Apple IIe 3.5 inch FDD

From: Ian Primus <ian_primus_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 22 19:31:22 2003

On Monday, September 22, 2003, at 06:52 PM, peter tremewen wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Can anyone tell me the besat place to get info on the 3.5 inch
> FDD
> for the Apple IIe?? Is it possibl;e to modify a standard IBM 3.5 inch
> FDD to
> work with the apple?? Yes, I understand it would be a serious
> modification.
> Has anyonme heard of it being done?? I understand the Apple II uses a
> special drive interface, can this be conected up to the 3.5 inch drive
> hardware and be used to drive them?? It's just so much easier to
> obtain 3.5
> inch disks nowdays that a bit of fiddling around seems worth it.
>
> Hope to hear from you all soon
>
> Peter T.

Using an IBM drive would be a serious undertaking, as the recording
formats are totally different. Also, to talk to a 3.5 inch drive, you
need a special controller card in the Apple, you can't plug the drive
into a Disk II or Unidisk controller card. I have plenty of 800k Apple
drives in working order, if you want one, I'll be happy to send you one
for a few bucks plus shipping. As for the controller card, I _think_ I
have one kicking around in the basement somewhere, I'll let you know if
I find it, and someone else may be able to help you there if I can't
find it. Also, keep in mind that you can't use high density disks with
the Apple II - the drives are 800k, you need to use low density (720k
in the PC world) diskettes. High density disks can be used in a pinch
by taping over the hole, but it's not a good idea, as the media is
different enough that it won't be reliable. Another thing to think
about is that DOS 3.3 doesn't work with 3.5 inch floppy drives, only 5
1/4 drives. You will need to use ProDOS.

Ian Primus
ian_primus_at_yahoo.com
Received on Mon Sep 22 2003 - 19:31:22 BST