FDD Synth

Making floppy disk drives loud again!

Solid state floppy replacement drives like the Gotek are a popular way of replacing an aging mechanical drive with something more modern 

However, that means when using a retro computer you miss out on the full nostalgic experience of hearing the FDD:

  • Spin up when you insert a disk
  • Click and whir as your favourite games load
  • Spin down after activity completes

The FDD Synth is a 3.5“ compatible drive bay card that recreates the sound of a mechanical floppy disk drive for your retro computer

It can also be used standalone and doesn’t need to be fitted in a 3.5“ drive bay, making it a very portable and versatile solution.

Features

  • Sample based recreation of mechanical floppy disk drives operating sounds
    • Spin up when motor is turned on
    • Idle spin whilst standing by
    • Access clicks and hums
    • Spin down when motor stops
  • SD card to hold multiple FDD sample packs, to recreate the sound of different mechanical floppy disk drives
  • Volume control to make it very loud or silent

Roadmap

Prototype MKI [__In progress] ▶️

Initial 3.5“ drive bay compatible version

Production

Create units for general availability, no date planned

Credits

  • Peter Bridger, Project Lead
    Hardware/software design

Support ❤️

If you’d like, you can donate to support this project on Ko-Fi