ABBA Switch for the 6128 Plus

[Bryce]

Hi all,
    I decided to grace my newly acquired Plus with an ABBA switch (to make things easier when loading games from my external HxC) and noticed that the Wiki only had the original Phil Craven description, which is of no use if you are converting a Plus. Because of this, I documented tonights project and have added it to the Wiki page (with pics), in case anyone else finds it of use.

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/ABBA_switch

Bryce.

[robcfg]

Very nice addition to the Wiki!


And it seems quite easy to do too (once you know how to do it, that is).


Thanks, man!

[Bryce]

It's an easy mod, even if you are a novice at soldering. It's very difficult to damage anything if you use these points. I intend putting an ABBA switch on my classic 6128 at the weekend too, so I will document that too, and see if there are better points to use than Phil chose, so you don't need to solder directly onto an IC.

Bryce.

[arnoldemu]

It's an easy mod, even if you are a novice at soldering. It's very difficult to damage anything if you use these points. I intend putting an ABBA switch on my classic 6128 at the weekend too, so I will document that too, and see if there are better points to use than Phil chose, so you don't need to solder directly onto an IC.

Bryce.

thanks!!!!

[Gryzor]

Excellent guide man... thanks!

[Bryce]

Hmm, I took a look at the classic 6128 tonight and it seems that there aren't any safer points on the PCB to use and also there's no easy alternative to cutting a PCB track as Phil suggests. Pity, it's a little bit more than I like to change on an original piece of hardware. It's possible to cut the pin on the socket like I suggested for the plus, but it's one of the inner pins that needs to be cut, so a very small pliers and possibly a degree in gynocology may be required to achieve this.

Bryce.

[Skunkfish]

I was just taking a look at this guide as I've currently got an A/B switch on the cable connecting my Gotek to the external drive connector on my 6128 Plus.

The problem with this is, although I can switch the Gotek between A: & B:, it disables the internal drive when it is A: and the motor on the internal drive still spins so I want a proper AB/BA switch.

What I'm wondering is if it would be possible to create an extension cable from the internal floppy connector with an additional floppy connector so that it connects to both drives and a switch routing the DS1 signal to the appropriate drive? This would negate the need to do any pin cutting on the external port.

Is this a) even possible?        b) worth doing?

Cheers,

James.

[Bryce]

The DS1 signal isn't available in the cable that goes to the internal drive.

Bryce.

[Skunkfish]

And there's no way of faking the DS1 signal based on the status of DS0?

[Bryce]

Yes, you can just invert it, but that then involves electronics and a 5V supply.

Bryce.

[Skunkfish]

Ah, it sounds like it might be beyond my skillset. I'll attempt the standard ABBA modification I think!

Thanks for your help

[Bryce]

I think @gerald posted a solution somewhere that doesn't require track cutting, but I don't remember where.

Bryce.

[IanS]

I think @gerald posted a solution somewhere that doesn't require track cutting, but I don't remember where.

This one? http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/amstrad-cpc-hardware/abba-switch-the-other-way/msg48869/#msg48869
Still requires one track cut.

[Bryce]

I thought he posted a later solution with zero track cutting, but maybe not. Maybe he can tell us for sure?

Bryce.

[gerald]

I thought he posted a later solution with zero track cutting, but maybe not. Maybe he can tell us for sure?

Bryce.

One cut is still needed, but can be easily reverted.
The main advantage is to avoid cable butchering

[tjohnson]

Hi All, is the method posted by Bryce still the best method for adding an ABBA switch to a plus model?

[simulant]

Hey guys, I've posted this also on the other big ABBA mod thread - but I hoped some of you here might also have a few ideas on how we could get round modding hardware, and instead use software:

https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/software-related/hex-editing-games-and-software-to-use-drive-b/

Hopefully this will help some users struggling to get certain things loading, though it does seem a lot is now catered for on drive B thankfully