Applied Engineering Vulcan Gold – Compact Flash

I recently have been trying to get various Compact Flash cards to work with a Vulcan Gold controller. I do have other more modern storage devices for the GS, but I like the idea of still being able to use a Vulcan Controller :), especially as the real HD will die soon..in fact one of my drives has already. Anyway…

Initially I purchased quite a few smaller CF cards to try and get things to format/partition correctly, but with very little luck. In the end I used a great little utility written by Derek Taubert that partitions the CF cards specifically for use on a Vulcan controller. See the utility here:-

https://github.com/dtaubert

As I don’t have any physical machines running Linux I just used a Live CD of Ubuntu Desktop on a spare laptop I had. When compiling (via GCC) the code I did receive a Warning message around implicit declaration of function, but this didn’t effect the use of the tool at all, so can be ignored

Once this is done I booted up Part Manager (2.0.4) on my GS. When running the tool I did initial have some issues with it. If you don’t do things in the right way the tool can crash out. Also I only seemed to have the modify option. After some trial and error here are the following steps I used to get the CF seen by GS/OS successfully :).

Step 1

On running Part Manager select N to optimisations. Don’t be tempted to say Yes as it will just hang :).

Step 2

Hit Modify (For some reason I had no other options shown)

Step 3

Use the right arrow and select system and hit enter. Then use the right arrow to select PRODOS. Hit Enter to leave the field. Do the other partitions.

Use left arrow and move to the ON column and hit Enter. Use the down arrow and do the same for the other partitions.

Hit ESC to end changes and select Y to Update.

Step 4

As I didn’t have an exit option I just reset the GS and used an existing GS/OS disk to format the drives. You will automatically get prompted to format the new partitions :).

Drew ][ TDX Status

I have decided to stop producing the card mainly due to lack of time as well as other responsibilities getting in the way of me doing anything if remotely active with it. Also with there now being other stereo (and quad) sound card options I feel there is enough supply for the foreseeable future if someone is looking for a stereo card. I will release all the schematics shortly as well as a parts list just in case anyone wants to make one themselves :). I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that supported me over the years with this as well as all the people that purchased a card :).

Clearout…

Decided to do some clearing out of II/IIGS items I haven’t used or have more than one. See the For Sale page For Sale.

I will be updating over the next few weeks, so check back.

 

TDX Jan 2015 Update

Emails are starting to go out to people that have marked interest for the cards, so look out for an email from me over the next couple weeks. Unfortunately it seems Royal Mail have increased their postage costs, so international shipping costs will go up from £7.50 to £9.50. UK shipping will be lower. Thanks for everyone’s patience! 🙂

TDX Update – December 2014

Progressing….finally…

TDX Update – November 2014

Finally getting the boards put together, which should be completed over the next couple of weeks. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting!

Drew ][ TDX June Update

Well April has come and gone and the TDX is still not ready unfortunately. This is mainly due to a new job and it taking up seemingly every waking hour I have. I am hoping that I will be in a good position in a few weeks to start making the boards. Things are being worked on as parts have started to arrive :)..

Drew ][ TDX..minor update..

I am a bit behind on getting things ready mainly due to work commitments, but I am aiming for mid April.

The cost for the card will be £26.99 + shipping, which last time was £7.50 for worldwide with tracking (where possible).

When I am ready for real orders my main website will be updated with an order page.

I have only 25 boards on this run, and half are already allocated.

New boards have arrived..:)

25 boards arrived today :). I will post an update when they will be available for sale shortly…

Drew ][ TDX Run…soon

Just a small update to say I will be looking to do another run of the Drew ][ TDX stereo board within the next couple of months. I am just currently looking at current costs and what parts I will need. I will be looking to offer bare board and completed cards. I am not sure of the quantity yet, but most likely something between 25 and 50 boards.