Changes

People in Germany use the CENTRONICS type connectors also some of the cpc PLUS range use Centronics. Centronics users need a different kind of cable.

- a pc 3.5" floppy drive

- tape

By some amazing luck the 6128/664 use the exact same floppy-connector as a old 5.25" pc floppy drive. So all you need to connect up is a old style pc floppy cable that has both the old style 5.25" large edge connector and new style 3.5" small pc floppy connector.

3. cheat a modern pc powersupply to think a motherboard is present. Fooling a modern powersupply isnt really that hard .. all

u need is to connect the GREEN wire (ready signal) with one of the BLACK wires (ground). This works with both the 20 pin powersupplys and the newer 24 pin ones. Here is a shot of my 20 pin one:

Connected the green pin 14 wire with the black pin 13 wire. Note that i used pin 13 just because it was right next to pin 14 .. but any other black wire will work just as well.

The newer 24 pin powersupply can be fixed just like that, but note that the green wire is pin 16 on the 24 pin one. So a possible setup on the 24 pin setup could be green pin 16 connected with black pin 15.

All u do is basicly the same as if you would hook up a FD1 drive to a cpc 6128. No soldering or disassembly required. Just hook up the cable to the DRIVE connetor on the Amstrad and the Floppy drive to the next edge connector on the cable.

Pretty hard to get it wrong as the edge connector only fits one way and usually the same is said the floppy connector. BUT .. there IS a few floppy drives that have the pins upside down, so u might need to twist the cable around once .. most likely not tho.

Note that this type of pc cable usually has some internally twisted cables .. make sure the CPC/PC does NOT have the twisted bit between them.

Last thing you need to do is set the ready signal. This is done by connecting pin 33 and 34. Its the last 2 pins on the cable. Use a bend paperclip or a small wire to short the 2 pins like so (Marked in WHITE):

Thats it. Now u SHOULD have a fully working 3.5" B drive.

Another closeup of all 3 pairs of pins without doodlin:

== And up and running ==

Transfering software between CPC and PC:

Seems to me that only the Amstrad is picky about if u use 1.44mb or 720kb floppies .. the pc has no such troubles, so ANY floppy drive may work on pc (from my experience). Also the tape-down-1.44-to-720-floppy-fix works on pc too.

Using a whole pc to power the floppy is getting annoing and uncompfy, so my brain has been thinking in overdrive to come up with a solution.

1. use a normal external-IDE-HDD-USB-enclosure to power the drive .. All you need it the enclosure (with its powersupply) .. then fit a Y-split cable (a IDE-power to Floppy-power one). This is possible if u can find the Y-split cable:

2. use a usb-floppy drive .. dissassemble it and hook it up to pc or Wii or xbox 360 or pc or .. Donno if this is possible .. or if you need yet another type of Y-cable or other. Would look nice with one of them slimline usb-drives.