Jean-François DEL NERO (who’s behind the HxC SD Floppy Emulator) recently has released a version of the HxC emulator firmware that is compatible with the STM32 chip used in the Gotek floppy emulators.

This means that the great functionality of the HxC SD emulator is now available on cheaper and more widely available hardware.

The bootloader to convert the Gotek floppy drive in HxC compatible must be purchased on the website HXC 2001 by sending an email to Jean-François DEL NERO. The price of the bootloader is one-off 10 Euro per Gotek that you want to update. Future updates of the software are free and can be made from a USB stick

The HXC Usb (Gotek) firmware supports: + many more….

USB Stick STM32 (Gotek) HxC Floppy Emulator Firmware v3.1.38.2a -> v3.1.60.5a cumulative changelog:

• GeneralMusic S2/S3 : Undocummented floppy format support added + *.gem file extension support.
• Non-gated interface : Ignore the floppy selection line for the head step + Some fixes.
• Motor-ON signal support to emulate properly the “READY” and “INDEX” signals.
• OLED : SSD1305 2.23″ 128×32 OLED screen support added.
• Internal enhancements. (WIP)
• New direct raw format support : Yamaha QX3 format (*.IMG,*.DSK)
• 7 segments screen menu : Add missing system family entries :  
  • 15 = Robox RC9400
  • 16 = Kawai
  • 17 = Yamaha QX3
  • 18 = User defined format
  • Gotek I/O Lines Diagnostic/Test mode Since this hardware is quite sensitive to ESD and other electrical issues, the floppy lines can be easily damaged.
  • This new mode allows you to test/check all Gotek’s Input/Output lines with a simple wire.
  • The test must be run with floppy ribbon disconnected from the machine.
  • Once enabled/flashed with the diagnostic firmware, all outputs will toggle every 2 seconds.
  • All inputs states are displayed on the screen.
• Input lines test method :
  • The default input states should be High (1), so to test an input line you have just to connect it to the ground/vss. On the floppy port you just need a jumper to make a contact between the line and the ground.
  • Once the jumper is placed between the line pin and the ground/vss pin the corresping input state should turn to Low (0).
• Output lines test method :
  • All outputs are toggling every 2 seconds during the test.
  • (Note : A 1 ms pulse is sent to the JB output at each toggle to test the buzzer ouput)
  • Connect the output line to test to one input line (use a tested input by the above method) with a simple wire.
  • If the corresponding input status is toggling with the outputs line, then this means that the output line/driver is working properly.
• LCD / OLED / 7 segments screens output/input status definition :
  • LCD/OLED input lines status format : “IN:123456 789AB”
  • 1 or Digit-1-segment-a : Floppy Drive Select line (Pin 10 or 12 or 16 -> Depend on the S0/S1/MO jumper !).
  • 2 or Digit-1-segment-b : Floppy -Direction In (Pin 18)
  • 3 or Digit-1-segment-c : Floppy -Step (Pin 20)
  • 4 or Digit-1-segment-d : Floppy -Write Data (Pin 22)
  • 5 or Digit-1-segment-e : Floppy -Write Enable (Pin 24)
  • 6 or Digit-1-segment-f : Floppy -Head 1 Select (Pin 32)
  • 7 or Digit-1-segment-g : Down push button (left)
  • 8 or Digit-2-segment-a : Up push button (right)
  • 9 or Digit-2-segment-b : Select push button (JA)
  • A or Digit-2-segment-c : Rotary CK (J7-2)
  • B or Digit-2-segment-d : Rotary DIR (J7-1)
  • 7 Segments Digit-3 : ‘h’ when the outputs are high and ‘L’ the outputs are low.
  • 7 Segments Digit-2-segments e,f & g : ON when the outputs are high and OFF the outputs are low.
• Floppy connector pinout :
  • Pin Signal     Pin  Signal
  • 01  Ground – (O)02  -High Density Select
  • 03  Ground – 04   Reserved
  • 05  Ground – 06   Reserved
  • 07  Ground – (O)08  -Index
  • 09  Ground – (I)10  -Drive Select 0 (*)
  • 11  Ground -  (I)12  -Drive Select 1 (*)
  • 13  Ground -  14   Reserved
  • 15  Ground -  (I)16  -Motor Enable (*)
  • 17  Ground -  (I)18  -Direction In
  • 19  Ground -  (I)20  -Step
  • 21  Ground -  (I)22  -Write Data
  • 23  Ground – (I)24  -Write Enable
  • 25  Ground – (O)26  -Track 0
  • 27  Ground – (O)28  -Write Protect
  • 29  Ground – (O)30  -Read Data
  • 31  Ground -  (I)32  -Head 1 Select
  • 33  Ground – (O)34  -Diskette Change/Ready
  • (*)Depend on the S0/S1/MO jumper!
• 7 segments screen segments definition :
  • //   a
  • // f   b
  • //   g
  • // e   c
  • //   d
• Custom firmware option : Blackberry trackball -> Single and double step support.
• Custom firmware option : Extra up/down buttons or navigation switchs on the rotary connectors.
• Some fixes in the user defined image feature.
• Custom firmware option : Display the current track number on the 7 segment screen.
• Custom firmware option : Debug output on the serial port (115200 8N1).
• Custom firmware option : Read pipeline buffer size.
• New system family support : Kawai.
• Blackberry trackball support.
• Track position display changed to when the screen line size is less than 16 characters.
• Fix some OLED fonts glitches.
• New parameter : OLED line alignment.
• New fonts : 8514oem 10×20, xwindow 8×32, unscii 8×32.
• More customization options :
  • 2.42 Inch OLED screen support.
  • 100 khz / 400 khz I2C bus selection.
• Indexed mode files naming convention enhanced :
  • DSKAXXXX become a prefix : You can now add something after the prefix. e.g : DSKA0000_MyDiskName.IMG, DSKA0001_SaveDisk.HFE…
  • The prefix can be changed on the customization page if you don’t like it : https://hxc2001.com/custom_fw/
• AUTOBOOT and config files names are now not case sensitive.
• And some more fixes (rotary settings…).

This is only a little part of the changelog. The original one is very long and you can read it here. (instruction manual here)

The HxC Floppy Emulator Firmware Customization page: https://hxc2001.com/custom_fw/

Download: USB Stick STM32 (Gotek) HxC Firmware v3.1.60.5a (849)

source: hxc2001.com