Replace floppy drive by Gotek in Turbo-R

Master (253)

19-01-2023, 21:21

Hi!

My Turbo-R's floppy drive isn't working (I replaced the belt, but I think it's a problem with the header's alignment). Furthermore, most of the floppy disks I had has also stopped working. I have seen that the floppy drive can be replaced by a Gotek and that it emulates floppy disks well via USB.

Has anyone made the change? Is it complicated?

I have also seen that there is the Gotek page (https://www.gotekemulator.com/) where there are many models and the page (https://www.gotek-retro.eu/shop-gotek/) that I found when googling for 'Gotek MSX' and it seems that they do the adaptation for MSX. Is it true? What provider do you recommend? Is a special cable to adapt the pinout needed?

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3603)

20-01-2023, 00:13

You need the adapter from the original ribbon cable to the standard floppy cable.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304600904021

Then just install the Gotek with FlashFloppy instead of the original drive and that's it.

By jepmsx

Master (253)

20-01-2023, 10:04

Thanks Wierzbowsky, that board solves all my problems.

By the way, which do you like most, a gotek with oled screen or with segments?

I've seen that there is a lot in ebay and aliexpress, I understand that it is open hardware and there are many providers. Do you have a preferred one?

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3603)

26-01-2023, 02:04

OLED of course. No, I don't have preferred sellers.

By gdx

Enlighted (6215)

26-01-2023, 12:35

Put a Gotek in a turbo R implies to cut out the case, is not.

By Jipe

Paragon (1614)

26-01-2023, 15:55

is that the gotek has the diskchange signal which is needed for the turbo r ?

By jepmsx

Master (253)

27-01-2023, 09:58

I don't know if Gotek fits in TurboR, but I had thought to use a long flat cable and pass it through the hole of the floppy drive and use Gotek externally to avoid damaging the case.

Jipe, the diskchange signal is one of the pin out of the Turbo-R? The one that I found is:
pin
Signal
1
+5V
2
+5V
3
N.C.
4
+5V
5
+5V
6
Ready
7
GND
8
GND
9
Side Select (Select Head)
10
GND
11
Read Data
12
Write Protect
13
Track 00
14
Write Gate (Write Enable)
15
GND
16
Write Data
17
GND
18
Step
19
Direction
20
Motor ON (Motor Enable)
21
N.C.
22
Drive Select
23
Index
24
Disk Change

In the pc, I've found the following pin out:
Pin No. Signal name Description
1 Ground --
2 /REDWC Density Select 1=Low/0=High
3 Ground --
4 N/C Reserved
5 Ground --
6 N/C Reserved
7 Ground --
8 /Index 0=Index
9 Ground --
10 /MOTEA 0=Motor Enable Drive 0
11 Ground --
12 /DRVSB Drive Select 1
13 Ground --
14 /DRVSB Drive Select 0
15 Ground --
16 /MOTEB 0=Motor Enable Drive 1
17 Ground --
18 /DIR 0=Direction Select
19 Ground --
20 /Step 0=Head Step
21 Ground --
22 /WDATE Write Data
23 Ground --
24 /WGATE Floppy Write Enable, 0=Write Gate
25 Ground --
26 /TRK00 0=Track 00
27 Ground --
28 /WPT 0=Write Protect
29 Ground --
30 /RDATA Read Data
31 Ground --
32 /SIDE1 0=Head Select
33 Ground --
34 /DSKCHG 1=Disk Change/0=Ready

So, Turbo-R pin 24 must be connected to pin 34. Am I right?

By gdx

Enlighted (6215)

27-01-2023, 14:20

In the turbo R, the face of the drive is on the right side and it is covered by the case. This is the worst configuration for a Gotek (OLED screen, wheel, etc).

By Jipe

Paragon (1614)

27-01-2023, 16:47

So, Turbo-R pin 24 must be connected to pin 34. Am I right?
it's not that simple you also need a ready signal
you have to modify a PC floppy disk drive to have the 2 signals
an amiga floppy drive has both signals

By jepmsx

Master (253)

27-01-2023, 17:42

Thanks gdx for the explanation about the case.

Oh, I see that pin-34 in the PC is for DiskChange and Ready and these are split in Turbo-R. So in place of a Gotek for generic PC, I should look for a Gotek for Amiga. Is that so?

By Jipe

Paragon (1614)

27-01-2023, 17:57

see this link : http://msx68.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-37.html