Spectrum Computing

I'm no expert but if you are just backing up your collection for use on Emulators or a Gotek then SamDisk is most likely all you need as it does a very good job, including preserving/recording most if not all of the copy protection schemes. I think Kryoflux or SuperCard Pro (SCP) are really for hardcore preservation as they produce very fine resolution images of the disks running into the many megabytes. Probably best if you want to write back to real floppies though.

Personally I find SamDisk fine even for writing most things back to real floppies (doesn't work on all), although I wouldn't mind a Kryoflux

A Kryoflux is much better at preserving the image than SamDisk. SamDisk at the end of the day has to go through a floppy disk controller chip. While it does a fantastic job with that limitation it still can only read the disk as the FDC sees it.

Additionally it is limited by what information it can put into the DSK file (although it has extended it slightly to deal with some copy-protection such as faking weak-bits by storing multiple copies of the same track). Emulators often have hacks in them to spot and skip over copy protection so these images can work. You can also see the limitations if you try to write a DSK file back to a physical 3" disk and attempt to boot it on real hardware. It will often fail as the tricks it does like the multiple-copies-of-a-track can't be physically written back.

The Kryoflux is a direct USB to physical drive interface with no floppy controller. It records magnetic flux variations on the disk which let it image (or write back) any format for any machines with any copy protection in great detail (a 200KB Speccy disk images at about 8MB).

In summary: SamDisk is a great tool and it's fine for emulator users. For actual software preservation however the Kryoflux is the way to go.

Note: SamDisk also has a mode where it can produce DSK files from Kryoflux raw stream files

I bought a Kryoflux a few years back but haven't gotten around to hooking it up yet (have hundreds of Amiga disks to archive).

The +3 was my first computer, and having regretted selling it since I was 14 I finally answered the nagging call of nostalgia and purchased a replacement. Unfortunately I don't have any original disks for it, but have adorned it with a Multiface 3 and DivMMC Future and an external Gotek.

If you do set up an archive/repo, I'd very much like to get involved. Don't know if archive.org can help? I noticed they host some kryoflux images.

Which Filename-extension is used by Kyroflux-Images?

Is it .IPF-Format that Spectaculator 7.5 support as we can read here: https://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?t=129

Can we found some sample-+3-.IPF-Files to download on the net?

2 years have been passed since Gorki shared Pacmania +3 on wos forum, and has disappeared. He visited the forum last time on Sat Feb 16, 2019 2:47 pm.

Are they in DSK format? I was wondering as I have a GOtek and have files in other formats.

szerman wrote: ↑Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:28 am Are they in DSK format? I was wondering as I have a GOtek and have files in other formats.

No. Those disks where in .IPF-Format.

I wonder if adding support for SCP makes sense as well as IPF? Similar to IPF this format stores the flux timings and would be useful as it is the format recorded via Greasweazle which I guess most will now use to backup real disks due to the low cost of ownership vs. Kyroflux. Filesize is very large though so unsure if it would add any value to emulators over normal DSK and extendedDSK.

Another great option would be to be able to read real disks in an Emulator via Greaseweazle coupled with a 3" drive. I know there is something similar for Amiga.

TomD