Thanks Jay for the info on the screw sizes. Black Oxide versions of those screws are astoundingly hard to source here in Australia. I can get them from the US but the postage is impractical for just them. And putting silver ones where I can see them just doesnt seem right. I dont think I will add those base screws to the kit after all. Anyone who has a case to hack is nearly guaranteed to have the screws anyway.
Ajcocks, I downloaded and had a look at that case. Looks very cool but appears impractical in its current form. Its all one piece and doesnt have separate parts. I wonder if its intended to be a prop or something. The author has done some other interesting 3d parts.
Regards
Dave
That looks amazing! Nice job.
Now that I see it, you know what might be a cool upgrade if you ever do a Mark II version? A rotary encoder instead of the arrow buttons. It would require software changes, I'm assuming. I've never used a Floppy Emu in person, but the interface nerd in me has always thought it odd that you moved the selection up and down by pressing left and right buttons. :-) (Oooh... maybe even get one of those knobs that you can also push, to act as the select button?)
Thanks. ;)
Any software changes will be well and truly in Steve's domain. Its his baby.
Rotary encoders are cool, but I must say that the button arrangement works great as implemented by BMOW.
On the floppy emu, you can hold the button down and it keeps on scrolling through the disk image list till you let it go or it hits the end. I really like rotary encoders for up to say 10 items in a list of choices, but as the number of possible selections increases, rotary encoders can become hard work cranking to get the item you want. ;)
Not to mention, I believe the firmware flashing process requires you to hold down select and previous for one step, and select and next for the other step. Seems like that would be hard (if not impossible) with a rotary encoder.
I'd love 2 of these. PM sent
So, i ordered a new version of the Floppy EMU (Rev C - as I had the previous version)
I have the spare Disk II drive parts
I ordered the 3d printed parts today
Now I just need the kit - ......... AND waiting.......
I really lovel this and hope we get this moving soon!
Actually very expensive week for me. Between this stuff and a Yellowstone card and another IIgs Rom 0 and a ApplesqueezerGS. I need to let the Credit Card cool down before anything else. :(
But its my favorite thing and all this stuff will be working with either my clear case IIe or clear case IIgs. :)
3D Parts were shipped today! :)
Little status update. Orders are sitting at 15 and the discount difference between 20 units and 30 units isnt that great. So I think thats where I'm heading.
I'm still waiting on some parts from China and I intend to kick into gear once I get those bits. Particularly the cable harnesses.
I found an ebay provider for some leds that appeared ideal in the photo. They arent. Yuk! Its gotta look good turned off or on and these dont look nice. Its supposed to be a red led, not an orange led. :|
IMG_3675.jpg
IMG_3674.jpg
Originally I used Dialight 5219320F LEDs. So looks like I will be going back to those. Or something similar if someone has sa model number on some nice dark looking Red LEDs.I've given up on chasing another manufacturer for the panels. The options I looked at require different file formats and don't do both the panel and the perspex window like FPE. Some use self clinching studs as opposed to welded etc etc. I just know it will bite me if i try something unknown. FPE while not giving any further discount have agreed to do a test panel for me at discount price as long as I also place the complete order as well. I intend to do that so I can confirm the graphic improvements worked ok.Its crawling along. I apologize for that. But hopefully not too much longer.
Cheers
Dave
Dave,
Here are the Red LED's I used in my retro tester. Nice and Red.
Maybe you can use them?
IMG_7450.jpeg
IMG_7451.jpeg
I received a notice today that Kansasfest was going to be both live and virtual this year.
Just a thought, but if anyone is going to Kansasfest this year and shows the pics of this around or the thread.
OR BETTER YET, if you did a short presentation on it, I'm sure we would get as many people as you needed to meet the first order qty and probably several more.
Although it isn't until July (another 3+ months).
This is fantastic!
I just sent a PM to PTB and asked to put me down for 2.
Thanks for that. Slowly getting there. Received 2 more small parcels last week for screws and led wiring (JST Connectors).
Last parcel I'm waiting on is the ribbon harnesses, then its decision time on ordering the expensive bits.
Its looking promising.
Cheers
Dave
OK, first post so we'll see how it shows up. My question before I go PM'ing folks all over the place. Is this an order of the 3d printed parts and then an order for the internal bits? Just making sure I understand the layout. Thanks in advance for any information! :D
For those of you who have had FloppyEMUs for a while like myself, it's worth mentioning, the Rev C now supports dual 5.25 mode. 2 images at once on one FloppyEMU, a godsend for ultima and such.
You should contact PTB (Dave) first and place your order for all the internal bits, then once you have done that you can order the 3D parts.
Bill
Wow, I missed that... I actually bought two Rev C's recently and have been using both of them on one Disk II controller... Now I think I will run one as dual 5.25 and put the other on one of the Yellowstone cards I got as a 3.5 drive or SmartPort device...
Do you need to use an Apple 5.25 Controller to make that work? I've got a couple of those if so... Not an issue.
Understood, thank you! :)
I don't have a Disk II card on hand actually, Only the 5.25 card. The documentation might cover If the Disk II card could work, or email BMOW, he is usually good about answering stuff quickly.
I also didn't know about this until recently, I had a B and C, and my C was with my Mac SE. I swapped firmwares and use the Rev C now with my IIe in dual mode with much success :)
Nice job!
PM sent!
-- Bruce
You can do dual floppy mode with a regular Disk II controller with a relatively inexpensive adapter sold by BMOW. Or if you have spare 5.25 cards on hand, that works as well.
https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/dual-525-adapter-for-disk-ii-interface-card
I found the daisy chain adapter for the Disk II. Pretty ingenious. I don't need it though, as mentioned, I have a couple of the 5.25 controller cards with the DB19 connector already.
I've been wondering for a while if there is any way to run the floppy emu (in dual floppy mode) and 2 normal disk ]['s off just one card.
Currently I have 2 disk interface cards in slots 5 (floppy emu) and 6 (2 normal disk ][ drives.
Would be nice to free up a slot if possible even though it currently works well for me.
I'm also keen to add a noisy disk, but I'm waiting for US to Australia post to open up again. Hopefully not too much longer.
Cheers
Dave
Update time.
@RetroBill, Thanks for responding about the 3d parts.
So no further packages have arrived yet, but I think the harnesses are in the country now. I've decided to bite the bullet and order the OLED screens regardless. Should be easy to sell on if I need to. I'm seeing if I can get an ebay provider to come close to ALI express price and postage. I prefer the extra level of safety ebay provides.
I've also sent for a test panel to be made up with the new graphic which should fix the lettering which was too thin in places. I'm looking forward to the photos I get back from Front Panel Express of that.
The assembly manual is about 2/3 done. I disassembled my prototype and re-assembled stage by stage taking a lot more photos for clarity. It was good to do that as it reminded myself of the full process and got me to document tips for dealing with any possible issues I encountered or could possibly eventuate.
I'm hoping to post that manual/guide very soon which will be good as I think it also answers a lot of valid questions.
Cheers
Dave
How short are you of your 20 unit goal? I only need one, but depending on the price I might go for a couple extra just to sit on and pass along when someone else comes along who wants one. Just to help you hit the mark so I can get one, heh.
In fact, if it's easier for you to deal with, I could do with just the front panel(s), and source and 3d print the rest of it myself.
Not possible. Disk-II cards can operate two drives only, and since the Floppy Emu emulates those two Disk II drives, you're stuck with two drive controllers.
The only way around this might be to run the Floppy Emu in Smartport mode using a Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller, but even though you can have multiple volumes (ProDOS only) mounted, you can still only have two Disk II drives per controller card.
There is a way to run 4 Disk ][ drives from 1 slot... A Rana Systems Disk Controller Card. Not really easy to find, and not all software supports 4 drives in one slot.
RanaController.jpeg
Thanks Baldrick and Softwarejanitor. Kind of what I suspected, but in the context of me often being wrong, thought I would see if there was an option I wasn't seeing or understanding. That Rana card looks cool but yes I can imagine the slot difficulties.
Lee, thanks very much for the offer, but that wont be required. Also the 3d parts arent included but the necessary .STL files are in this thread for you to print yourself or you can buy from Retrol_bill.
Regards
Dave
Sooooo...... It looks like its a goer. I'm going ahead with it.
I received a photo of the test panel from FPE and it looks much better than my original as the thin lettering for SD CARD, POWER and IN USE labelling has been rectified.
Pretty happy with the way it looks.
FPE_Physical_Test_Panel.jpeg
Just placed the order for the initial run for the panels from FPE and the 2.42" OLED displays from China. I suspect the China delivery may take a little while in these interesting times. The wiring harnesses rocked up this week so thats good finally.
Purchase orders will be allocated in the order that folks have PM'd me to date with a confirmed interest at the price provided. I will sell the remainder of the units down the track as orders hopefully trickle in. Will be using Paypal for orders only once these final parts arrive. Then hopefully it will go pretty quickly.
Thanks everyone for your patience with this.
Regards
Dave
This may not be exactly what you have in mind, but two of these would be a way to run 4 devices off a Disk ][ Controller card, albeit only two at a time...
https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/apple-disk-drive-ab-switch
How are you attaching the switches to the Floppy Emu? Are you removing the existing buttons and soldering on headers?
I am planning to bang out a little board similar to this. The board will go in the back of the Mitac Disk II clone enclosure that I'll be putting this kit in. I'll put a 3-position switch in the back, and then the other two Disk II units will plug into this board. The switch will allow me to select between Floppy Emu as D1, Floppy Emu as D2, or No Floppy Emu (both physical drives as D1 and D2).
Or such is my hope, anyway. If the cabling doesn't get too long and introduce too much noise. :P
Edit: Hmmm, with this new dual-drive floppy emu firmware I just read about, I shall have to change my plans a bit! But yeah. Something like that.
You are thanking us for the patience? Hah, I think that should be the other way around. Thank you for agreeing to make this available for others and providing your experience in getting it done.
I look forward to having one
@IceCruncher
Thanks ;)
@Mutated_monkey
The panel buttons are connected to the existing buttons via wires soldered to the floppy emu board. This has to be done by the user but is straight forward.
The original buttons can remain.
IMG_3728.jpeg
IMG_3727.jpeg
Cheers
Dave
Can I still put myself on the list for one of these? If so, yay!
Still super excited for the whole thing. Im debating using the extra room in the drive case to hide a old net wifi modem and just make a nice plug set out the back idk.
Ok guys,This is not going to be very welcome news. And I strongly apologise.
I'm going to have to remove the apple logo from the panel.
Was chatting with a friend about this and he sternly warned me against selling these kits with the logo on there. He also sent me a link to the apple legal page which I hadn't seen before but had some very sobering reading. Frankly I wish I had seen it earlier.Even giving them away would constitute a problem and frankly thats the last thing I need. There is no point asking permission from apple either which I had thought about. The wording in there clearly states when the use of the logo is allowed or permission would be granted, and this doesn't even come close.Several topics here....https://www.apple.com/au/legal/intellectual-property/
Creating these things for your own private amusement and apple II enjoyment is one thing, but creating them and transferring to others is a line I am no longer ready to cross in light of what I have read.I wish it hadn't gotten so far down the process before realising how risky it actually was.
But its not all doom and gloom. The panel still looks pretty good without it. Anyone who wants to bail, I fully understand. Furthermore I have contacted Bill regarding 3d printed parts already sold. So I will chat to you guys.It's still a goer, but there will be no logo on the ones that get sent. Will contact those on the confirmed interest list again once everything is here.I wish I had better news. I am very sorry.
RegardsDave
Personally, I still like the design and the look. It is also a much bigger screen and has convienence going for it. Its clean and look professional.
But, I was thinking about the other version by Macfly that is 2/3 size. He printed a logo from his printer which looks very good on the pics that are posted. What about a self printable version of the logo like MacFly did on his version that could be printed on a quality inkjet or color laser printer on black in vinyl or similar for those who want to add it?
Another option could be to make a Cricut style print that cuts the correct size out of an apple sticker? I don't know how it would look though with the glossy sticker :(
Just a couple ideas that if they were available to use and make personally might work?
Dave, I thought all that was needed to print a logo was the Circle-R symbol to show that it is a registered trademark.
I know there were a LOT of computer stores that made their own signs back in the day using the colored Apple Logo,
and few if any ever asked permission to do so. This project isn't supposed to be a real money maker given the low number
of units you'd be producing. You should reconsider, or maybe share the artwork so we can make our own?
Maybe Mark Jozaitis , maker of the reconstructed Apple II Badges could make a template using the same method of embossing
the logo onto a thin metalic plate (like on the Disk ][ ) with your design that would fit over a plastic faceplate.
Just sayin' Just suggesting.
Hi Dave,
I have never seen this either and respect your decision. However, I can tell you that if you go on etsy, there are 100s of folks using the Apple Rainbow Color Logo to make anything from a key ring, to stickers, to replica posters and selling them. I agree with you that if there is a risk, then you shouldn't do it, but I would say if they would come after you, they have 100s of others that they would need to go after too.
Jay
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