IpCAS USB Floppy User manual

USB Floppy
USB Floppy Disk Emulator
Manual
ipcas GmbH Phone: [phone]
Gundstraße 15 Fax: [phone]
D-91056 Erlangen Internet: http://www.ipcas.de
Germany Email: [email protected]

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Contents
1. Scope of Supply.................................................................3
2. Important Notes ................................................................3
3. Introducing the device........................................................4
4. Front panel – description, connections ..................................5
5. Back – description, connections ...........................................6
6. Installation .......................................................................7
7. One USB Stick replaces one floppy .......................................7
8. Data import and use on the machine/system.........................8
9. One USB Stick replaces 100 floppies.....................................9
10. Rading and writing...........................................................12
11. Safely remove USB Stick – USB Floppy Disk Emulator...........12
12. Safely remove USB Stick – Computer/PC ............................12
13. Internal jumpers..............................................................13
13.1 Jumper 1 and 2 – Select disk drive............................................13
13.2 Jumper 5 Ready signal.............................................................. 13
14. FAQ's – Often Asked Questions..........................................14

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This manual explains how the USB Floppy Disk Emulator is installed and
used to replace the legacy disk drive.
You will always find an up-to-date pdf document of the manual on our
Website www.ipcas.de.
1. Scope of Supply
•USB Floppy Disk Emulator
2. Important Notes
COPYRIGHT © 2009 ipcas GmbH
All rights reserved. No part of this document is allowed to be copied, reproduced,
transcribed or transferred in any other form without the explicit written permission of
ipcas GmbH. Subject to printing mistakes, errors, or changes without prior notice.
All brand names or trademarks mentioned in this document serve to identify and may
belong to respective owners and must, therefore, be treated as such.
The warranty claim expires immediately if the product is changed, incorrectly used,
purposely or negligently damaged or impaired by force majeure or operation beyond
the allowed working conditions.
CAUTION:
The warranty claim expires upon removing the serial number. Shipping or insurance
companies cannot be made liable for damage caused by inadequate packing.
Note:
Please read this manual carefully before you deploy the device.

3. Introducing the device
The USB Floppy Disk Emulator of ipcas GmbH replaces legacy disk drives.
The floppy is replaced by a USB Stick. Up to 100 virtual floppy disks can
be stored on one USB Stick.
Retrofitting of your machines/systems is no longer required. Just replace
the disk drive 1:1.
Î
Comparison: Left: 3.5 inch disk drive with 100 x 1.44 MB floppies
Right: ipcas USB Floppy Disk Emulator with USB Stick
In the industrial sector many machines are still equipped with flopy disk
drives. The floppy disk is often the only means of importing updates or
reading out data. This could become a source of future problems.
Floppies are sensitive and short-lived. The maintenance of disk drives is
expensive, and quite often they can be no longer replaced.
The ipcas Floppy Disk Emulator depends on USB Sticks as data carriers,
which are far more compact, practical and long-lived than the old-
fashioned floppy disk. So the ipcas "Floppy" makes your machine/system
fit for the future.
The ipcas Floppy Disk Emulator can also replace other forms of disk drives
and disk storage systems. Refer to the comparison with a 5¼ inch floppy
disk drive with 1.2 MB floppies.
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Ô
A 5¼ inch installation frame for 3.5 inch disk drives and a 34-pin adapter are optionally
available.
4. Front panel – description, connections
LED 1 – Busy (red): lights up when system is reading or writing.
LED 2 - Power (green): lights up when the voltage supply is connected.
Display (2 digits): displays the status of the disk drive or the currently
selected floppy (00 to 99).
USB: USB socket (USB type A) to connect a USB Stick (the data carrier
replacing the floppy disk).
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¶µ : Selection button to select the desired virtual floppy disk (00-
99 if previously preset)
When the virtual floppy changes from one to another, dots light up
next to the digits. Please wait before you use the disk drive until the
dots disappear.
•Caution: When LED 1 – Busy – lights up, do not under any
circumstances remove the USB Stick or deploy the selection
button, or else you might incur data losses.
•The virtual floppy images must be in correct sequence in order
to be selected with the selection button.
5. Back – description, connections
At the back of the disk drive you will find the connection for the
voltage supply (+5V DC) and the 34-pin interface to connect the
floppy disk drive controller.
Please check for correct polarity of voltage supply when connecting
the floppy disk drive. GND (ground) is usually indicated by a black
wire, and +5V by red wire.
Please also correctly attach the 34-pin connection cable.
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On modern flatcables the 34-pin plugs have a gib at the bottom.
When connecting, the gib has to settle into the corresponding
sliding notch at the drive housing below the header.
Also make sure the correct pin sequence is observed (Wire 1 on Pin
1, etc.). Wire 1 is usually indicated by color at the floppy cable
(often red or blue).
Illustration of a connected disk drive
Caution: If the connection cable is attached incorrectly the drive
disk will not function properly and may also be damaged thereby.
6. Installation
Connect the disk drive as described under Back – description,
connections.
7. One USB Stick replaces one floppy
You have just installed the disk drive and switched on your
machine/system.
The display of the USB Floppy Disk Emulator shows (c4), the
power LED lights up (green).
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The display of (c4) indicates that the disk drive is ready and
is waiting for the USB Stick to be connected.
The power LED is always on when the disk drive is supplied with
sufficient voltage.
Insert a customary USB Stick into the USB socket of the disk drive.
Í
After connecting it the disk drive searches for the already available
virtual floppies. This is indicated by the fast succession of the
numbers 00 to 99 in the display. If no virtual floppies are found on
the USB Stick, the display stops at (00). 00 is the first floppy
and has already been created automatically.
The disk drive can be used immediately. You may use the USB Stick
in the same way as you used your floppy.
A directory with the name UFDDD00 has been created on the USB
Stick. Do not delete this directory, since it displays you virtual
floppy 00.
8. Data import and use on the machine/system
Connect a USB Stick into a USB connection of your computer or PC.
Should the USB Stick already have been used once in the USB
Floppy Disk Emulator, you will find a directory UFDDD00 on the
USB
Stick.
Copy the desired data into the directory.
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Safely remove the USB Stick from your PC and connect it to the
USB Floppy Disk Emulator.
Í
The display of the USB Floppy Disk Emulators now shows
(00).
Use the USB Stick in the USB Floppy Disk Emulator in the same way
as you used your floppy in the disk drive.
9. One USB Stick replaces 100 floppies
The USB Floppy Disk Emulator in multi-disk mode behaves as if only one
floppy were to be emulated. Please first read Chapter 1.USB Stick replaces 1
floppy.
When more than one floppy are managed by just one USB Stick, the desired
floppy can be selected with the selection button (¶µ). The display
always shows you the currently set floppy to (from 0 to
99).
Preliminary steps:
To manage up to 100 virtual floppies on one USB Stick, you must first create
virtual floppies on the USB Stick.
Connect the USB Stick into the USB port on your PC.
If the USB Stick should already have been used on your USB Floppy Disk
Emulator, then the directory UFDDD00 should be located on the USB
Stick.
The contents of this directory include your first floppy. The ending "00" at the
end of the directory name refers to the floppy number (00) on your
Floppy Disk Emulator.
Create additional directories on the USB Stick. For the directories, enter the
names UFDDD01,UFDDD02,UFDDD03 etc. to the maximum
UFDDD99.
You do not have to create 100 directories. If you only want to manage three
floppies with the USB Stick, then just create the directories UFDDD00,
UFDDD01 and UFDDD02.
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Always make sure that you start at 00 and do not omit any
directory within a sequence.
Negative example:
Let us assume you have one directory for Floppy 00, one for 01 and
one for 15. When you insert your USB Stick into the USB Floppy
Disk Emulator, then you can change back and forth from Floppy 00
to 01. Switching to Floppy 15 is also possible, but not back again
to Floppies 00 or 01, since there is a sequence gap.
Switching from one virtual floppy to another
Example:
Let us assume you want to use the 4th floppy (i.e. Floppy 03) and the
USB Stick is not yet connected to the USB Disk Emulator.
Insert the USB Stick into the USB Floppy Disk Emulator.
Í
The display of the USB Disk Emulator now shows (00), i.e.
the first floppy.
Use the selection button (µ) to change over to Floppy (just
tap lightly until "03" appears on the display).
When you have selected Floppy 03, the display shows (03
with dots) for some time. The dots indicate that the selected Floppy
is just being initialized.
Please wait until the dots disappear from the display before you
continue to use the USB Stick (reading, writing or removing).
Note: You can only select virtual floppies for which
directories have been previously created.
Please make sure the Busy LED (red) is not on. Should the
Busy LED be on, this indicates an ongoing reading or writing
process. In that case, please wait until the read/write process has
been completed.
You can now use the selected (virtual) floppy just as you used to do
with your customary floppies.
If you want to now change from Floppy 03 to 01, proceed in the
same way. Here are the individual steps to take:
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