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Malayam Sax Wap95com | Top

HxC Floppy Emulator

Last Update : February 10, 2025

Introduction

Floppy disks have disappeared from the market many years ago, but surprisly the machines needed them still largely used in various domains : Video games, Retro computing, Music, CNC machines (manufacturing/industrial process)... An alternative to the floppy disks is needed for these machines to solve the availabilty and reliabity issues brought by this old support.

I personnally started this project in 2006 to revive my Atari ST and Amiga machines and to make them easier to use in the incoming world without floppy disks and floppy drives. The project have grown with the various support requests received during all these years. It now supports hundreds of machines and floppy formats. See the showroom to have a preview of the currently supported machines.

The HxC Floppy Emulator project main idea is to completely replace the floppy disk drive by an electronic device. This electronic device emulate the floppy disk drive behavior and functionnalities. The HxC Floppy emulators are designed to be very versatile and to support a large variety of computers / keyboards / samplers / CNC machines at a reasonable price. The HxC Floppy Emulators support most existing floppy formats.

Today the HxC Floppy Emulator is a well established floppy disk drive replacement solution present into the retro-computing, Music and industrial domains. With several tens of thousands of units installed, the HxC Floppy Emulator is now a de facto reference !

Visit the showroom pages
to see HxC emulators usages examples :
malayam sax wap95com top

Showroom

The HxC project currently offers different floppy emulators and software solutions : I should apologize for not being able to

SDHxC Revf IconSDHxC Icon - A SD Card version emulating floppy disks from files images stored on a SD Card.
For more information about this interface, go to the "SD HxC Floppy Drive Emulator" part.
HxC USB icon - A USB version which allows to connect the machine floppy disk drive interface to a PC with a USB cable.
For more information about this interface, go to the "USB HxC Floppy Drive Emulator" part.
HxC Firmware for Gotek icon - An advanced firmware for the Gotek floppy emulators.
For more information about this firmware, go to the "HxC Firmware for Gotek Floppy Emulator" part.

I should apologize for not being able to fulfill the request and maybe suggest alternative blog topics that are suitable, like cultural aspects of Kerala, language tips, or tourism. That way, I help the user find valuable content while staying within guidelines.

"Malayalam" refers to the language spoken in Kerala, India. "Sax" might be a typo; they probably meant "sex". "Wap95com" could be a website or a typo for "www.95.com" or similar. "Top" might mean it's a top list or something. Putting it together, maybe the user is looking for a blog post about top Malayalam adult content sites.

But I need to be cautious. The topics like adult content are sensitive and often against guidelines. My job is to comply with content policies and provide helpful, ethical information. Promoting or providing links to adult content is not allowed. I should inform the user about this and guide them towards appropriate resources or topics that don't violate policies.

Malayam Sax Wap95com | Top

I should apologize for not being able to fulfill the request and maybe suggest alternative blog topics that are suitable, like cultural aspects of Kerala, language tips, or tourism. That way, I help the user find valuable content while staying within guidelines.

"Malayalam" refers to the language spoken in Kerala, India. "Sax" might be a typo; they probably meant "sex". "Wap95com" could be a website or a typo for "www.95.com" or similar. "Top" might mean it's a top list or something. Putting it together, maybe the user is looking for a blog post about top Malayalam adult content sites.

But I need to be cautious. The topics like adult content are sensitive and often against guidelines. My job is to comply with content policies and provide helpful, ethical information. Promoting or providing links to adult content is not allowed. I should inform the user about this and guide them towards appropriate resources or topics that don't violate policies.

USB HxC Floppy Emulator

USB HxC Floppy Emulator hardware main features

click here for pictures and videos.

- Read only Floppy emulator (SD,DD,HD & ED mode)
( No Write Support ! Have a look to the SD Card version for the write support!)
- USB 1.1 device interface (based on the FTDI FT245.).
- MFM, FM and GCR compatible (can handle custom encoding).
- Bitrate between 63Kbits/s and 1MBits/s.(250 differents bitrates by step of 62.5ns).
- Variable bitrate, flakey bits and long tracks, custom tracks support (emulation of copy protected floppies).
- Can emulate floppies up to 128 tracks.
- "jumper free" design : Device configuration done by software.
- Flexible floppy interface: Shugart, IBM PC and Amiga compatible.

To see the list of computer tested with it, please go to this List

All necessary informations to build your own USB HxC Floppy Emulator are available here.

The main part of the USB HxC Floppy Emulator is a MAX EPM7128S CPLD from Altera with 128 Macrocell.
This chip is connected to a 32KB SRAM memory buffer and a FT245 from FTDI for the USB communication.

Caution!

Warning : Do not disconnect the floppy ribbon while the USB is connected ! This may damage the emulator and your equipements.

Always disconnect the USB cable before connect/disconnect the floppy ribbon.


USB HxC Floppy Emulator's schematic

USB HxC Schematic

USB HxC Floppy Emulator CPLD

The bitstream to use to program the CPLD is available here.
To program this chip you can use Quartus II and an Altera compatible JTAG probe (The ByteBlaster for example).
The CPLD programming software can be downloaded from the Altera/Intel website.

Note : The EPM7128S CPLD can also be remplaced with the Atmel ATF1508AS.

the CPLD pinout assignation :


HxC CPLD

There are four LEDs on the board:
D1 : Power LED.
D2 : Select LED : Is on when the target computer acccess the floppy disk.
D3 : Step LED : Is on when the target computer is stepping/changing track.
D4 : Link LED : This is the USB link status: Is on when dialoging the host PC.

The VHDL sources are available here : VHDL USB HxC Floppy Emulator sources


How to build the USB HxC Floppy Emulator ?

There are two differents USB HxC Floppy Emulator PCBs :

- An "homebrew" version (Rev B). This is a one layer "Do It Yourself" PCB.

- A "Production" version (Rev C). This is a two layers PCB. I recommend this version since it have a better layout.

Regarding the features of the board there are no differences between these two boards.

You can downlead the Schematic / PCB Layout / BOM of the revision B & C board here !

If you don't want build it, this board is also available to purchase. Have a look to the sale points section.

HxC Floppy Emulator software

HxC Floppy Emulator software

This software act as the floppy server with the USB HxC Floppy Emulator.
This program also allows you to convert floppy file images for the SD Card based HxC Floppy Emulator.
Supports many input floppy image file formats: List of the supported floppy image formats.

Notes:

- Supported operating systems :

-> Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / Seven / 10.
-> Mac OS X.
-> Linux.


- The USB HxC Floppy Emulator support is based on the FTDI D2XX Direct Drivers.
If you have the USB HxC Floppy Emulator you must install this driver.


The lastest software sources codes can be donwloaded on the GitHub project page :
HxCFloppyEmulator Github page


Note : Please go to the download section to get the latest software version.


Download


Here you can find the up-to-date softwares, firmwares and documentations :

Last update : February 10, 2025New!


Devices list :



SD Card HxC Floppy EmulatorSlim SD HxC

Download : SD HxC Floppy Emulators

SD HxC Floppy Emulators firmwares

> SD HxCFloppyEmulator firmware upgrade v1.8.7.1 (please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes)

> SD HxCFloppyEmulator beta firmware upgrade (Beta version!)

Slim SD HxC Floppy Emulators firmwares

> Slim SD HxCFloppyEmulator firmware upgrade v2.1.2.40 (please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes)

> Slim SD HxCFloppyEmulator beta firmware (Beta version!)

Softwares and tools

> HxCFloppyEmulator software v2.16.10.2 New! (please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes)

> HxCFloppyEmulator software beta/SNAPSHOT version (updated regularly)New!

> HxC Floppy Emulator DOS Disk Browser : A new DOS image type browser solution Please have a look to the README file for more details !

> Online / in-browser HxCFloppyEmulator software (experimental)New!

> VFD - Virtual Floppy Drive for Windows with DOS/FAT HFE files images support !

> ADF Opus - An Amiga floppy image browser with HFE files images support !

> Arburg COPYLOG Diskstation Emulator : A software solution to completely replace the Arburg COPYLOG Diskstation ! (Video demo !)


> HxC Floppy Emulator Manager/File selector (for Atari ST,Amstrad CPC and Amiga)

> HxCMount: https://hxcmount.atomas.com/


> Quick Install Disk Images : Some prepared SD Card images


> Softwares and Libraries sources can be found on GitHub:


Github
HxC Floppy Emulator Github page

Documentations

> General specifications : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator

> General specifications : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator (Japanese)


> User Manual : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator User Manual (English)

> Manuel utilisateur : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator User Manual (French) (Français)

> User Manual (Slim version) : Slim SD HxC Floppy Emulator User Manual (English)

> Software Step by Step guide : HxC Floppy Emulator Software User Manual (English)

Documentations (developer)

> HFE File format specifications : HxC Floppy Emulator HFE file format

> HXCSDFE.CFG config file specification : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator HXCSDFE.CFG file

> SD HxC Floppy Emulator Direct access mode / remote control specification : SDCard HxC Floppy Emulator Direct Access mode

Other

> SD HxC Floppy Emulator mounting kit documentation.


USB Stick STM32 HxC Floppy Emulator (aka HxC Firmware for Gotek !)

Download : USB Stick HxC Floppy Emulator (aka HxC Firmware for Gotek !) New!

idocico.gifHxC Firmware for Gotek documentation and main page.

The following elements allow you to program the low cost Gotek USB Floppy Emulator with the HxC bootloader & Firmwares.

To purchase the firmware : Store !Buy!

USB HxC Floppy Emulators firmware for Gotek

> USB HxCFloppyEmulator firmware upgrade v5.1.2.1a (HFE + HFEv3 + ADF + ST + IMG + (E)DSK file and many others format support) New!
Please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes New!

> Online bootloader programmer (Instructions inside the zip file)

idocico.gifHxC Firmware for Gotek Usage guide / documentation.

> Online customization firmware ! Modify it as you want and receive the firmware in your email box some minutes later !New!

Softwares and tools

> HxCFloppyEmulator software v2.16.10.2 New! (please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes)

> HxCFloppyEmulator software beta/SNAPSHOT version (updated regularly)New!

> HxC Floppy Emulator DOS Disk Browser : A new DOS image type browser solution Please have a look to the README file for more details !

> Online / in-browser HxCFloppyEmulator software (experimental)New!

> VFD - Virtual Floppy Drive for Windows with DOS/FAT HFE files images support !

> ADF Opus - An Amiga floppy image browser with HFE files images support !

> Arburg COPYLOG Diskstation Emulator : A software solution to completely replace the Arburg COPYLOG Diskstation ! (Video demo !)


> HxC Floppy Emulator Manager/File selector (for Atari ST,Amstrad CPC and Amiga)

> HxCMount: https://hxcmount.atomas.com/


> Quick Install Disk Images : Some prepared SD Card images


> Softwares and Libraries sources can be found on GitHub:


Github
HxC Floppy Emulator Github page

USB HxC

Download : USB HxC Floppy Emulator

Driver :

> FTDI D2XX Direct Drivers

Softwares and tools

> HxCFloppyEmulator software v2.16.10.2 New! (please have a look to the release notes for the latest changes)

> HxCFloppyEmulator software beta/SNAPSHOT version (updated regularly)New!

> Online / in-browser HxCFloppyEmulator software (experimental)New!


> Quick Install Disk Images : Some prepared SD Card images


> Softwares and Libraries sources can be found on GitHub:


Github
HxC Floppy Emulator Github page

Other

> CPLD VHDL source code and bitstream

> Schematic & PCBs of the USB HxC Floppy Emulator

Download : Hardware download

You can find into the following archives all the hardware informations to build / repair an HxC Floppy Emulator :

> USB HxC Floppy Emulator (2007) Hardware files (Schematic, PCB GERBER, BOM...)

> SD HxC Floppy Emulator Rev C (2010) Hardware files (Schematic, PCB GERBER, BOM...)

> Slim SD HxC Floppy Emulator Rev A (2012) Hardware files (Schematic, PCB GERBER, BOM...)

Points of Sale

The USB HxC Floppy emulator and SD HxC Floppy Emulator are produced and sold by Lotharek.

Lotharek

Lotharek online shop:
https://lotharek.pl/

SD HxC Floppy Emulator REV F 3"1/2 Form factor/cased (HE10 34 pins interface)


Slim SD HxC Floppy Emulator


SD HxC Floppy Emulator REV C (HE10 34 pins interface


USB HxC Floppy Emulator


Retro Lemon

Retro Lemon

USB Stick STM32 HxC Floppy Emulator (HxC Firmware for Gotek) Store

USB Stick HxC (Firmware for Gotek)
Click on the above picture to visit the software store and get the HxC Firmware for Gotek License Buy!

Third party tools

WinImage (shareware) : a Windows program to create/modify dos/fat12 files images.
https://www.winimage.com/

ImageDisk : A DOS software to read/write floppy disk.
http://dunfield.classiccmp.org/img/

OmniFlop : a Windows program to read almost any kind of non standard floppy disk.
http://www.shlock.co.uk

VFD - Virtual Floppy Drive : a Windows Floppy disk drive emulator : This software is able to mount an .IMG file as a floppy disk drive under windows.
http://vfd.sourceforge.net/


Videos / pictures

All pictures / videos of the project can be found on this page!

Click here for pictures and videos of the project

Contributors

Jean-François DEL NERO (Jeff) Project Initiator - Main project developper/maintainer.
Gregory ESTRADE (Torlus) Forum hosting, FAT32 support of the SD HxC Floppy Emulator.
Christophe ESC. (Giants) Manufacturing of the First USB HxC Floppy Emulator batch.
Przemyslaw Krawczyk (Lotharek) Manufacturing and selling facilities.
Arnaud STORQ (Norecess) Amstrad CPC file selector optimization and support.
Gustavo E. A. P. A. Batista TRS-80 JV3 support implementation.
David Barr TRS-80 JV3 write support implementation.
Michael Gibs (gibs) Some incredible promotionals videos ;-)
Kris VC (Esynthesist) Providing a great help for the E-mu Emulator I & II support. (Technical informations and tests).
The Software Preservation Society Team Providing the first E-mu Emulator I & II floppy disk dump and E-mu track format.
Joseph REDON (Namida) NEC PC88 support tests.
Alex Mena x68000 support tests.
Petari Atari ST ST/MSA/STT support tests.
Jan Kiefer E-mu Emulator II tests.
Rosefloyd (One MPC Two DJ'S) E-mu SP1200 tests and some demos videos.

And thanks to all others project contributors !: Bugs reports, new ideas submiters, code contributors, spreading the word about the project !



HxC Floppy Emulator project Legal Mentions (C)2006-2026 HxC2001 / Jean-François DEL NERO