User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:42 pm

I recently got one of my bucket-list items for my C= 8-bits: the CMD FD-2000.

These were released in 1993 well after most folks had moved on from the Commodore 64 and 128. But as you all know, with the innovations from CMD a small hard-core group of C64/128 power users were able to upgrade their old machines in ways that seemed like the stuff of dreams and kept them going well into the next decade (usually as BBSes, or simply remarkable 8-bit battlestations generally packed with GEOS and the like).

In the early 90s CMD made and sold two different 3.5" floppy disk drives. One was the FD-2000 and the other the FD-4000.

The FD-2000 was a lot like a Commodore 1581, but on steroids. The FD-2000 can hold 1600 kB of storage using standard double-sided, high-density (HD) floppies. You know - the ones you can find just about anywhere (even Amazon). The 1581 can only use 800K DSDD disks - harder to find and half the space. I'm not dissing the 1581, but the FD-2000 has obvious storage benefits right off the bat.

The FD-2000 has several more features that make the 1581 seem quite limited, especially when you consider the 1581 is truly either a data storage device (duh, but not much software was made for the drive) or a GEOS-specific workhorse.

FD-2000 additional benefits:
  • Fully compatible with all Commodore serial IEC computers
  • 1541 Emulation (You can create special Partitions that emulate the 1541 drive/disk)
  • 1571 Emulation
  • 1581 Emulation
  • Compatibility with standard double density 1581 disks
  • CMD Native Mode, with support up to 31 partitions of any combination of 1541, 1571, 1581, and native CMD partition types (which includes full subdirectory support). Native Mode also allowed full use of an entire disk in a single partition - simply awesome in GEOS.
  • Built-in drive # swap option for drive #8 and 9 (extremely handy)
  • Supports device numbers from 8-15 via dip switches.
  • Expanded ability to use partitions and subdirectories
  • Real Time Clock (RTC) - optional add-on. This is especially cool with GEOS and can also be used to time-stamp files.
  • Built-in JiffyDOS
  • CMD Native Mode, which allowed full use of an entire disk in a single partition (simply awesome in GEOS)
The FD-4000 is basically the same as the 2000 except it can use ED (Extra High Density) disks, which are extremely rare. The ED disks are 3.2MB, which is completely awesome. Bonus: the FD-4000 can use regular HD disks, too. So it's an FD-2000 with storage super powers.

But, since the ED format disk is such a unicorn, I never really cared about that drive. The FD-2000 was where it was at as far as I was concerned.

And then one hit my radar. A real Frankenstein looking thing, super rough around the edges.

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Some good old fashioned American ingenuity right there. This allowed easy configuring of Device # 8-11 (even though it can go to 15) as well as a Reset button for the drive - not a bad feature. Horrific looking, but handy.

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But, I told myself, maybe the aesthetics of it would scare some people off. So, I sneaked into the bushes and slowly extended my sniper rifle. (Lordy)

Thankfully, I won.

As soon as I got the thing I removed its Borg appendage and pondered what to do about the paint pen on the front. I also quickly discovered the RTC was either never added or was dead.

After some research, I discovered Thomas Christoph of corei64 in Canada creates (and sells) extremely high-quality case labels at a very reasonable price ($25). I couldn't believe my luck.

I was nervous as hell about applying the label accurately but decided for the investment I'd already made it was worth a shot.

Today, I got to work.

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You need a plastic razor blade. I've been a fan of these for years and keep a good amount of them in stock as I seem to need them almost once a month for various jobs.

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You can see the label is textured just like the original label - not some cheap sticker. There are some very minor differences in font weight if you look at the label closely side-by-side with an original, but the differences are subtle. With only the one drive, I'll never get OCD with two drives next to each other to bother me at all. The new label looks GREAT!

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Thomas also produces and sells an RTC replacement with a coin cell battery. SO awesome. I got the option with a brand new DOS EPROM, because I was too lazy to take the case off and see what version I had. Come to find out I didn't need to do that. Oh well, now I have a backup.


I took a deep breath and started to remove the original label. I was done in less than 2 minutes. However it left a really nasty residue behind I was going to have to deal with next.

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Using the plastic razor again, as well as Goo Gone, I spent over an hour getting the dang sticky stuff off the front of the case. Goo Gone on a rag, then lightly scrape, over and over until it was clean. I soon decided to remove the floppy drive so I wouldn't contact it. When the residue was all gone I used rubbing alcohol to remove the Goo Gone, which is kind of oily.

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After a long but somewhat relaxing process, I was done. The main trick here was the "Swap" button stick out about 1 mm beyond the hole, which made me accidentally contact it once. I slowed down after that. I thought about removing all of the hardware/PCB but it was kind of a PITA so I just took my time.


Another deep breath, then it was time to put the new label on.

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Aw yeah, boyiiieee!

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Next up, the RTC/DOS swaparoo.

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Pop!


Reassembly...

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Boom! (Queue "Also sprach Zarathustra" from 2001, signifying impending glories)


So, now I have this thing to deal with next.

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Thomas sells a replacement label for the RAMLink, too. Talk about a niche market! (Thank goodness for people like Thomas.)

This one really terrifies me due to the size of the label. Getting it all aligned in a single go makes me a bit anxious just thinking about it. And the cleaning process will probably take 2-3 times as long as it did for the little FD-2000. But it has to happen.

See those 2 white stickers for "Swap" and "Reset"? Those are covering HOLES. Yep, holes. So I will indeed take the plunge. And probably soon.

Update: see also RAMlink Label Repair

User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:25 am

Way cool, man! That is a drive that was on my list to add for many years. Because of the prices for what these drives go for I sort of stopped looking. I am satisfied with my 1581 and a Fire Drive 2k, which is basically a 100% clone of the FD-2000 made by some dude many years ago. I don't think he sells them anymore. At the time they were in the range of $175 - $200 brand new.

Congrats on a great pickup and excellent job on restoration.

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:35 am

Thanks, ZippyZapp
by some dude many years ago
Wasn't that CommanderKang, who might have actually been Maurice Randall?

User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:48 am

intric8 wrote:
Wed Mar 29, 2023 10:35 am
Wasn't that CommanderKang, who might have actually been Maurice Randall?
Oh yeah! You are right it was CommanderKang. I didn't know his name, although I did talk to him a few times on messages. I had zero problems with him unlike the other stories I have heard...

User avatar
3D-vice
Germany

Posted Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:49 am

It is really amazing seeing those restorations. The end results speaks for themselves; the floppy drive and the ram-link look amazing! <3

I've als had ordered stuff from icore64 in the past. I think the quality of his products are very high indeed.





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