www.theoldcomputer.com

Device Side Data's FC5025 USB 5.25" floppy controller plugs into any computer's USB port and enables you to attach a 5.25" floppy drive. Even if your computer has no built-in floppy controller, the FC5025 lets you read those old disks. And it's not just for IBM PC disks – it also understands formats used by Apple, Atari, Commodore and TI, among others.

Requirements

The FC5025 connects to any computer's USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port. Compatible software is required; see below for system requirements for the included software.

The FC5025 is USB powered. Power from USB runs only the FC5025 itself; you must supply power to the drive mechanism separately, such as from your computer's power supply.

The FC5025 is sold as a controller board only without a drive mechanism. It has been tested to work well with the TEAC FD-55GFR drive and should also work with most other PC-style 5.25" drives. (Note: the included software expects a 1.2M drive, even when reading 360k disks.)

Limitations

The FC5025 is read-only. It cannot write to floppies.
The FC5025 may be unable to read disks that are damaged or copy-protected.
The FC5025 is intended for 5.25" disks only, not 3.5" or 8" disks.
Most PC-style drives can't read the second side of "flippy" disks (more information on flippy disks here).
Included Software

The FC5025 includes a graphical Disk Image and Browse tool for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. This program allows you to make an image copy of an inserted floppy, suitable for use under emulators or for archival use. On some but not all types of disks, the Disk Image and Browse tool can also display a file listing and copy individual files from the disk. Screenshots of the Disk Image and Browse tool are available.


Command line image and browse tools are also included for Linux and Mac OS X.

The included software has been tested on the following platforms:

Linux x86 2.6.24 (other versions should work also)
Mac OS X PPC 10.4.11 (later versions of Mac OS X should work also)
Mac OS X Intel 10.6.4 (other versions should work also)
Windows XP SP3 32-bit (other versions of 32-bit Windows - 98SE or later - should work also)
Windows 7, 32- and 64-bit (see installation instructions for Windows 7 64-bit)
Untested platforms are not guaranteed to work.

As of April 2011, the included software supports the following types of disk:

Apple DOS 3.2 (13-sector)
Apple DOS 3.3 (16-sector)
Apple ProDOS
Atari 810
Calcomp Vistagraphics 4500
Commodore 1541
Kaypro 2 CP/M 2.2
Kaypro 4 CP/M 2.2
MS-DOS
North Star MDS-A-D
TI-99/4A
Filesystem browse capability exists for ProDOS, MS-DOS and Kaypro disks.

Support for Kaypro and Calcomp disks was added after the initial product introduction. Existing customers can download a driver update to read these disks.

In the future, additional platforms and disk formats may become supported through software updates or third-party software.

Specifications

Form factor Printed circuit board
Dimensions 3.9"x1.3" (approx. 99mmx33mm)
Mounts in HDD bay
Host interface USB 2.0 full-speed 12Mbps, USB 1.1 compatible
Drive interface 34 pin
Drive compatibility TEAC FD-55GFR or equivalent
Number of drives supported One per FC5025
Power requirements FC5025: <100mA
Drive mechanism must be powered separately
No power sequencing requirements
Connectors USB type B, 34-pin dual-row header
Disk transfer rates GCR: 167kbps-333kbps (Apple), 167kbps-370kbps (Commodore)
FM: 56kbps-250kbps
MFM: 250kbps, 300kbps, 500kbps
Write support None - read-only controller
Command set Vendor specific (see developer documentation)
Data transfer method FC5025 locates desired sector, performs clock recovery and sends all clock and data bits to host
Host discards clock bits and verifies checksum
Hardware requirements USB 1.1 or 2.0 compliant host
5.25" floppy drive (not included - customer provided)
Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Flippy Disks

Many older computers recorded on only one side of the disk. So, people would fill one side of the disk and then flip it over to store more on the other side. Disks used this way are called "flippy" disks.

5.25" disks have a hole, called the index hole, that lets the drive know if the disk is rotating. (The index hole has other purposes also.) The problem with flippy disks is that when the disk is inserted upside-down, the drive cannot see the index hole. Many drives won't read from the disk unless they can see the index hole. If you have one of these drives, the FC5025 will be able to read from the first side of the disk only. When you flip the disk over to read the other side, the drive will not send any data to the FC5025, and the FC5025 will not be able to read that side.

Please note: even the recommended TEAC FD-55GFR drive cannot read both sides of flippy disks. There is no recommended drive for reading flippy disks at this time.

Source : http://www.deviceside.com/