Re: CFFA for IIc and IIc+?

[Sheppy <the.sheppy@gmail.com>]

On Apr 8, 10:22 am, "a2retro" <a2re...@a2central.com.remove-9z2-this>
wrote:


> 2) Support for various //c models... where do you start? my own
> initial inclination was to only support the //c models that have a
> memory expansion bus. Of course it's not too hard to stretch the design
> to support the older models .. Just more flavors with additional board
> space and hardware.

I personally expect to probably use this in a IIc+, although now that
I think about it, since I really want to be using it with 5.25" disks
as a disk writing machine, it would be more space efficient to use a
IIc with a built-in 5.25" drive instead, even though I don't currently
have one.  However, at least for me, since I'd be picking up one to
use with this interface, I can make sure I get the right kind, so this
isn't a big deal for me personally.

However, for the sake of making it easier for customers to use your
hardware, the more models you work with the better.  It's really a
cost/benefit analysis issue.  At what point does the hardware become
to complex and/or expensive to be worth the added customer benefit?

> 3) While I am on the subject of the memory expansion bus, lets not throw
> the baby out with the bath water. I felt early on, I wanted to include
> what I was possibly replacing since there is only room for one card at a
> time. Would someone want to leave out the 1MB Memory card they have
> grown used to in favor of a CF/SDCard? This is why I started with
> emulating the 1MB memory card when I started my project. (I know CB has
> 512KB of SRAM which is a good thing :)

I personally don't have a memory expansion card (unless there's one
seated in the IIc+ that I don't know of), so this doesn't matter a
huge amount to me.  However, I think putting at least a small amount
of memory onto the card would be a wise move.  Even 256K would make it
a lot more comfortable for more folks to use.

> 5) Available Power compared to other Apple II models: I could not find a
> reference to what the available power is at the memory connector.
> Finding low power devices has been something I have activly kept in
> mind. I have also made an assumption that a SDcard would be preferable
> to a CF card for disk storage from both a power consumption and a
> physical board space aspect. Still considering whether to use a regular
> SDCard vs MicroSD card socket.

I think these design decisions don't have a lot of impact on the end
user of the product, other than any power issues that might impact the
reliability of the product in edge cases.  The type of flash module
used isn't a huge issue, although I think SD would be preferable given
the size issue.  MicroSD might be good too, for space reasons,
although I'd personally prefer SD just because it's easier to use from
my perspective (MicroSD is just too tiny!).

> 6) Accessibility to the card and peripherals:  When looking at the
> physical aspects of an implementation the following questions also come
> to mind.
>     Are you willing to crack the case open every time you want to swap
> out a CF or SDCard?

It's not hard to crack the case, and I think most people would use
this more like a hard drive than a swappable media drive anyway.  I'd
be content to not have access to the card.

>     Would you entertain case mods to enable outside access to the media?

That would be a turn-off for me, unless it was optional.

>     Forgo the internal drive?

No, the internal drive is one of the major draws to the IIc.

>     Run external cables?

If it can be done without case mods, I can see this as a possibly
viable option, although I'm not convinced case mods can be avoided if
external cables are going to be involved.

Sheppy