Raspberry Pi floppy interface.

[Chuck Guzis]

On 1/18/19 7:40 AM, geneb via cctalk wrote:
> This looks like a project with a ton of potential for archviving media
> without having to deal with the asshattery of the kryoflux people.
> 
> https://github.com/picosonic/bbc-fdc

Yes, you can do this, as I've said many times before, with just about
any semi-modern MCU that has sufficient memory.  I've got a couple of
prototypes from years back, that, for example, use AVR (Mega162 and
Mega256) to do this.  The 162 version had write buffers also, so it
could emulate a floppy quite nicely.

An Orange Pi Zero with appropriate buffers could also do this and would
essentially be a $10 sledgehammer.
-----------------
Based on my conversations with clients, the problem is not the
equipment, but rather the lack of an open, vetted and documented file
format.

As an example, customers of mine insist on a "forensic" image file of
type E01 (Encase format), which has been endorsed by the Library of
Congress and several law enforcement agencies as a valid "forensic" format.

As insane as it sounds, I've had to provide floppy images as E01 files.
The insanity stems from the loss of information that would enable one to
recreate the original (e.g. sector headers, modulation, data rate, track
spacing, etc.).

But one does what one does to keep customers happy.

--Chuck