After many weeks of delays in getting test PCBs from the manufacturer, I received and was able to certify them this week. With this sign off, a new run of the Applesauce hardware has begun its manufacturing process. It will still be a few weeks till the PCBs arrive here for final assembly, but it is finally happening. The price will go up a bit from the initial run due to increased manufacturing and parts costs as well as new tariffs, but I won’t know the final pricing until the parts all get here. I am making 250 units for this run and currently have about 175 reserved by folks on the wait list.
The new Applesauce hardware has several improvements and new features over the original. The power supply is more robust now. I have beefed up the output capabilities of the voltage regulators significantly to help it work with more drives that have drifted outside of their specifications over the last 35 years. The power supply also has a monitoring system so that it can now detect any abnormalities in power consumption and adjust imaging settings to compensate. This also allows for much greater diagnostic capabilities to ensure that your floppy drive is functioning properly and is a good candidate for disk imaging.
If you purchased an Applesauce in the original run, I am having replacement PCBs made so that you can upgrade your units. There are no real improvements in regards to 5.25 drives, but I did find that many 3.5 drives require more power than what the original boards can provide reliably. So, if you have a Deluxe model, I strongly suggest that you upgrade your board. I will be making upgrade boards available as inexpensively as possible. The upgrade only needs a screwdriver, no soldering or other technical skills required. If you aren’t confident that you can do the upgrade, you can mail your unit back to me and I will replace the board for you at no additional charge.
I’m also making extra sync sensors available for those of you that expressed interest in obtaining extras to install in a few drives.