Difference between revisions of "Vortex Disc Drives"

Revision as of 13:04, 25 May 2022

Disc drives from Vortex, with 80 tracks and 720K capacity (704K available).

S- and D-Drives (720K/disk)

These are the first generation of disc drives from Vortex. The interface supports either a single ("S" variant) or two ("D" variant) drives having 80 tracks. Additionally, a 3" FD-1 can be connected as third drive, ie. unlike most other CPC disk interfaces it supports more than 2 drives. With VDOS only two drives are accessible at one time. These drives interface with their own FDC can be used with the CPC 6128 to use different I/O ports (see below).

TO BE CONFIRMED: Does the interface fully decode US0/US1 from NEC765 and if you select unit 3 which drive is accessed.

F1 - S Single 5.25" drive with power supply connected via ribbon cable to interface with NEC765 and VDOS 1.0 or 2.11
F1 - D Double 5.25" drive with power supply connected via ribbon cable to interface with NEC765 and VDOS 1.0 or 2.11
M1 - S Single 3.5" drive with power supply connected via ribbon cable to interface with NEC765 and VDOS 1.0 or 2.11
M1 - D Double 3.5" drive with power supply connected via ribbon cable to interface with NEC765 and VDOS 1.0 or 2.11

Vortex F1-D with CPC 6128 Interface

Z-Drives (180K/side)

These are less expensive low-capacity drives from Vortex, for use on CPC 664/6128 or CPC 464 with DDI-1 (ie. on computers that already have a FDC and AMSDOS). There doesn't seem to be anything special about this product, just an off-the-shelf disk drive, shipped with a CPC-specific connection cable. Since this drive fully relies on AMSDOS, only 40 tracks can be accessed.

F1 - Z Single 5.25" drive with power supply with ribbon cable (does not come with interface containing FDC or VDOS)
M1 - Z Single 3.5" drive with power supply with ribbon cable (does not come with interface containing FDC or VDOS)

Vortex F1-Z

X-Drives (720K/disk)

These are the latest drives from Vortex for use on CPC 664/6128 or CPC 464 with DDI-1 (ie. on computers that already have a FDC). Only single-drive variants were available. The |S command (for accessing a third drive) is no longer used, the new |X command allows to swap drive A and B (same as X-DDOS from Dobbertin). These drives are well designed and strong. They are housed in a metal case with power supply (which has good protection with fuses) and have good quality drive mechanisms. The drive has jumpers on it that can be configured as needed.

F1 - X Single 80 track, Double Sided, 5.25" drive with power supply and ribbon cable which connects to interface containing VDOS 2.0
M1 - X Single 80 Track, Double Sided, 3.5" drive with power supply and ribbon cable which connects to interface containing VDOS 2.0
F1 - XRS same as F1-X, upgraded with RS232 interface
M1 - XRS same as M1-X, upgraded with RS232 interface

Vortex F1-X
Vortex F1-X with Manual and Driver Disk
Vortex F1-X Backside

Vortex M1-X
Front of Vortex M1-X
Underneath the Vortex M1-X
Inside the Vortex M1-X showing the drive and power
Back of Vortex M1-X showing connectors and power.
Back of Vortex M1-X showing IDC connection
Inside Vortex M1-X with a close up of the drive from above
Inside Vortex M1-X with a close up of the back of the drive

Vortex Add-ons

Vortex X-Modul (adding RS232 support to -X drives)
VDOS 2.0 (upgrading older drives to VDOS 2.0)
Second drive unit (for upgrading a single -S drive to a dual -D drive)

I/O Ports

 Standard Addresses (same as used by AMSDOS):
   FB7Eh 765 FDC (internal) Status Register (R)
   FB7Fh 765 FDC (internal) Data Register (R/W)
   FA7Eh Floppy Motor On/Off Flipflop
 Special Addresses (secondary FDC):
   FBF6h 765 FDC (Vortex,ext) Status Register (Read)
   FBF7h 765 FDC (Vortex,ext) Data Register (R/W)
   FA7Eh Floppy Motor On/Off Flipflop (nearly same as normal, bit precise)
 (The Special addresses are mentioned in the manual
 for the Vortex -X drives) (but apparently they are referring
 to other/older Vortex drives, not the -X drives)

The Special addresses are used only on CPC 664/6128 and only if the Vortex drive includes an FDC chip.

The X drive has a different PCB than the PCB for the S, the manual describes connecting the DDI-1 interface to the X drive interface and a 'decoder-ROM' which defines the I/O decoding?

Note1: The -Z and -X drives do not include FDC chips.
Note2: The -S and -D drives do reportedly work only on CPC 464 (?).

So, not sure if/when the Special addresses are used at all?

 RS232 Ports (for -X drives with RS232)
   FADC/FADD=Serial Data/Control
   FBDC/FBDD/FBDF=Counter 0/1/Mode.
 So it's probably compatible with Amstrad/Pace 
 (and probably also including, but not using,
 Channel B Ports FADE/FADF and FBDE).

Vortex Disk Format

See VDOS

The Vortex -Z drives do not seem to include any VDOS ROM (so they do support only normal 40-Track AMSDOS Formats, but NOT the 80-Track Vortex format).

Pictures

Vortex Disc Drive Interfaces
A anonymous box houses the controller
Look inside the controller, with 765 chip, connection for F1 disc drive, and VDOS (upgraded to v2.0)
Controller with VDOS mounted
F1-D Interface Board (CPC 6128), showing NEC 765 and VDOS
F1-D Interface (CPC 664)
F1-D Interface Board (CPC 664) Front
F1-D Interface Board (CPC 664) Backside