Dragon DriveWire adapters

[tormod]

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I am offering DriveWire adapter kits for the Dragon. They have a male USB connector that fits into your computer (optionally via a USB extension cable) and a 20-pin IDC connector like the Dragon printer port. A 20 cm IDC cable (like on the below photos) is included.

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The flat cable to the right is included, while the USB extension cable on the left is not (but available on request).

Each unit is completely assembled and tested with DriveWire. Note that I sell it as "kit" because it has no enclosure. The price of a suitable box at these volumes and the added shipping price would make it less fun. I am mainly providing this as a service for those who can't or don't want to solder together their own solution (like KenH did), and/or want a compact and reliable unit with proper connectors.

The price is 18 USD + shipping (payable per PayPal or BitCoin) for the model on the (top) photo. An optional Dragon power indicator LED is 2 USD extra.

I am able to squeeze it into a 2 cm thick envelope, so shipping via normal letter mail will be just 4 USD world-wide. You can check other shipping options here (B5, up to 50g): http://www.post.ch/en/post-startseite/p ... ulator.htm If your local post system is not 100% reliable you may want to add the "registered mail" option (additional 6 USD).

The built-in serial UART is the CP2102. Windows driver can be downloaded from the chip manufacturer (no driver needed on Linux). I also tried out the PL2303 UART, but it seems less reliable.

UPDATE: June 8th 2014 in stock: 11 units

For a cased adapter, please see viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4854

Please send all inquiries and negotiations to:

My e-mail address

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dragon (dot) tormod (at) gmail (dot) com

dragondw-friends.jpg (42.14 KiB) Viewed 23028 times

Dragon 32 making friends with a Dockstar NAS running the Drivewire server

[retrocanada76]

Hey Tormod, what about a small cartridge with the DW EPROM on it ? That would the be perfect solution!

[KenH]

VERY nicely done, tormod
This is a must have for every Dragon user, IMHO.

[tormod]

Thanks KenH, especially with DLOAD back in business, this is a must for every Dragon 32 user without floppy drives, at least

[Rink]

Hey Tormod, what about a small cartridge with the DW EPROM on it ? That would the be perfect solution!

Damn you. Someone always has my idea before I get around to building them.

[devo]

Hi Tormod
I am a new member of World of Dragon forum and am interested in buying one of these Drivewire adpaters. I recently bought a Tano Dragon 64 from CA Digital USA. I will contact you by email.

[tormod]

Hey Tormod, what about a small cartridge with the DW EPROM on it ? That would the be perfect solution!

Damn you. Someone always has my idea before I get around to building them.

Well, I have no intention of building ROM cartridges, and hope somesome else can offer this. I see that Rolo offers multi cartridges for instance. Otherwise it is just a question of refitting an old cartridge with a socket, and burning HDB-DOS onto an EPROM. At some point I would like to get an SRAM cartridge like Rink's though, and emulate cartridges on it. That was originally something I wanted to make, but now I have gotten some DLOAD ideas to pursue instead...

[Rink]

When I first saw this, I figured that a ROM cartridge with HDB-DOS on and a built-in connection for a cheap FTDI USB cable would work with just a little rewriting of the serial send and receive functions. It's pretty similar to a cart I've already built.

However, since that one is still not 100% at the minute and a recent change of circumstances prevents me from going crazy on circuit developments, I wouldn't cry if someone else jumps in there.

If not, I'll build one as soon as I can and you can see what you think.

[jedie]

Are here interests for a case for the adapter?

Maybe i create one and put it on http://www.shapeways.com/ (Or other platform?)

[tormod]

The DriveWire adapters can now be had with an optional Dragon power indicator, for 2 USD extra. It is a green LED on the adapter which is lit when the Dragon is powered on. If you ever missed a power-on indicator on your Dragon, the DriveWire adapter can be doubly useful