TD0 File access?

[stephenpeterson]

Hi,
I downloaded the file "86to305.TD0" from the HP Computer museum.
Does anyone know how to view a ".TD0" file? I believe it's an ASCII file.

Thanks again.
Steve Peterson

[rprosperi]

.TD0 files are in Teledisk format, a DOS-vintage utility for making a floppy disk binary (not simple ASCII) image file intended to be sent electronically, at the time meaning modem transfer via phone lines, hence the name Teledisk.

See this site for info on the format and to get a copy of the utility, which BTW runs only on real DOS (in fact old/slow PC hw) with real vintage floppy drives (typically 5.25" 360K):

http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img54...ledisk.htm

There is also useful info here, presuming that file is for use with some HP equipment:

https://groups.io/g/hpseries80/topic/655...100,655937

More details on what you're trying to do (machine type, programs, etc.) will help get you better answers.

[stephenpeterson]

Thanks Bob.
Recently I have purchased 3 HP disk drives (9121D, 9122C, 9122D) and have been unable to get any of them working with an HP-87 (with Mr Kotaska's excellent ROM emulator board.) So I purchased the plug-in Serial port, thinking I can use a pc to save HP programs via RS-232 transfers. Wanted to see a sample of possible code, hence the .TD0 file.
I have yet another 9122 drive coming in a few days. The description (like the last one purchased) is said to be working and fully functional, it wasn't, couldn't even insert a floppy. Took me an hour of cleaning and lubricating, then discovered it didn't work. Fingers crossed on the one winging it's way to me
If this one doesn't work, I will give up on HP drives and look at modifying a Sony drive or something that is said to work with Amiga, as I heard this may work in the HP world.
Any Ideas?
Best,
Steve

[Dave Frederickson]

(07-11-2019 07:42 AM)stephenpeterson Wrote:  Any Ideas?

There is a utility to convert TD0 files to HPI format, which is another term for LIF disc image files.

http://hp9845.net/9845_backup/downloads/...tility.zip

I've had mixed results with this tool as it seems to be a little finicky under DOX Box.

Once transformed you can examine the contents and load the files into the HP-85/85B/87 Emulator.

http://www.kaser.com/hp85/series80em.zip

If you're having problems with the converson, just holler and I'll convert the file using vintage hardware.

Dave

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

(07-11-2019 07:42 AM)stephenpeterson Wrote:  Thanks Bob.
Recently I have purchased 3 HP disk drives (9121D, 9122C, 9122D) and have been unable to get any of them working with an HP-87 (with Mr Kotaska's excellent ROM emulator board.) So I purchased the plug-in Serial port, thinking I can use a pc to save HP programs via RS-232 transfers. Wanted to see a sample of possible code, hence the .TD0 file.
I have yet another 9122 drive coming in a few days. The description (like the last one purchased) is said to be working and fully functional, it wasn't, couldn't even insert a floppy. Took me an hour of cleaning and lubricating, then discovered it didn't work. Fingers crossed on the one winging it's way to me
If this one doesn't work, I will give up on HP drives and look at modifying a Sony drive or something that is said to work with Amiga, as I heard this may work in the HP world.
Any Ideas?
Best,
Steve

I have modified 1.44 drives to work in a 9122C you will need a drive that provides the ready signal and to bring all of the signals out on the connector I recall I had to alter the card on the drive.

The drives used in 9121 and 9122S/D rotate at 600RPM twice the rate of common 360K and 720K 3.5" drives. This also means that the data rate from the drive is twice what it is on a 300RPM drive which greatly complicates replacing a drive with a "industry standard" drive very difficult as you would need to alter the controller electronics to account for the reduced data rate.

Paul.

[jdavidboyd]

I find this thread very interesting, and one question immediately comes to mind - why are y'all doing this? Do you feel it is important to keep legacy hardware and storage formats working, or is it just for fun?

[rprosperi]

(07-11-2019 12:46 PM)jdavidboyd Wrote:  I find this thread very interesting, and one question immediately comes to mind - why are y'all doing this? Do you feel it is important to keep legacy hardware and storage formats working, or is it just for fun?

Thinking that those are different questions implies you might not expect the answer... which likely is simply 'yes'.

[Dave Frederickson]

An alternative is to use the virtual drive, HPDrive, which requires a GPIB card and vintage hardware.

http://www.hp9845.net/9845/projects/hpdrive/

What's cool about HPDrive is that I can use it to image the hard drive on my 9133!

[rprosperi]

(07-11-2019 06:32 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  What's cool about HPDrive is that I can use it to image the hard drive on my 9133!

That is cool! I never thought of imaging a connected hard drive...

I'll bet it's slooow though.

[stephenpeterson]

The latest HP-9121 purchased actually worked! So Happy.
Thanks for all the good help and suggestions!

Best,
Steve