Greaseweazle Models
There are three MCU lines supported by Greaseweazle, with hardware identified as follows:
- F1: Based on the STM32F103 MCU and the "Blue Pill" development board.
- F7: Based on the STM32F730 MCU and custom PCB, available in a range of models.
- V4: Based on the AT32F4xx MCUs and custom PCB, available in a range of models.
| Feature | F1 | F1 Plus | F7 Lightning Plus | V4.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumperless Update | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Multiple Drives | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Write-Protect Jumper | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Buffered Outputs | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| High-Speed USB | Yes | |||
| 12v Power | Yes | Yes | ||
| Flippy Drive | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Disk Change Detect | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| User Outputs | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Multiple Drives: Allows simultaneous connection to two PC, or three Shugart, drives on a single ribbon cable. Useful for cased installations.
Write-Protect Jumper: Physically disables write capability, making it impossible to accidentally overwrite disks during preservation.
Buffered Outputs: Higher (40mA) output drive capability, needed for older floppy drives with strong input pull-ups (resistance <1kOhm).
High-Speed USB: 480Mbps bus transfer rate, compared with 12Mbps on Full-Speed models. Provides greater bandwidth headroom and future expandability. Not needed for floppy disks up to High Density data rates (eg 1.44MB PC disks).
12v Power: Allows board and drive to be powered from a single 12v power brick. These models are the only ones to directly support drives requiring a 12v supply; other models require such drives to be separately powered.
Flippy Drive: Supports flippy-modded Panasonic drives for reading 5.25" flippy disks in a single pass.
Disk Change Detect: Allows disk change signal to be monitored at floppy interface pin 34. Used by projects such as Rob Smith's WinUAE Greaseweazle integration.
User Outputs: User-configurable outputs. Useful for non-standard control signals such as reduced write current (8" drives).
| Model | Picture |
|---|---|
| F1 |  |
| F7 Lightning Plus |  |
| V4.1 |  |
These models are no longer available, but continue to be supported by the Greaseweazle software. Design files are available for DIY makers.
| Feature | F7 v1 | F7 v2 | F7 v3 | F7 Plus | F7 Lightning | F7 Slim1 | V4 | V4 Slim1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumperless Update | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Drives | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Write-Protect Jumper | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Buffered Outputs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| High-Speed USB | Yes | |||||||
| 12v Power | Yes | |||||||
| Flippy Drive | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Disk Change Detect | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| User Outputs | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
- Slim models have 26-pin FFC connector, supporting slim-line 3.5-inch laptop/embedded drives.
| Model | Picture |
|---|---|
| F7 v1 |  |
| F7 v2 |  |
| F7 v3 |  |
| F7 Plus |  |
| F7 Lightning |  |
| F7 Slim |  |
| V4 |  |