GoTek soft sector formats...

[Joe Travis N6YPC]

Greetings All,

I've been following the various threads regarding GoTek.  Upon reading the write up featured in REMarks #3, I purchased a GoTek drive and the recommended display.  I was ready to purchase and download the HxC firmware update when I decided to double check the supported formats.  I couldn't find a single Heath/Zenith soft sector format listed!

I was really hoping to incorporate the GoTek into my H-89's and H/Z-100 using the soft sector format(s).  Does anyone have any additional info that would help?

BTW - Is the OLED display really necessary or will the HxC firmware also use the standard 7 segment display as well?

Thank you,

Joe

[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/26/21 10:04 AM, Joe Travis N6YPC wrote:
> Greetings All,
>
> I've been following the various threads regarding GoTek. Upon reading the
> write up featured in REMarks #3, I purchased a GoTek drive and the
> recommended display. I was ready to purchase and download the HxC firmware
> update when I decided to double check the supported formats. I couldn't
> find a single Heath/Zenith soft sector format listed!
>
> I was really hoping to incorporate the GoTek into my H-89's and H/Z-100
> using the soft sector format(s). Does anyone have any additional info that
> would help?

Jeff works hard to add new formats and sometimes the documentation doesn't
catch up with the development work. Pretty much all soft-sector formats are
supported, however. What type of downloaded images are you working from? If
you have a format that contains metadata (e.g. DMK, IMD, TD0) you can use the
HxCFloppyEmulator application to convert to HxC 'HFE' form and it should "just
work". If you're starting from a raw sector image you'll need to know the
specific geometry of the floppy it came from. A number of us are using Gotek
units and will be glad to help.

> BTW - Is the OLED display really necessary or will the HxC firmware also
> use the standard 7 segment display as well?

HxC can simply switch between N images by index number on the stock display,
but you need to either create a mapping file or name the images in a specific
format. The OLED adds great flexibility and is highly recommended. There are
zillions of schemes for adding the new display, but most of them require a new
case. I've worked out a relatively simple approach to mounting a 0.91"
display in the original case and have successfully upgraded about a half-dozen
units here. The last time around I took step-by-step photos and intend to
work on a document that explains how to do it.

[Joseph Travis]

Thank you for your response Steven.  I had planned on copying software from floppies to "blank disk(s)" on the GoTek.  Will I need to convert my floppies to a specified format prior to performing this?

Thanks,

Joe

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/26/21 10:30 AM, Joseph Travis wrote:
> Thank you for your response Steven. I had planned on copying software from
> floppies to "blank disk(s)" on the GoTek. Will I need to convert my
> floppies to a specified format prior to performing this?

You will need an image file of the original diskette in order to emulate it.
How do you plan to capture the image? Many of us use 'Imagedisk' to read
diskettes, but that requires an older PC with floppy controller and suitable
drive mechanisms. If you only have the Heath hardware this will be
considerably more work, but still possible. Can you tell us a bit more about
your proposed work flow?

While we obviously won't have images of your personal data and programs, it's
possible that system diskettes and applications are already available. Again,
need to know more about your situation.

Steve

[Steven Hirsch]

Here are the photos documenting my installation of a 0.91" OLED display in a
Gotek unit:

http://bit.ly/gotekmod

Let me know if you (or anyone else) has any questions or suggestions?

[Douglas Miller]

I've always wondered about this... With the soft-sector Gotek to can write, correct? So if you have one real floppy drive you should be able to copy from a diskette into a Gotek image file, right?

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/26/21 7:52 PM, Douglas Miller wrote:
> I've always wondered about this... With the soft-sector Gotek to can write,
> correct? So if you have one real floppy drive you should be able to copy from
> a diskette into a Gotek image file, right?

Correct, but using HxC firmware you still need to create an HFE file with the
correct geometry and format description. FlashFloppy can use an HFE, but also
offers the option of describing the diskette layout in a config file on the
USB stick. The description can be keyed to the image file by size and/or
substring in the file name. But, either way you need to account for the
specifics of the format.

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

Joe,

I added some H37 images here that you can try: http://koyado.com/Heathkit/H8-Z37_files/Gotek%20files.zip

Unzipped the file and copy such files into a USB flash drive and boot from it.

Norby

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Subject: Re: [sebhc] GoTek soft sector formats...

 

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[Mike Enkelis]

Correct.

I do this all the time, copying from floppy disk drives (3.25”) to the GoTEK and from GoTEK back to real floppy disk.

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From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of norberto.collado koyado.com <norberto...@koyado.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 5:08:32 PM

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/26/21 8:08 PM, norberto.collado koyado.com wrote:
> Joe,
>
> I added some H37 images here that you can try: http://koyado.com/Heathkit/H8-Z37_files/Gotek%20files.zip
>
> Unzipped the file and copy such files into a USB flash drive and boot from it.

And, if you erase the diskette from CP/M you have a workable image to copy
your files to. It would still be a good idea to break out the characteristics
(# of secs/track, sec size, interleave, etc.) and have them on hand in case
you need to build an image from scratch.

[Darrell Pelan]

I attached an updated guide I created for using the Gotek on a Heathkit system. I really recommend using the OLED display since it is much easier to read file names rather than numbers to know what data you are using. The 3D cases in the document allow for an additional button so you can easily select the file to use.  You can use the H8DUtility version 2.2 to manage CP/M files and H8D formats. The H8DUtility allows you to add and extract files from H37, IMD, and H8D images. Once you have the disk image you want to use, you can use the  HXC Floppy Emulator software to create an HFE image to use in the emulator. 

The Z-100 uses the H37 format for CP/M. I can create a ZDOS image if you need it, but I don't currently have a way to extract files on a Windows system short of connecting the emulator to one of my Windows 95 systems.

Darrell

[Darrell Pelan]

The H8DUtility will create blank images for you in several CP/M formats.

[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/26/21 10:38 PM, Darrell Pelan wrote:
> I attached an updated guide I created for using the Gotek on a Heathkit
> system. I really recommend using the OLED display since it is much easier
> to read file names rather than numbers to know what data you are using. The
> 3D cases in the document allow for an additional button so you can easily
> select the file to use. You can use the H8DUtility version 2.2 to manage
> CP/M files and H8D formats. The H8DUtility allows you to add and extract
> files from H37, IMD, and H8D images. Once you have the disk image you want
> to use, you can use the HXC Floppy Emulator software to create an HFE
> image to use in the emulator.
>
> The Z-100 uses the H37 format for CP/M. I can create a ZDOS image if you
> need it, but I don't currently have a way to extract files on a Windows
> system short of connecting the emulator to one of my Windows 95 systems.

Thanks, Darrell. I would again mention a series of photos I took to document
a simple installation method for placing a 0.91" OLED in the original Gotek case:

bit.ly/gotekmod

Comments and questions welcome.

[Darrell Pelan]

Hi Steve,

Your pictures were excellent and a nice way to add the display. I will need to get the cutting tip you showed. Much better than the ball cutter that came with my Dremel. Is there room for another button in the original case?

The 3D printed case takes about 25 hours of printing time! But it does help justify the printer :-)

  Darrell

[Joseph Travis]

Thank you ALL for your kind assistance!

Steve - In photo24.jpg it is difficult to see if the jumpers are connected together or if they are 2 separate jumpers. 

I had already soldered in a couple headers and used a jumper plug for Flash Enable.  Do I need to connect it to +5VDC?

Norbert - Thank you for the disk images.  All of my soft sector floppies and drives are 80 track

I will let you all know how it goes (please bear with me as sometimes I'm a little slow and easily sidetracked).

Regards,

Joe

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 1/27/21 3:42 PM, Joseph Travis wrote:

> Steve - In photo24.jpg it is difficult to see if the jumpers are connected
> together or if they are 2 separate jumpers.
> I had already soldered in a couple headers and used a jumper plug for Flash
> Enable. Do I need to connect it to +5VDC?

Ooops. That picture is not very clear, is it? It's two separate jumpers,
which is required for write of FlashFloppy firmware using DFU (USB A-A
connection). This is described in great detail in the FlashFloppy wiki.

Only one of the jumpers is required for USB-Serial programming, so I'm
guessing that's the way you did it?

Those metal jumpers in the photo are cut from a paper clip. They're springy
enough to make the necessary connections for programming. Much faster and
simpler than soldering in headers.

I'll re-shoot the jumpering photos to make it clearer.

Steve