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CFFA for Apple II
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Project: CFFA for Apple II, II+, IIe, IIe enh, IIgs
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Project Introduction:
This page describes a project to create a CompactFlash / IDE Interface card for Apple II computers (][+, //e, //e enh or //gs) that started back in 2002. Over the years I have build 1000 CFFA cards in six batches. The card is ProDOS 8 and GS/OS compatible. With an additional driver, GS/OS users get additional partitions and speed. I did the original wire-wrap prototype over the span of several months. This project is very much a case of old technology (the Apple II computer) meets new (CompactFlash cards and Altera CPLDs). My reasoning for this project is described in detail in the Background section, but suffice it to say, I wanted to be able to pull out my old Apple II and use it from time to time to reminisce about the early days of personal computers. I wanted a reliable way to store my Apple II programs and data files for many years to come. Due to the long term reliability prospects of floppy drives, and my general laziness, I decided a mass storage device is what I needed. The Apple II was an excellent example of an open system, with unheard-of-today documentation like system schematics, firmware listings, and peripheral design tips. In the spirit of the Apple II this project is also an open project. You can download all of the software and hardware schematics for the project in the downloads section. Also the manual, in PDF format, is available.
CFFA3000 project Introduction:At the end of 2008 I sold out of my 6th run of rev 2.0 CFFA cards like the one pictured above. Instead of making another batch to meet demand, I decided it was time to design something new. The main shortcoming of the CFFA card is its lack of support for operating systems other than ProDOS. It is not possible to store and run copy protected games on the CFFA. So I decided to try desiging a new CFFA that will add a couple of new features. 1) Floppy disk emulation at the nibble level and 2) USB flash drive support for storage of .dsk files. With some major help from Dave Lyons, I believe we can get these features working. We will also be looking to add DMA support to this product.
Status Update: August 18, 2010: Second prototype PCB assembled!I completed assembling the first of the second prototype PCBs a couple days ago. Everything that I have tested so far is working as expected. There is still more testing and development of course, but so far so good. There is a lot of interest in this card and it is getting excited as progress is made. We are now to the point where we can handile .nib files and are working on .dsk files with read currently working. Also .2mg and raw images on the CF are working. No progress on DMA yet, but now the hardware is ready to work on that feature!
Pictured below is the second prototype CFFA3000 PCB:
Looking for the CFFA1 for Apple1 Project? Click Here!Great tool for CFFA users:All CFFA owners who use Windows... Andy McFadden has come out with an excellent tool called: CiderPress. This tool will allow you to read and write your CFFA formatted CF cards right on your PC. It will make an excellent backup tool. Check it out at Andy's Site Information about the "3 jumper" fix for older CFFA V1.2 cards: (Runs 1, 2, and 3) A problem as been found that explains why many CompactFlash cards have never worked with the older CFFA cards. I was motivated to find this problem when I realized that SanDisk 256MB cards were not working properly. To summarize, the address lines were changing near the end of the ATA bus cycle seen by the CF card. This seemed to be tolerated by the smaller SanDisk cards, but not the 256MB card or many other brands, like Lexar. So after much debugging I found the problem and was able to fix the problem with a new release of the CPLD logic (V1.4), and the addition of 3 "rework" jumper wires to the board. Click here to see the front of the board, and here to the back. |
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