Vortex Disc Drives

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A series of external 3.5"/5.25" disc drives from Vortex with up to 720K capacity (704K available).

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

These are the first generation of floppy disc drives from Vortex. They came in variants having either a single ("S" variant) or two ("D" variant) 80-track drives (BASF 6138). 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. The drives interfacing with their own FDC can be used with the CPC 6128 to use different I/O ports (see below).

Variants

  • 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 basic and less expensive low-capacity drives and were meant to be directly connected to a CPC 664/6128 or CPC 464 with DDI-1 (ie. on computers that already provide a floppy controller). Since these drives do not ship with a special controller, they do rely fully on AMSDOS and thus only 40 tracks can be accessed.

Variants

  • 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.

Variants

  • 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 with Manual and Driver Disk

  • Vortex F1-X Backside

  • 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

Accessories

Vortex X-Modul

Adds RS-232 support to -X drives.

Second drive unit

Allows to upgrade a single -S drive to a dual -D drive.

Third drive adapter

Allows to connect an additional 3" drive in between a CPC 464 and a F1-D. Since only two drives can be accessed the drive had to be switched manually.

  • Adapter to connect an additional 3" disc drive in between a CPC 464 and a F1-D

  • Inside the adapter box

  • Inside the adapter box (closeup)

Technical Details

Vortex Disk Format

See VDOS

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)

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.

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 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).

Pictures

  • Vortex Disc Drive Interfaces

  • An anonymous box housing the controller board

  • Look inside the controller, a NEC 765 chip and VDOS upgraded to v2.0

  • Controller with mounted VDOS chip

  • 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

Manuals

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