3.5" floppy needed

phelixoflaherty

Where could one buy a 2nd hand one?

Needed for old CNC m/c.

Thanks

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058299300/3-5-floppy-needed

Seems to be some new old stock on Amazon but most of it doens't look cheap. E-Bay probably best best.

purplepanda

There's usually some on Ebay for sale.

Many companies with legacy floppy drive equipment now use floppy drive USB storage emulators, you can store hundreds, even thousands of floppy drive images on one USB stick, handy for easily loading data information stored on FD's.

I often update old keyboards, samplers & other audio machines to FD USB emulators.

Lots of old legacy computer equipment can also have their SCSI or other hard drives upgraded to modern drives with a new fitted interface.

Many of the old FD drives will start to fail sooner or later so best to back up important data.

Save FD images to your computer as backup, finding the exact replacement floppy disk drives for your machine can be troublesome if the drive fails. You'll sometimes even have to play with the jumper settings & even solder a few wires inside to get another FD to work with your machines.

You can move over to a FD emulator easily enough IF your FD fails, if you have your FD images saved.

Tow

Adverts, ebay etc for a cheap one.

Make sure you check what the machine actually supports, it may only handle 720k Double Sided Double Density etc.

As purplepanda says there are also various converters to modern standards available, these are designed to upgrade older experience equipment with floppy storage.

PommieBast

Longer-term an emulator module is the best solution if the machine is intended to stay in comission. Just hope that it is not one of those that uses some ghastly proprietry electrical interface.

Was a nice article in the FT last year about how the 1.44" is (was?) still extensively used in Japan. Need to dig up the link though..

Not surprised at Japan there, although they have been great innovators there are sone surprising ways in which they love old tech & methods.

phelixoflaherty

Well wadda ya know, listening to BBC radio 4 earlier

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001mljl?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Spear

It'd be easier and more convenient to move to something like a Gotek. USB isn't going anywhere for a long time yet.