68kMLA Classic Interface

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IIc with internal FloppyEMU
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-14 07:31:45 i spent a couple days building parts to mount a floppyEMU inside my IIc. (I’m on furlough waiting out the strike(s) in hollywood and need to keep busy.) This is 100% a non-destructive edit; i pulled the original drive and set it to the side for posterity; the new pieces use only the existing space and opening, exactly no changes were made to the IIc at all. The structure is a series of pieces: a frame to hold the floppyEMU and a Noisy Disk, a side piece to catch the keyboard tabs (as per the original drive cage), and a new face. The new face holds displaced parts from the FloppyEMU: an extension cable allows the SD card to be easily removed from its own floppy-drive-style slot, bodge wires transfer the button functions. The entire screen was moved to become a flip-unit--down for travel and up for use, with a little arm that clicks into place. I used wrap wire to extend the screen. I practiced that rewiring on a couple identical cheap screens from AliExpress, Steve himself told me where to look (the final product made him laugh). The screen is incomplete because my original raster/bezel printed janky, i need to redesign it. (I spent way too long over-engineering that screen... at one point it popped out on a little pantograph assembly, god forgive me. In the end, i went really simple. Low Tech is the Best Tech.) It works great and is super satisfying. (At current, this precludes use of the FloppyEMU’s SmartPort function; maybe i will work up a cable and a switch for version 2.) custom IIc-style GamePad based on Blondihack’s work*.
Posted by: cheesestraws on 2023-07-14 07:59:34 That's really neat! Well done.
Posted by: joshc on 2023-07-14 08:35:36 Oh this is excellent, well done indeed. Something like this for a SE/30 or IIci would be cool.
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-14 09:10:13 Oh this is excellent, well done indeed. Something like this for a SE/30 or IIci would be cool. honestly, a headless floppyEMU that could fit into a 3.5" drive’s space would be fantastic... I have tried engineering something that could pop-out a compact mac floppy slot, but there’s just not enough space to work with. This was only viable because the IIc floppy has such a big face.
Posted by: LaPorta on 2023-07-14 09:22:47 That is incredibly awesome! Can’t make that work on the IIc+, regrettably…
Posted by: magnusfalkirk on 2023-07-14 11:29:28 Looks really good. Though I have to agree with LaPorta that it probably wouldn't work for the //c+.
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-14 12:17:16 Looks really good. Though I have to agree with LaPorta that it probably wouldn't work for the //c+. serious question, could you put a IIc+ into a IIc case…? swap the back panel, and maybe plug the volume knob opening…?
Posted by: LaPorta on 2023-07-14 12:22:23 How about the built-in PSU issue?
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-14 12:26:47 How about the built-in PSU issue? i thought that would be covered by swapping the back... but nope. the power switch is moved to the top case. sorry IIc+ folks, you're stuck with the external solution.
Posted by: LaPorta on 2023-07-14 12:36:34 ..,until we find a way to get it in place internally in trade for the 800k!
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-14 13:16:47 ..,until we find a way to get it in place internally in trade for the 800k! i must allow, it’s been a few years and parts have gotten thinner. it’s crazy enough, it just might work...
Posted by: François on 2023-07-14 15:05:08 Someone done it already: https://twitter.com/x/status/1423310486372769796 The fake floppy disk is not removable, ejects halfway only, contains the screen, buttons, sd card reader, and is connected via a ribbon cable to the circuit board inside the drive enclosure. The drive itself is stripped of almost all mechanical parts, retaining only the eject mechanism.
Posted by: magnusfalkirk on 2023-07-16 10:02:12 Interesting. I bought the Apple version of the Fujinet and have it plugged into the port on the back of my //c+. To boot it I just turn on the computer wait fir it to say' check startup device' and then do the three finger salute to boot the Fujinet.
Posted by: micheledipaola on 2023-07-18 01:09:24 @AEChadwick that's insanely great 😀 Now I am curious about the next improvements! After this, if someone definitely better than me at it would ever find a way to use a phone power bank and the other needed components to replace the internal PSU (IIc+) or internal transformer (IIc) we could achieve a true modern laptop decades after the IIc launch... There should be a talk at the AppleFest about this, I will try to understand what they are proposing!
Posted by: AEChadwick on 2023-07-18 06:22:37 @AEChadwick that's insanely great 😀 Now I am curious about the next improvements! After this, if someone definitely better than me at it would ever find a way to use a phone power bank and the other needed components to replace the internal PSU (IIc+) or internal transformer (IIc) we could achieve a true modern laptop decades after the IIc launch... There should be a talk at the AppleFest about this, I will try to understand what they are proposing! modestly, "next improvement" for me is "add a switch to the face and a cable to the inside to enable a switch-to-smartport option"
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