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Project: CFFA for Apple II, II+, IIe, IIe enh, IIgs

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: Jan 1, 2010: HD and Floppy images running from USB flash drives

The CFFA3000 can now boot, read, and write from HD and floppy image files stored on common USB flash drives. The flash drive can be formatted FAT16 or FAT32. Currently .PO and .NIB files are supported. There is still a great deal of supporting code to be written and tested and some flash drives don't work so they will need to be debugged. Also a second prototype will be needed to correct a few bugs and add a couple small features.

Pictured below is the first prototype CFFA3000 PCB: CFFA3000 PCB Assembled -Rich

I am looking to gauge interest in this product. If you think you would be interested in purchasing an advanced CFFA type card with floppy emulation and a couple of other goodies, please let me know. Send me an E-mail. I am hoping to have something ready to release by the middle of 2010.

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.