homebrew floppydrive adaptor for AE PC Transporter

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speedyG's picture
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homebrew floppydrive adaptor for AE PC Transporter

Hello AF-members,

Quite a while ago i have purchased a AE PCtranporter card. Unfortunately it was sold without a fitting floppydrive from AE. At the other hand i still have an archive with quite a lot software from the 80´s for the IBM PC ( XT and AT ).

So it was put on my "todo" list to get a regular MS-DOS drive from TEAC running at the PC Transporter card someday
replacing the usualy used AE Transdrive. I have among my spare parts several TEAC 5.25 Floppydrives fitting for that
purpose. The AE Transporter card has very special interface to the Transdrive and within the Transdrive there is a
kind of adaptor card designed to operate with the Transporter card.

I remembered that in the User Magazin from AUGE ( Apple User Group Europe ) in the German edition a member had published a description of a way connecting the Transporter card to regular TEAC-floppydrives.

Few weeks ago i found the issue with the description:

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEFloppyAdapterPicAUGE.jpg)

3 days ago i decided to make the attempt to make an adaptor. While making a layout i discovered that it´s nearly impossible to avoid the need of making a 2 sided PCB. At the other hand i just wanted to get fast a simple adaptor,
without need of passing over gerber-files to a PCB company... ( that would cause a delay of at least 2 weeks and
it would be rather expensive too for just 2 small prototype PCB´s ). So i played around quite a while to see - if that could be avoided by making a PCB with only 1 side and using several wirebridges. While sitting over that task
another point started jumping around in my mind: make a PCB for small case and PCB similar to the one within the Transdrive at the rearside or making another PCB with a DB-19 shell at the rearside and then just using a 19-wire "straight through" cable... ? I finally decided to make 2 of both solutions.

So here is first the one sinilar to the adaptor within the Transdrive with a 20 pin flat cable leaving the case and
requiring a special wiring within the DB-19 plug at the PC Transporter card starting with the film
continued by the draft picture of it´s population including in red the requested wirebridges followed by the picture
of the single sided etched PCB before drilling, another picture after drilling, then a picture populated with the
wirebridges and sockets and then a picture of the finally finished prototype PCB and thereafter a picture showing the special required cabeling between the 20pin connector at the adaptor and the 19pin DB connector at the PC Transporter card.

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdapterPlatine.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdapterPlatinePopulation.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptorTo20PinNoDrill.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptor20PinDrilled.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptorTo20PinWithWirebridges.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptor20PinComplete.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppycableAdaptorCabeling.jpg)

And then the other second solution of a PCB with a 19 pin DB Shell connected on the adaptorboard that permits a connection to the PC transporter card with a plain "straight through" 19pin wire cable.

the first picture ahows film of the PCB and it´s population including in red the wirebridges,
then a picture of the PCB - before drilling, next the PCB after drilling,
followed by a picture with the populated wirebridges and sockets
and finaly a picture of the PCB completed with the DB-19-pin Shell ready for mounting in a case with the drive and the distance holders.

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptor3complex.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptorTo19PinNoDrill.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptor19PinDrilled.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptorTo19PinWithWirebridges.jpg)

IMAGE(http://www.harrowalsh.de/Upload/AEfloppyAdaptor19PinComplete.jpg)

I hope this will help the one or other owner of a PC-Transporter card but without having a Transdrive getting his system running with a TEAC drive and using his old MS-DOS disks ( maybe like me - for archivinmg the disks on an SCSI-drive ).

sincerely speedyG