Amiga 500 Adventures: The GoTek Drive
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- This week on 10 Minute Amiga Retro Cast I am installing a new GoTek floppy replacement from RetroReady.one - Can my brittle and decaying Amiga 500 case handle the stress? In a word... No... But we get the job done anyway.
Join me in learning about this great floppy replacement device!
Buy one at www.retroready.one
Get Worthy at www.pixelglass.org
Learn about River Raid Reloaded at www.indieretron...
Follow me on Twitter @10marc1
Got my Gotek drive today from Retro Ready. Thanks for the video to get me started
Great! Lucas, the owner is an awesome guy. His wife makes custom C64 and Amiga dust covers, too!
I just ordered the boot selector. Now it's time to look for Gotek :)
Awesome. My Goteks being shipped. Can't wait for it to arrive. 😊
They are quite useful, really! I think you will enjoy yours
Oh and I don’t know if I should say this as I believe our retro shops need and deserve our support: but for those on a tight budget then you can buy the gotek from amazon and Ebay for around 12 - 14 £/$ euros. And for a two dollar usb programmer and minimal soldering flash it yourself.
Also FlashFloppy is fantastic and can work in a different Mode with the rotary encoder allowing you to just select which adf file you want on the fly rather than preselected slots using the auto boot. This is how I use mine and I find it so much more convenient.
If a person wants to DIY this kind of stuff that is great. I know how to do things like that, and can use a soldering iron and such, but I prefer to get something that just works without requiring a bunch of hoop-jumping sometimes.
I put one in an external drive and installed a boot selector switch. I think it's a great balance between convenience, and not modernizing it to much, and keep it feel like an A500.
I agree. It still feels more authentic than emulation, yet integrates modern tech. Good stuff.
Yeah, I did the same thing. My switch is hidden behind the back right corner just above the internal floppy.
I have one in my A2000HD and I found it useful for installing software. I have other GoTek drives I have connected to my other Amiga's again using it for installing software. While my drives are functional there are times when using old disks are not the best thing to do so I decided get all my disks where possible copied to ADF format and its been a pure joy. Only thing I found frustrating was when I leave a USB Flash Drive in the GoTek and the ones I use with it are the smaller ones which don't stick out all that much. I do like the LED screen vs the numbers. I like them so much that I am going to start using them at work as I have one Injection Molding Machine and a Robot which use floppies to store setups and to reload system software. While I do have more modern equipment newer does not always translate to better (sigh) but keeping these old machines running does have its challenges. Looks like these days I eat sleep and breath RETRO.
I agree that the full screens are easier than just the numbers. I don't want to have to remember which file is which. Using them on the machines at work is a great idea - so much easier to move data to the older machines this way.
Just got my GoTek hooked up externally. Now to wait for my ACA500plus to arrive, since I hear it has boot switcher functionality built-in! Couldn't be more excited!
You will love that ACA500+ board. It is a really nice product!
As usual love the vid! been backing up my floppies to ADF for a while now and not quite finished yet and eventually might get one of these Go Tek thingies or similar device but for now I'm well stocked on good floppy drives for my various miggies and glad about that :-)
Thanks for the video! Its exactly what I needed to see!
Fantastic! I am glad it helped you out.
Just ordered one, thanks!
Wonderful to hear! They are amazing devices for sure! I own about three or four of them now.
Doug, thank you very much for your video. It's great and very informative as always!! :)
You bet! You are doing a service to our community and everyone should know about good dealers like you guys.
I have a Gotek in my a500, love it was worth every penny spent.
It is amazing how nicely they work - and the fact that we could fit most of the entire Amiga library on one USB drive is pretty cool!
Thx I just used your guide and successfully got my Gotek setup , thx 👍
Glad that it helped out, my friend!
I love my Goteks. Yes I have a few. With six failed floppy drives on my bench that I cannot seem to revive and the disks themselves being more unreliable as each day passes. I’m left with one internal drive in my vampire Amiga and two external floppy drives working.
I have to smile as I’ve been using a gotek internally with my Aca500+ Amiga that I got after watching your recommendation of it quite sometime back. I have fixed a rotary controller and mounted the LED so that I can view it easier.
Yes - I hear the rotary switch is pretty nice. I think mine will be fine, as 95% of everything I do does not require the GoTek.
Definitely, it’s a nice addition but not required. Also I’ve added the peizo speaker to all of mine just because it gets a little closer to the original.
Oh sorry I forgot to say thank you for another great video. Coming home after work to be able to watch this and relax is really great.
Hi Doug, your video is quite serendipitous as my next video is about setting up an Gotek as an external drive on the Amiga. (With a boot selector if I get that PCB finished this week). I'll link to this video to show how the Gotek works as DF0. Great that both scenarios will be covered now :)
That is great! I saw on your last video that you mentioned the GoTek.
aca500plus supports boot select, so you can configure an external drive as df0:, it's perfect use for external gotek drives without having to get rid of the internal floppy drive. that's what i do. on my amiga 500 plus the internal floppy drive still works so i wanted to keep it. so i got an external gotek drive to plug to diskport, and set df0: override to df1: bootselect.
I love my ACA500+ for so many reasons! This is also a fantastic feature of it. It matches nicely with my GoTek.
Great tutorial Doug. The gotek is an essential device as you've demonstrated. Man, I need to get an Amiga again! 😀
You don't have an Amiga? Shame on you! Hop on eBay right now and buy one! 😉
@@10MARC Got a Gotek for the A500 now. This really helped to set it up. Love it! 👍
Amiga Forever runs circles around a 68060 Amiga. I find Emulation to be the best Amiga. For one thing it is vastly cheaper than any Ebay deal on a real Amiga. $$$$$!
The Gotek is brilliant. I use it quite a bit for testing out software that I might not want to commit to the hard drive, among other things. I have a program called ADFOpus on the PC that can move files onto and off of the floppy images. Unfortunately it's a bit of a pain to use since it hasn't been updated in forever.
I've got one of these in my A500 with an external OLED stuck on top of the case, and it's worked out really well for me! After having it for almost a year though I definitely don't want to leave it the way it is. It's always felt a little... I dunno, ungraceful? When I have the time and money I'm just gonna put it in an external case, and put a real floppy drive back in the computer along with a DF0/DF1 boot switch.
I do get your point with wanting to keep things authentic. I like how mine fits so perfect in the drive way you don't notice it unless you are looking for it.
I personally like the idea of the OLED on the case - so easy to see what you are doing!
I put a Gotek drive in an external case, from a broken DF1: drive.
Works great :)
You can get a DF0/DF1 switch for your A500.
That is a great idea for re-using an old external case. I have some old 1541 and 1571 cases that would be fun to re-purpose for something like this!
@@10MARC
And it makes it easy to read the little OLED screen :)
Love your desktop wallpaper! :)
Yep - added that just for you guys! 4096 color HAM6 conversion of your nice postcard
I bought Worthy after seeing your video. Nice game, thanks for your advice :)
That is great! It is a really fun game. It is a shame it only runs in PAL, but luckily most of my Amigas have no issue switching to PAL mode
@@10MARC I live in Denmark, we have PAL here :) But I understand your issue.
With the HxC firmware for Gotek you have the on screen display support :
No need to look at the OLED screen anymore, just use the Amiga screen. And the file selector will be integrated directly in the Gotek : No need anymore to reboot the machine to select an new adf file :).
(see the video "SgBVGKGoaVU" / HxC Firmware for Gotek : New on-screen-display support : Atari STE & Amiga 500 demo)
Oh sure - the onscreen works great when you first boot up, but it is nice to be able to see they little screen while you are in Workbench and need to swap disks.
@@10MARC No, what i mean is that the new on screen display with the HxC doesn't need any software to run on the Amiga, nor OLED screen. In fact you connect the Gotek on the Amiga video signal with two wires and then you can select the image directly with the Amiga screen, without rebooting the Amiga.
See this : ruclips.net/video/SgBVGKGoaVU/видео.html
@@JeffHxC2001 huh.... I should check it out. That sounds great!
Just force thread the original floppy standoffs into the thing. It works just fine...I am using the same 3D print. I just hand forced it, then used a small pliers.
Good plan. Just use a little elbow grease!
@@10MARC That's right ;) Remember that these 3d printed parts aren't threaded at all. You have to "make" the threads. Just go strong but gentle as to not crack the print.
Nice video! I have had some ADF files show as a greyed out disk icon "df0:unitialized" on the workbench screen. Kinda' odd???
Nah. That's normal. A lot of Amiga games used a somewhat custom file structure for copy protection and would not show up correctly in Workbench. Mostly games from the 80's. As long as it boots to the virtual floppy you are ok.
I bought a AMiga RGB to VGA adapter. Do you know if I can see all the colors that the Amiga can show normally? I am wondering as I know there are modes like HAM in hires and not sure if VGA can even show all those colors.
The RGB to VGA adapters just pass thru the Amiga's normal video modes. They will not add any colors. You need some kind of RTG solution for that (Retargetable graphics)
Yes, it is possible to display HAM images in HiRes with some hardware trickery.
With the HxC firmware for Gotek you have the on screen display support : ruclips.net/video/SgBVGKGoaVU/видео.html
No need to look at the OLED screen anymore, just use the Amiga screen. And the file selector will be integrated directly in the Gotek : No need anymore to reboot the machine to select an new adf file :).
@@ceztko No, this video shows that flashfloppy use a modified version of the HxC file selector, nothing more. This is a software running on the machine to display the file image list on the usb stick. The on screen display (OSD) is different : No software is needed since the Gotek is directly driving the CRT signal to generate the screen overlay.
@@JeffHxC2001 Sorry, my message was intended to be a question but I abrubted it and sent it as you saw by mistake. In the end I found the answers I was looking for, thank you. I also deleted the original borked message.
Great guide!The device you use in this video came with the Flashfloppy or the HxC firmware?
I use the Flashfloppy firmware on all my GoTeks. It seems to work nicely.
@@10MARC I appreciate it Doug!
@@10MARC I have one more question. Does the Gotek drive works with 5V? (the wire of the 12V came off the connector so if it isn't needed I can skip fixing it.
I have 2 of these (second one now as an External). They are fine --- however disk copying would often fail.
Have not tried the new firmware --- Still on Cortex --- that may be the problem ?
I use the Fastfloppy firmware on mine, and have reasonable luck with it
how are you switching into pal mode where is that menu from ?
With Amiga OS 3.x, and I think 2.x just hold both mouse buttons down when you turn on the Amiga . A pre boot screen shows up and you can hit the space bar to switch to PAL mode. You can also click "display" and then "PAL".
Under 1.3 or earlier you need the free tool called "degrader" from Aminet which allows you to switch modes.
Thanks Doug. An easy to use bit of kit now I've seen this video.m Is there a way to quit to WB if you have launched the FFManager?
Nope - seems to take over and force a reboot for it to register.
Not sure if I missed it, but what if a game has more than one ADF for it? Many have two or even three. Do I just load them into the config screen you demoed (using one slot after the other slot), or is there some other way?
Yuppers. Easy Peasy Lemon squeezy! Just set all of the disks up as ADF files, and just use the buttons (or dial if you add one of those) to choose the next disk. Since it is an AMIGA, it is automatically recognized!
@@10MARC I have several ADFs loaded on it, but it doesn't advance to the next disk if I press the button on the side of the GoTek. It justs shows 0 or a 1 and doesn't advance further. Do I have to put certain games disks in their own folder er something like that?
@@Examiganyou need to set the disks as being mounted and available using the file manager program included with the GoTek Flashfloppy program. Also, invest in one of the LCD displays that list the actual program instead of just numbers. It is twelve million times easier, because you will literally see the words "Lemmings Disk Two" show up on the display.
When I hit Enter like you mentioned to add an ADF, it doesn't go to the screen where it shows all the slots add to an ADF. I have an Amiga 500, not anything thing related to AGA. @@10MARC
@@10MARC Just wanted to let you know I finally got it to work! It's weird as it wouldn't work when I hit the Enter key, but after plugging in an old Atari 2600 joystick, pressing fire on that worked to get it to the screen where you add the ADFs in the order you want. It's supposed to work with either the Enter key or fire button of the joystick, but I'm just glad its all sorted now.
Can a speaker be added to this drive ?
Yep. A speaker works just fine on these. You can get a rotary dial too, which is kind of nice
I wonder if it's even possible to get threads into a 3d printed object. Ty for the vid. Q: Could you do one on the different possibilities that there are to visually 'pimp' Workbench? There are several options but I'm kinda lost with MagicWB, BestIcons(?), GlowIcons, etc. etc. Not even sure what the different workflows are with the packages or even where to get them. Ty!
The screw holes were a bit small for my screws from my drive. I could have just drilled them out a bit, or used a self tapping screw. There are some great pre-made workbench images that really look great. As for myself, on my regular Amiga's those take up too much CHIP RAM, so I usually save the fancy Workbenches for my RTG enabled Amigas
@@10MARC ty, do you happen to know any urls that lead to some?
@@tekk9995 I will find the links to it. I think it is called "Complete Workbench"
@@10MARC or do you mean classicwb.abime.net/ ? Is it compatible with 3.1.4?
It's being updated - eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=94493&page=12
Great video, I just ordered a Gotek for my 500. Is it possible to have a boot menu which then allows you to select a disk that is pre-loaded into one of the slots, instead of using the buttons on the device itself?
If you select "Autoboot" on the GoTek it will boot to a menu to allow you to select the disks, and I think you can set the device to default to that on every power on. It takes longer than just using the buttons, though.
You can also run the Autoboot program from Workbench to choose your ADF file.
@@10MARC Great to hear, thanks for the info.
I just bought one of these to replace my janky 500 drive.
I have a stack of Amiga Floppy Drives that have just stopped working. I think it is four or five I have that have just quit after 30+ years. GoTek is a great way to go. My original A500 floppy still works perfect, as does my original external floppy from 1988!
10 Minute Amiga Retro Cast My original A500 floppy drive randomly won’t eject disks. I’ve tried servicing it which worked for a while, but now it’s screwing up again...
@@Yukatoshi that is frustrating. You will love the GoTek, though! It takes a bit of getting used to, but it is fairly easy
My Gotek only has 2 seven-digits-LEDs but i'm fine with it
Sure! If you normally boot from the loader screen it is not a huge deal, or maybe you printed out a key of which number goes to which program? That would work
@@10MARC i just put the boot disk (my HD is not able to boot on its own) into slot 01 and rest are some games and stuff having no fixed slots. So i remember them when i set them up :)
Kitties!!!
The perfect distraction for fuzzy videos.
use super glue and baby powder to fix that broken plastic piece.
I heard something about that working. This is all going into Stephen Jones Checkmate 1500 case as soon as it arrives, but I may repair it after that.
Not a fan of the gotek drives sorry
No skin off my back! I did not bother with one for a full year, but now that I have one I see the nice aspects of them.
@@10MARC why have teh gotek when you can use the cf cards on the ACA500Plus???
@@16647 why have a 30 year old computer when I have a nice i7 with 16 Gigs in the next room? Just because I can! And, the GoTek can boot to ADF files, the CF card cannot. To be honest, I use them both