schematics for floppy disk interfaces

[nikosdoykas]

so i found something else in q-disk..... several times the ql freeze...on booting...
i solve it removing the PIN3 OF THE 74LS03 (THIS GOING TOY EXTINT) AND NO PROBLEM
Q-DISK WORKS LIKE SWEET....

[nikosdoykas]

SECONT THING THAT I FOUND ON QDISK
this confugaration works with 128k-640k......
but NOT WORK ΟΝ ΜΥ QUBIDE 640K(768K TOTALMEMORY....)
QDISK IS MAPPING ON END OF THE MEMORY....(I THINK IN ADDRESS C000H)
AND IN THAT MEMORY STARTS THE...128KB AFTER THE 512KB OF FIRST EXPRATION...TOTAL640K
SO I PUT THE QUBIDE IN FC000H AND REMOVE THE A17 FROM 74LS266...AT QDISK....(ACTUALLY I REMOVE THE SP3-PIN5 SP0-1-2-3 ARE GROUND)

qdisk.png (16.63 KiB) Viewed 5002 times

AND IT WORK...

SO I LOWER THE MAPPING ON QUBIDE TO SEE IWERE QDISK WAS...
TO E4000H... AND WORK AGAIN....I ASSUME THAT THE QDISK ITS ON...E0000H(BECAUSE THEN QUBIDE WAS THERE I HAD GARBAGE ON STRINK ON THE SCREEN)

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

If you have 868K ram, then the only place left is the romport area.

Do you have any PCBs or Gerber files so I could make some PCBs.

[nikosdoykas]

of cource derek

[aalea]

Hi, I made the interface based on the scheme of nikosdoykas, but I have some problems:

If I use the version 1.13 of the rom from the dilwyn, work ok, I do some test with floppy and a gotek and seem to work correctly.
But if I use the version 1.16, the work is erratic, for example the boot part do not work, usually hang, and if I try to load or save a big file, it hang.

Has somebody similar faults? (I was using a WD1772, that is the only one that I have available now).

By The Way, I made a binary compartion between the 1.16 from from CST and the XDISK WOLF-COMPUTER and they are the same ROM file, the only change is in the first bytes, the copyright message that apears when boot the computer.

Has somebody access to a more recent version?
Has somebody the manuals of the interface in PDF or in a PC compatible format?

[dilwyn]

Hi, I made the interface based on the scheme of nikosdoykas, but I have some problems:

If I use the version 1.13 of the rom from the dilwyn, work ok, I do some test with floppy and a gotek and seem to work correctly.
But if I use the version 1.16, the work is erratic, for example the boot part do not work, usually hang, and if I try to load or save a big file, it hang.

Has somebody similar faults? (I was using a WD1772, that is the only one that I have available now).

By The Way, I made a binary compartion between the 1.16 from from CST and the XDISK WOLF-COMPUTER and they are the same ROM file, the only change is in the first bytes, the copyright message that apears when boot the computer.

Has somebody access to a more recent version?
Has somebody the manuals of the interface in PDF or in a PC compatible format?

I have attached a PDF of the version 1 CST QDisk manual. I am working on PDFs of the version 2 and version 3 Qdisk manuals. I will add them to my website when finished. Sorry, I don't have a manual for version 4 QDisk.

qdisk1.pdf

CST Qdisk v1 manual

(94.54 KiB) Downloaded 121 times

EDIT: PDFs of all three versions of the manual now available at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/manuals/index.html#disks or mirror athttp://www.dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/ma ... html#disks

Qdisk cover

[RalfR]

Seems, that just the amount of TK2 varies. So, it makes me wonder, that one version works, the other don't.

[aalea]

Well, I have time to do aditional test, and found something interesting:
* The erratic operation with version 1.16 is related with interruptions, so cut the leg 3 of 74LS03 fixed it, curiosly with version 1.13 work ok.
* 74LS03 can be swapped with 74LS38, both are NAND gates with open colector output and identical pinout.

@dilwyn , thank you so much for the PDF of the instructions, because i'm yet trying to put software in the QL, i download the IMG file of the QUILL, but not yet able to put the qdisk3_doc into a disk image.

Are you sure that version 3 is version 3 and not version 4?
I use the extras command with both versions of the ROM:

As per manual, diferences between version 1 and 2 is command FLP_USE, PROG_USE, DATA_USE, that are missing in version 1.
Version 3 of the manual seen to be a mix of TK2, ramdisk and the floppy controller with FLP_SEC, FLP_START, FLP_TRACK commands.

Neither ROM versions 1.13 or 1.16 have any of the ramdisk, or tk2 command, like CLOCK, SPL, WCOPY, RAM_USE, etc, etc...

So I think that ROM version 1.13 match the document Version 2.

But ROM version 1.16 has (only one) an aditional command FLP_OPT, and lack FLP_SEC, FLP_START that apears in manual version 3, so I think this version of the rom is in the middle of manuals V2 and V3.

[dilwyn]

No, I don't know if the "V3" manual is for Qdisc v3 or v4 for sure.

It was sent to me as a V3, that is all I know, sorry.

The V1 and V2 manuals are scans of the manuals for an old Qdisc interface I once had. The first version, bought shortly after CST/Computamate brought out the first version, was at some point updated to a newer version by CST for me. I later sold that interface, I never owned a later version, and I don't know the difference between those and later versions apart from what is in the manual.

Interesting: the QL Wiki only refers to three versions of the interface, with pictures of two versions - the later one shows an EPROM with a "v1.19 (1987)" label on the EPROM. https://qlwiki.qlforum.co.uk/doku.php?i ... _interface

[nikosdoykas]

nice the th x wolf and the q disk have the same rom(you tryit...??)
i say about ther pin 3 of the... 74ls03 iuse the 1.16 rom... i read about 1.18 an 1.19 but no change to find it....