DiscFerret:FAQ - Revision history

Adtpro: Added Shugart/IBM interface

2012-05-11T04:20:49Z

Added Shugart/IBM interface

Adtpro: Added a blurb on what to plug into the darned thing... please add the drives you use!

2012-05-10T20:32:34Z

Added a blurb on what to plug into the darned thing... please add the drives you use!

Philpem: Unprotected "DiscFerret:FAQ": user account creation has been disabled and only developers have access. no need to protect individual pages.

2011-12-23T03:03:35Z

Unprotected "DiscFerret:FAQ": user account creation has been disabled and only developers have access. no need to protect individual pages.

Philpem: /* Why another disc analyser? */

2011-03-21T22:22:13Z

‎Why another disc analyser?

Philpem: /* What happens if I use the wrong power supply? */

2011-03-21T01:25:01Z

‎What happens if I use the wrong power supply?

Philpem: Protected "DiscFerret:FAQ": High traffic page ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))

2011-03-01T17:15:52Z

Protected "DiscFerret:FAQ": High traffic page ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))

Philpem at 17:14, 1 March 2011

2011-03-01T17:14:23Z

Philpem: /* Why can't I edit pages? */

2011-03-01T17:12:11Z

‎Why can't I edit pages?

Philpem at 17:11, 1 March 2011

2011-03-01T17:11:43Z

Philpem at 12:53, 1 March 2011

2011-03-01T12:53:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:20, 11 May 2012
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	=== What kinds of disk drives can I plug into a DiscFerret? ===		=== What kinds of disk drives can I plug into a DiscFerret? ===
		+
		+	The DiscFerret will adapt to any 34-pin Shugart or IBM interface drive, or any 50-pin Shugart interface 8" drive with adapted cable or a [http://www.dbit.com/fdadap.html FDADAP] adapter.

	The DiscFerret connects to 5-1/4" and 8" disk drives via a standard 34-connector floppy disk ribbon cable. These cables typically connect to a drive with a card edge connector, and have a "twist" at the floppy end. These cables were common in systems before hard drives became prevalent. They resemble a 40-connector IDE hard drive cable, but are smaller by 6 pins. They were commonly called "FD" (Floppy Disk) or "FDD" (Floppy Disk Drive) cables.		The DiscFerret connects to 5-1/4" and 8" disk drives via a standard 34-connector floppy disk ribbon cable. These cables typically connect to a drive with a card edge connector, and have a "twist" at the floppy end. These cables were common in systems before hard drives became prevalent. They resemble a 40-connector IDE hard drive cable, but are smaller by 6 pins. They were commonly called "FD" (Floppy Disk) or "FDD" (Floppy Disk Drive) cables.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:32, 10 May 2012
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	== DiscFerret-specific questions ==		== DiscFerret-specific questions ==
		+
		+	=== What kinds of disk drives can I plug into a DiscFerret? ===
		+
		+	The DiscFerret connects to 5-1/4" and 8" disk drives via a standard 34-connector floppy disk ribbon cable. These cables typically connect to a drive with a card edge connector, and have a "twist" at the floppy end. These cables were common in systems before hard drives became prevalent. They resemble a 40-connector IDE hard drive cable, but are smaller by 6 pins. They were commonly called "FD" (Floppy Disk) or "FDD" (Floppy Disk Drive) cables.
		+
		+	Disk drives that have been used with the DiscFerret:
		+
		+	* TEAC FD-55GFR - 5-1/4", high-density (1.2 MB)

	=== Why another disc analyser? ===		=== Why another disc analyser? ===

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Because the other analysers weren't good enough! The Catweasel Controller (all four versions of it) are essentially unsupported by the manufacturer. Developer support has tended to be poor, with little hardware documentation available. On top of all this, the drivers only allow discs to be written on machines running Linux 2.4 (a very old Linux Kernel release which has been essentially abandoned since the mid-2000s) or MS-DOS.
-Ultimately I wanted to create a hardware-based disc reader/writer which could be used on any system with a Full-Speed-capable (12Mbps) USB port. Whether that is a PC, a Mac or some other platform is entirely up to you, but in general, if it runs Linux, supports USB and has a libusb port, it'll most likely work fine. This even extends to embedded systems like the [BeagleBoard](http://beagleboard.org/), as long as you add some form of storage (e.g. a USB thumb-drive or hard drive).
+Ultimately I wanted to create a hardware-based disc reader/writer which could be used on any system with a Full-Speed-capable (12Mbps) USB port. Whether that is a PC, a Mac or some other platform is entirely up to you, but in general, if it runs Linux, supports USB and has a libusb port, it'll most likely work fine. This even extends to embedded systems like the [http://beagleboard.org/ BeagleBoard], as long as you add some form of storage (e.g. a USB thumb-drive or hard drive).
 === So it's a Catweasel clone then? ===

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 It should be noted that the protection circuit is intended as a last-resort safety device, and should not be "tested" or "tried out" by the end user. In situations where the DiscFerret is exposed to both reverse polarity and extreme overvoltage, the protection circuit may fail to operate. Always use the power supply which was supplied with the DiscFerret, or an identically-specified replacement.
-If a higher-voltage power supply is attached to the DiscFerret, the "12V" output on the power output connector will rise to the input voltage. The 5V output will remain at 5V (except in cases of extreme overvoltage). Once again, your DiscFerret will probably survive, but your disc drive almost certainly won't...
+If a higher-voltage power supply is attached to the DiscFerret, the "12V" output on the power output connector will rise to match the input voltage. The 5V output will remain at 5V (except in cases of extreme overvoltage). Once again, your DiscFerret will probably survive, but your disc drive almost certainly won't...
 === How much power does the DiscFerret need? ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:14, 1 March 2011
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		+	[[Category:DiscFerret]]
		+
	== DiscFerret-specific questions ==		== DiscFerret-specific questions ==

← Older revision	Revision as of 03:03, 23 December 2011
(No difference)

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:15, 1 March 2011
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← Older revision		Revision as of 17:12, 1 March 2011
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	To try and prevent the Wiki from being 'spammed' (filled with unsolicited advertising and other garbage), editing has been restricted to registered users only. It's very easy to become a registered user -- simply scroll up to the top of this page, click the "Log in / create account" link at the top right, and follow the instructions.		To try and prevent the Wiki from being 'spammed' (filled with unsolicited advertising and other garbage), editing has been restricted to registered users only. It's very easy to become a registered user -- simply scroll up to the top of this page, click the "Log in / create account" link at the top right, and follow the instructions.

−	Some high-traffic pages are edit-restricted (notably the home page and the pages in the DiscFerret: hierarchy). If you need to have one of these pages modified, please leave a message on [[~~Talk~~:~~philpem~~]].	+	Some high-traffic pages are edit-restricted (notably the home page and the pages in the DiscFerret: hierarchy). If you need to have one of these pages modified, please leave a message on [[User_talk:Philpem]].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Frequently Asked Questions =
+== DiscFerret-specific questions ==
-== Why another disc analyser? ==
+=== Why another disc analyser? ===
 Because the other analysers weren't good enough! The Catweasel Controller (all four versions of it) are essentially unsupported by the manufacturer. Developer support has tended to be poor, with little hardware documentation available. On top of all this, the drivers only allow discs to be written on machines running Linux 2.4 (a very old Linux Kernel release which has been essentially abandoned since the mid-2000s) or MS-DOS.
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
-== So it's a Catweasel clone then? ==
+=== So it's a Catweasel clone then? ===
 Not at all -- the DiscFerret was engineered completely from the ground up, and provides a lot of features that the Catweasel is simply incapable of:
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
-== What happens if I use the wrong power supply? ==
+=== What happens if I use the wrong power supply? ===
 In most cases, nothing. The DiscFerret incorporates a reverse-polarity protection circuit, which reduces the risk of damage due to the use of an incorrect power supply. This circuit has been tested up to 20V, which exceeds the input voltage rating of the DC power connector, and the output voltage of most off-the-shelf DC power supplies.
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
-== How much power does the DiscFerret need? ==
+=== How much power does the DiscFerret need? ===
 The DiscFerret requires a 12V power supply, with a maximum current consumption of around 1.5A if powering the DiscFerret in "stand-alone mode" (where the power output socket is unused). This increases to around 3.5A if an external drive is being powered from the DiscFerret's power output socket, assuming the drive is consuming the maximum allocation of 1.5A on both the 5V and 12V power outputs.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
-== How do I buy a DiscFerret? ==
+=== How do I buy a DiscFerret? ===
 You can buy a DiscFerret through the [http://store.discferret.com/ DiscFerret Store].

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:53, 1 March 2011
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−	#Frequently Asked Questions	+	= Frequently Asked Questions =

	== Why another disc analyser? ==		== Why another disc analyser? ==