[Coco] How about a new FDD Controller?

[Steve Ostrom]

Jim Cox wrote:

> Besides time, money, and interest, what are the major obstacles to 
> someome building a new Floppy Controller for the CoCo?
>
> From what I understand, it's primarily just finding or making a 
> replacement for the Western Digital chip.  If people are attempting to 
> make and PFGA version of the 6X09 and the GIME, shouldn't the Western 
> Digital chip be easier?
>
> Also, if someone were to build a new controller, would it be possible 
> to design it in such a way that 1.2M 5.25" drives could be used to 
> replace the older 360K 5.25" drives?  I know there are actually 
> differences that prevent using the 1.2M drives with current 
> controllers, but could there be some "tweaks" in the firmware of the 
> controller to get around this?
>
> DriveWire is nice, but it only works for NitrOS, and while I plan to 
> use it for that, I would also like to work with DECB  stuff too.
>
> Isn't someone developing a USB controller for the CoCo? If so, could 
> one of those USB 3.5" floppies be used with it?
>
> Jim Cox
>
Would it be difficult to give the user more control, similar to 
catweasel so that copies could be made of old protected software disks 
before they rot away.  I have never been a real lover of playing games, 
but Marty's Nightmare was probably my all-time favorite, and only a very 
few were ever made.  It is copy protected.  Many, many years ago I was 
able to make a few copies of my original disk using COPYIIPC and the 
transcopy board in an old IBM PC, but those copies will someday cease to 
work.

-- Steve --