Considering how hard it is to find floppy disk these days, I was wondering if the NC200 require specific floppy or any 720K floppy will do.
I am using serial to save my documents, but would be nice to save on the disk; although I have no clue what floppy are working with the NC200. 1.44 MB disks won't work since the manual say so; but what about the ones used by Amiga for example ? Would these work? I may be able to find some Amiga floppy on Ebay easily; assuming they are in working conditions of course.
Also are the floppy formatted as pc floppy can be read by NC200 and windows pc?
You could always try some 1.44MB disks but use a bit of tape to cover the hole.
Then you can format it as a 720KB disk.
This is what I use for my 464 but I don't know anything about the NC200 so can't comment on what may or may not work.
You can format on PC, but if formatted on the NC it will read and or write will be faster, forgot the reference though.
Or you can put a gotek in your NC200 notepad http://wiki.simulant.uk/index.php?title=Amstrad_NC200_Gotek_USB_Floppy_Emulator_Kit (http://wiki.simulant.uk/index.php?title=Amstrad_NC200_Gotek_USB_Floppy_Emulator_Kit)
See Simulant thread here : https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/classifieds-38/amstrad-nc200-internal-gotek-floppy-emulator-usb-drive-complete-kit/ (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/classifieds-38/amstrad-nc200-internal-gotek-floppy-emulator-usb-drive-complete-kit/)
Thanks, this look nice! Problem is: it is out of stock :( I may find a gotek on ebay easily but the 3d printed plate and the adapter to the ribbon cable on the NC200 is not really something I can make myself.
So disks formatted on PC should work fine? I may try to format some disks on my old windows ME machine as 720K. Got a gentleman Amiga collection (80 floppy from different brands, including issue disks from magazines), which I can try.
I heard a lot of floppy disks go bad on NC200; hopefully mine is still good, otherwise I have only the serial port as option to move files around (unless the gotek kit become available again)
I'm still using lota of DD 3.5" disks, don't have any problems with them. Both on PCs, and with PCW. Not got a NCxxx mind you.
If you have any problems with disks that have been used before, use a magnet to make sure the disk is totally wiped. Then format.
Yes, later Windozw machines do seem to operate floppies slower than older machines. Pure DOS machines best. May be because Windows uses some emulation to run the floppy, not having a proper FDC chip. My XP machine is visibly s l o w.
Regarding using HD disks, this is possible, but not relaible. The magnetic properties of DD and HD operations are different, the read/write processes are different to match. An HD disk may well format as DD, but the recording may not last anything like as long as normal. I'd say, temporary/emergency use only. If you doubt this, look at how thin the actual disk inside the case it, holding it up to a light. Almost transparent, compared to a DD disk which is totally NOT transparent.
Geoff
On a "loosly" related topic, does anyone know the name of the current equivalent to the ribbon cable that connects the Citizen Floppy Drive to the PCB?
I would like to move the drive out of the casing for testing purposes.
Not sure what you mean? Is there something 'special' about the Citizen drive. Floppy drives use a standard interface, and the cable would be a 'bog' standard 'Floppy Disk Cable'. PCs usually use a cable to connect two drives to the MB, and there is usually a twist in the cable. Both drives may be hardwired as B:, the drive before the twist would then work as B:, while the one after the twist will appear to be A:. But a cable without the twist may be OK for a single drive if there are jumpers to set it's ID as required.
Geoff
The Citizen drive uses a 26-pin IDC cable that carries data and power. There are pinouts in this thread (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/amstrad-cpc-hardware/gotek-(flashfloppy)-wiring-for-a-pcw9512/). So if you wanted to put in an extension lead, you'd need a length of 26-pin ribbon cable and 26-pin IDC plug and socket.
The updated forum software broke the link in my last post - it's now here (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?topic=15638.msg172093#msg172093).