Date   : Mon, 10 Oct 2005 22:38:29 +0100
From   : Mike Tomlinson <mike@...>
Subject: Re: 3.5" Floppy For A Master

In article <20051010084042.BNHB24460.aamta12-winn.ispmail.ntl.com@...>,
David Hunt <dm.hunt@...> writes

>What you could do is buy a 3.5" floppy bezel and tray adapter (I haven't
>seen one of these since the early 90s), put the 3.5" floppy where the 5.25"
>drive was and use a commonly found Molex power lead adapter that allows the
>large Molex power connector of the 5.25" drive to be used on a 3.5" floppy.

It's worth pointing out here that many 3.5" drives run off 5v only, so
the 12v line is not needed.  You could therefore power a drive by
tapping into the 5v supply to the BBC's motherboard, without the bother
of trying to find a suitable AMP plug to fit the PSU auxiliary socket.

The Amiga drive conversion guide at www.alchemistresearch.com states
that the AMP plugs to fit the BBC's aux power socket are no longer
obtainable.  I haven't checked this myself.

You could even, if you don't mind butchering the Beeb (say you pick one
up that's in poor condition cosmetically, but works), drill fixing holes
in the top of the case and screw a bare drive to the case top, running
the ribbon cable and power lines out of the vents at the back.