Ultimate FDC? (Was: IBM 6360 - Filesystem(ish) info?

[Fred Cisin]

>> I'm planning on a USB controller, but I've seen ISA projects that are 
>> also microcontroller based so I think it wouldn't be awfully difficult 
>> to replace the USB data pipe with an ISA one.

On Tue, 19 Feb 2019, Ali via cctalk wrote:
> Well just because you don't have enough to do please plan on an ISA 
> version as well ;) I think it really is time someone did a super floppy 
> controller bringing together a number of older technology on to one easy 
> to use card (e.g. 8" drive support, copy protection bypass, GCR reading) 
> - all of this was available as separate products in the past...

What I would like to see, coming at it from a high level software 
viewpoint, would be:
Complete and accurate emulation of 765.  Including ROM or being loadable 
into RAM (TSR) and repoint the Int13h vector.  That would permit it to 
fully replace the stock 765.
Include a switchable "quirks" mode for full compatability with 765 
"features", such as "flash blindness" after index pulse, switchable 
inability to handle 128 byte sectors, etc.

8" and FM and 128 byte sector support (obviously)
125kbps (5.25" FM), 250Kbps, 500Kbps, 1000Kbps (2.8M)

Ability to read MFM data with FM headers (RX50)

Added commands accessible through the [replacement] Int13h:
 	Track read, modeled after the WD track read  (that could also 
provide access to Amiga, with additional code for sectors and filesystem)
 	RAW track read (flux transition), with and without data/clock 
synchronization.   Hard sector, GCR, copy protection cloning, etc. could 
be handled by other code that calls that function in the [replacement] 
Int13h.


Optionally:
drivers for "modern" OS,
inverted data reversal,
EBCDIC/ASCII conversion
Installable File System (IFS) to permit mounting alien disks, including:
 	Apple2
 	ProDos/SOS
 	Apple CP/M
 	Apple P-System
 	Mac 400K/800K
 	Commodore
 	Sirius/Victor 9000
 	CP/M (partial list available at http://www.xenosoft.com/fmts.html)
 	P-System
 	Amiga
 	Northstar N-DOS
 	TRS-DOS and derivatives (list available on request)
 	Coco-DOS
 	Microsoft Stand-Alone BASIC (NEC, Oki, etc.)
 	Unix/Linux file systems
If it also does HDDs, . . .


>> My friends think it's silly, and they're probably right. =P


--
Grumpy Ol' Fred     		cisin at xenosoft.com