A couple of setup / cable questions
#1
I have ordered my Supercard Pro, and in the meantime am sorting out the needed cables / 3.5" floppy drive. It is in this regard that I have a few questions.

1. I've obtained a 3.5" floppy drive ribbon cable, but notice that there is no hole for pin 3 at both ends. This isn't an issue for the drive end, but notice that the Supercard Pro has a full set of pins. Will I need a different cable with a full set of holes? If so, would one from an Amiga be ok?

2. I have looked through the manual, but did not see if the board had to be unpowered before connecting the drive? I was planning to connect the board to the drive (both power and data) and then connect the USB cable from the board to the PC. Would it be an issue if I had the board connected via USB and I then either disconnected or connected the drive (data &/or power)?

3. The only female to female floppy drive power cables I can find are the internal ones from an Amiga. I assume these are suitable? My only other option seems to be making one myself from two Floppy to Molex PC power cables.

Sorry if any of these seem like stupid questions. I'm primarily a software guy, so am a little unsure when it comes to cables and such! Any help with these questions is much appreciated - thank you!
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#2
The SuperCard Pro board is missing pin 5 - it does not have a full set of pins.

I connect/disconnect the drive power and ribbon all of the time with the power on, but if you accidentally cross match pins, you will damage the board. So, if this is a concern to you then you should make sure that there is no power going to the board and/or drive while connecting cables.

Any 3.5" molex connector will work. I sell the floppy power adapters.
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#3
(11-03-2014, 09:53 AM)admin Wrote: The SuperCard Pro board is missing pin 5 - it does not have a full set of pins.

I connect/disconnect the drive power and ribbon all of the time with the power on, but if you accidentally cross match pins, you will damage the board. So, if this is a concern to you then you should make sure that there is no power going to the board and/or drive while connecting cables.

Any 3.5" molex connector will work. I sell the floppy power adapters.
Thanks for the answers!

I only asked about pin 3 because I saw a full set of pins in the pictures from the SuperCard Pro manual; I assume it has been updated since then? Good to know though; saves me buying another cable unnecessarily!

Thanks for the clarification on connections to the drive with power on. I don't see myself cross matching the pins, but just wanted to know if I was ok to connect / disconnect stuff ad hoc.

I didn't realise (but should have!) that the 3.5" Power Splitter also works as a drive to drive (or in my case, board to drive) cable.

Thanks again. Can't wait for my board to arrive now! Smile
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#4
(11-03-2014, 09:53 AM)admin Wrote: The SuperCard Pro board is also missing pin 3 - it does not have a full set of pins.

I have received my SuperCard Pro board today - many thanks.

Unfortunately, the board is missing pin 5, not pin 3 (see picture), so my existing floppy cable is unsuitable.

[Image: Pins.jpg]

I'll order a new floppy cable tonight. I only mention this in case other users encounter the same problem, to save them some time.

I'm excited to test it, and will report back once my new cable arrives.
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#5
Pin 5 (which is the 3rd pin over) is the correct missing pin (I fixed my previous post about this). I went back and checked my inventory of boards and some floppy drives, and this is definitely the correct pin to be missing. Your cable has the wrong hole plugged! The cables I sell don't have a plugged hole at all.
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#6
(11-12-2014, 12:12 PM)admin Wrote: Pin 5 (which is the 3rd pin over) is the correct missing pin (I fixed my previous post about this). I went back and checked my inventory of boards and some floppy drives, and this is definitely the correct pin to be missing. Your cable has the wrong hole plugged! The cables I sell don't have a plugged hole at all.

I can see the confusion because pin 5 is the 3rd one over, so it might have looked like I was referring to that one, but yeah - I have a weird cable with pin 3 blocked!

No worries though, I've ordered a cable with no plugged holes. I'm just impatient to start using the board! Smile
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