Transfer floppy disks into .atr images or save .atr images into floppy diskettes!
(SIO21050 or SIO2XF551 or SIO2DRIVE).
You can interface other peripherals like a floppy disk drive (Atari 1050 or XF551) using a software called ProSystem (http://www.atarimax.com).
In this case the connection is different, and my gratitude goes to Nick Kennedy for letting me know that (http://pages.suddenlink.net/wa5bdu/1050.txt) where he states:
"The COMMAND line is a bit more complicated. In SIO2PC it uses a gate which converts TTL to RS-232. It will now need an opposite conversion, RS-232 to TTL. (...) Currently the RI (ring indicator) line, which is an input, is used. The new hardware will use the RTS line, which is an output."
Well, RTS didn't work for me, but DTR pin did.
So starting from the same setup as the above post, this time two changes are needed:
- TX and RX get inverted
- and COMMAND line goes to the solder spot on the Arduino board labeled RESET-EN (right next to the USB connector) which goes straight to DTR(pin 2) on the FT232RL
Here's the photo while archiving floppy diskettes to .atr files using an Atari XF551 drive (no Atari computer required):
There is no need to open the cover of the drive for this project. The reason why you see it open is because I don't have the original power supply thus I had to open the case up and supply 12v and 5v directly to the drive from my bench power supply.