I have a smallish collection of 3.5 and 5.25 disks in a variety of DOS, Apple II, Amstrad, Kaypro, etc. formats I’d like to image. But I have no machines with floppy drive support. My working system is a 64-bit machine with Ubuntu Linux and USB support.

Do I need to look at GreaseWeasel and/or KryoFlux? I’d also need 3.5 and 5.25 drives, presumably a power supply, and what else?

Does anyone have experience with this?

Nathanael Culver
*HUMONGOUS* CP/M

There are floppy drives mounted in a plastic case with a USB interface cable out the back. They do not need a power supply since they get power from USB. They are not expensive on Amazon.

On Monday, December 4, 2023 at 3:42:58 AM UTC+8, Tom Szolyga wrote:
> There are floppy drives mounted in a plastic case with a USB interface cable out the back. They do not need a power supply since they get power from USB. They are not expensive on Amazon.

Thanks, but I’m not looking just to access the contents (and I don’t think I can access all the various formats). I want to image the disks themselves.

Nathanel,
Of course the Kruoflux is a VERY GOOD Choice, but at Premium Pricing!
https://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=853

I'd think the GreaseWeazle Ver 4 in a 3D Printed Case would work just as well for you.
I carry one with me as I winter in Arizona. My Debian 64 Bit works fine with the GreaseWeazle.
I purchased mine from Tindie:
https://www.tindie.com/products/emmybear/greaseweazle-v41-fully-assembled/

Along with the HxC Software, you can create just about any kind of image from the file
created with the GreaseWeazle/Kryoflux.

I build the latest version of HxC Software from this URL:
https://github.com/jfdelnero/HxCFloppyEmulator

(This used to be on Sourceforge at: https://sourceforge.net/p/hxcfloppyemu/code/HEAD/tree/)
https://github.com/jfdelnero/HxCFloppyEmulator

Larry

On 12/3/23 08:58, Nathanael wrote:
> I have a smallish collection of 3.5 and 5.25 disks in a variety of DOS,
> Apple II, Amstrad, Kaypro, etc. formats I’d like to image. But I have no
> machines with floppy drive support. My working system is a 64-bit machine
> with Ubuntu Linux and USB support.
>
> Do I need to look at GreaseWeasel and/or KryoFlux? I’d also need 3.5 and
> 5.25 drives, presumably a power supply, and what else?
>
> Does anyone have experience with this?

I own both. Get the GreaseWeazle.

I’ll probably go with GreaseWeazle, then. But does anyone have any experience with the FluxEngine hardware or software?

I don’t have any hardware, so I’m looking at both 5.25 and 3.5 drives on eBay. I don’t anticipate needing to write out disks in the future, only read them and I’ve read that a HD 5.25 will read cleaner than a DD.

I’ll also need a PS with Molex connector to power the 5.25, but I understand the Greaseweazle will power the 3.5. I’ll also need a 34-pin data cable. And the 3.5 also needs to be 34-pin, not IDE/ATA, correct?

Anything I’m missing?

On Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 9:25:05 AM UTC+8, ldkr...@gmail.com wrote:
> Nathanael,
> I think you have it all covered except for a 3D Printed case for the Greaseweazle. I get the 34 Conductor
> cables from EBAY. I use a SPARE Molex Connector in my Desktop to power the 5.25" Floppy Drive. My
> Desktop also has a SPARE BERG Connector for the 3.5" Floppy Drive.
>
> I do also have a Fluxengine, and have used it a little. I prefer the Greaseweazle over the Fluxengine, but
> that may not be your choice.
>
> I have previously communicated with you via email. Contact me at gmail. ldkr...@gmail.com
>
> Larry

What I'd like is a case that will house the 3.5, 5.25 and Greaseweazle (power supply would be a bonus). Unfortunately, I don't have a 3D printer :( so I'm out of luck.

> I have previously communicated with you via email

I did a quick search and found one from last April (yikes!) about IBM-3740 formats. Is that the one? Sorry I missed it. I have a half dozen email active email addresses and unfortunately, things get by me too often. My bad. I'll reply to that one.

--Nathanael