[cctalk] Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

As you know I've recently restored a couple of CP/M luggable computers. I also have many other machines with floppy disk drives, 3", 3.5", 5.25" and 8" The machine I connect to the internet with is a more modern laptop runnng Windows 8.1. Essentially its only interfaces are USB ports. I would like to be able to : Download disk images (I assume in .IMD or .TD0 format) and write them to real floppy disks to use in my old machnes If possble, for the more common filesystems like MS-DOS or CP/M, be able to work with these images on the modern PC at the file level. For example, if I download a CP/M progam as a .COM file I'd like to be able to put it into a disk image of a Philips P2000C disk, then transfer that image to a real floppy and put it in a drive on the Philips machine. I understand there are designed based on a modern microcontroller that connecct to a USB port and a disk drive. Software on the PC translates between the disk image and the accurately-timed pulses corresponding to flux transitions on the disk. This unit links to a real disk drive, you run the software and it reads/writes a real disk in said disk drive. Now... I can handle a 'scope. I can handle a logic analyser. I can handle a soldering iron. I can handle an engineer's lathe. I can rebuld and align floppy disk drives. I can program most 8-bit micros along with PERQ microcode, PDP11 mahine code, etc BUT I don't have a clue when it comes to modern PCs, modern microcontrollers or USB ports. So what I am asking is for people to describe what to do as in : Buy this microcontroller board Buy this blank PCB and solder the components given in the BOM to it. Download this software and install it by doing this. Connect a standard floppy drive to this connector Run the software, specify the disk image file and sit back. -tony