Hi all,
A lot of folks have been asking when more Backpack drives will be available. As you know the chip shortage has made some parts impossible to obtain, including the microcontroller used in the original Backpack. My friend that designed the original Backpack found a newly released AVR processor that was actually available and designed the Backpack Drive Plus, or BPD+ if you prefer. It looks the same and works the same with a slightly lower current draw from the battery. He also made a number of adapters to use the Backpack with computers like the WP2, Sinclair Z88, Epson HX-20, Epson PX-8. The Epson's have a separate firmware to simulate the original Epson disk drives. We had a waiting list of folks who had asked for one and have worked through that list so now ordering is open to the public. We are still 3D printing cases and finishing the units up. If the stock level shows zero, try again in a few days. When we run out, I will note that on the webpage. https://www.soigeneris.com/tandy-tpdd-2-backpack-drive-2 Jeff Birt
