Though I was not specifically responding to the concerns over KryoFlux,
I would refer not to the input protection response, but this one: "and
there's lack of protection overall, especially in the power supply.".
Like
ZoomFloppy KryoFlux does not need external power at all. It is a bus-powered device.
However, we added the option to feed in external power (just in case). There are two
options for this power rail: protected (the user feeds 7-9 volts via the low voltagee
connector or +12 via the molex, both are exactly regulated to +5V for the +5V rail and
secured with a diode) or unprotected. Users are advised not to use the unprotected rail
(needs changing a jumper) unless they know what they are doing.
> I would
really like to avoid the impression something is broken. It's
> not, it's working.
I think it would be helpful to address the power
supply protection
concern. Rightly or otherwise, prospective customers could conjecture
that this might impact or damage their precious disk drive mechanisms or
electronics.
As I said... it's bus powered. And protected with voltage
regulators and diodes. How much can you do with 500mA and +5V? I don't see any risk
for the drive attached. Of course you can always be more protective, but at what cost? If
you look a popular electronics you will find that there are some things you simply rely
on. Like the correct voltage coming out of the USB port, a switching PSU or the correct
polarity of a PSU. I found a friend's SNES dead because it simply has no protection
diode. He'd attached a replacement PSU and soldered the connector himself? Wrong
polarity. Oops.
I am not saying that completely leaving that out was a wise idea, but it works for them. I
am pretty satisfied with what we have. In other words? an airbag is fine. Putting the
whole car in some kind of styrofoam makes driving a hassle.
I took my position from
"http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3#p1230. At least with
ZoomFloppy, people expect to both image and write disks with the
product. From the FAQ, I see that DTC will not write file back to disk,
but Analyzer can. If the FAQ is wrong, I based my concern on invalid
information.
Thanks for pointing this out. DTC has evolved and, by now, also
supports writing of IPF and ADF back to disk. More to come.
You would need the Analyser to create IPF files as this is beyond the capabilities of DTC.
IPFs are not the result of a conversion process, instead it's an auto scripting
feature that will, for most disks, describe the mastering data. The rest needs manual
adjustments.
I do have to handle feedback and questions for such a
product, and I
understand it's a pain at times. However, since your tool images more
obscure formats and drive mechanisms, I struggle with the idea that
there are a huge number of uninterested folks who want the tool but
aren't savvy enough to learn it. This is, admittedly, a very elite
group in this space.
Well? we do support so many systems by now? without doing
anything, I have a dozen of tickets popping up. Every day? As I said before, this is
something very special and it was never meant to be for "mass-consumption". That
does not mean we don't give people access. There's actually people out there using
it.
I think your "does not demand a response"
itself is a response. When
people "google" for this thread, they'll no doubt find this response. I
can't carry the ball further here, I have no horse in this race. I
think simply responding to it puts the focus back on others.
Thanks for asking.