Adafruit
Adafruit Floppy FeatherWing with 34-Pin IDC Connector
$10.58
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The Adafruit Floppy FeatherWing lets you read and write 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppy disks using a Feather microcontroller. It connects to standard 34-pin ID...
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The Adafruit Floppy FeatherWing lets you read and write 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch floppy disks using a Feather microcontroller. It connects to standard 34-pin IDC floppy drives and includes built-in level shifting between 3.3 V Feather logic and the 5 V signals that floppy drives require.
Floppy drives stream raw bit transitions at high speed, so a fast microcontroller with large SRAM and DMA capability is needed. This FeatherWing is currently supported with the Feather M4 and Feather RP2040 only — ESP32, ATmega, nRF52, and other platforms have not been ported.
Key Features
- 34-Pin IDC Connector – Pre-attached 2×17 header for standard floppy drive cables
- 5 V Level Shifting – On-board boost converter provides 5 V logic output and shifts incoming signals to 3.3 V
- Write Disable Switch – Physically prevents accidental writes, ideal for archiving use cases
- 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch Drive Support – Works with both form factors
Supported Use Cases
- Data Archiving – Read raw bit patterns from floppy disks for preservation; compatible with Greaseweazle and FluxEngine command-line tools running on your computer
- FAT Disk Read/Write – Read and write FAT-formatted floppy disks from Arduino or CircuitPython, or via USB connection to a computer
- Floppy Music – Drive stepper motors for musical sequencing projects
Important: Floppy drives require external 5 V power at up to 2 A — they cannot be powered from USB alone. 5.25-inch drives also need a 12 V supply.
Note: Only compatible with Feather M4 and Feather RP2040 boards. You will also need a 34-pin IDC cable, a floppy drive, external power supply, and floppy disks — many of these items are vintage and may require sourcing.
Ideal For
- Floppy disk data archiving and preservation
- Retro computing projects
- Interfacing modern microcontrollers with legacy storage
Package Contents
- 1× Floppy FeatherWing with 34-pin IDC connector and level shifting circuitry
- Pin headers for Feather connection (unsoldered — assembly required)
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- boost converter
- A boost converter is a power circuit that raises a lower input voltage to a higher output voltage. It matters here because the board can power a sensor that needs a higher supply voltage while still using a single connector for power and data.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- ESP32
- ESP32 is a family of microcontroller modules with built-in wireless features such as Bluetooth and WiFi. Knowing this product uses an ESP32-based module helps explain how it provides wireless serial communication and firmware update features.
- FeatherWing
- A FeatherWing is an add-on board made to plug into the Feather microcontroller board layout. Knowing a product is a FeatherWing helps you check whether it will physically and electrically fit your Feather-style mainboard.
- Headers
- Rows of metal pins used to plug a module into a breadboard or connect it with jumper wires. Pre-soldered headers make the module easier to use straight away without needing to solder the pins yourself.
- IDC connector
- An IDC connector is a ribbon-cable connector commonly used to carry many signals in a neat, keyed cable. On LED matrix products, it matters because it lets you connect panels with standard matrix cables instead of wiring each signal separately.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- RP2040
- A microcontroller chip used on many maker boards, with enough speed and flexible I/O for some camera and display projects. Compatibility with RP2040 matters because camera modules often need many pins and careful timing to read image data successfully.
- SRAM
- Fast temporary memory used by a processor while a program is running. More SRAM helps with projects that handle larger data buffers, networking, displays, or more complex code.
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
