floppy disk reader for Congo

hello,

we are trying to read shows on Congo from a Presto floppy disk and convert Congo shows to an Expert format and then write them on a floppy disk. we tried with a couple of floppy disk readers but none of them seemed to work... is there any thing we should be aware of when choosing a reader? or any generic Dell ou LaCie reader should work?

we're on Congo Kid. I'll check what software version, but it is 6.1.1 or older.

 

thank you for answering

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  • Hi SDum,

    please save the Presto ASC File Format to a USB Stick, and then you can

    read the showfile into Congo via the USB Stick.

     

    thanks,

  • and we were not also able to read a congo file on a presto although it is ASCII... is there a way to do it?

  • SDum said:

    and we were not also able to read a congo file on a presto although it is ASCII... is there a way to do it?

    The ASCII file consists of two different types of data: 

    - Standard (channels and levels, texts, dimmer patch)

    - Manufacturer specific (everything else)

    Presto should be able to read the standard data, giving you the main sequence with presets containing channels and levels. 

    What happens when you read the Congo file with Presto? Do you get any data imported?

  • Hello Anders.

     

    i'll check opening Congo file with presto, assuming that i save congo file on a USB stick, rename it "presto.asc", and transfer it to a presto formatted floppy disk. I'll let you know what happens.

     

    In the file manager page (in Congo settings), I don't think A: showed up when we plugged it in. 

    So my questions are : are we supposed to plug the floppy reader before starting the console ? we tried with 2 readers, one from Dell, and another one from LaCie. I think both are generic and do not require specific drivers in windows. but who knows, I am mostly a Mac user, so I'm maybe not well aware of this !

    Is there a list of known floppy disk readers working for sure with Congo? (we're on a Congo Kid)

     

    thank you for your help, i'll get back to you with more precise answers.

     

    have a good day

     

    Stephan

  • Hello,

    so I could experiment a little :

    It is possible to open a Presto ASCII File from a USB stick on Congo. Import does not work. I tried to import main sequence, presets, all, nothing seems to work out. So i saved the ASCII file on Congo, opened a new play and then import from the newly created Congo file. Even 900 presets are recognized as groups, it is fine.

    then we tried to open a Congo file on a presto. saving Congo file on a USB stick, copying it on a laptop to a presto formatted floppy disk. we did not change the file name. then it opened perfectly on a Presto. one small detail : if you want to keep your groups created on Congo, you have to create 900 presets. Presto dos not read Groups.

    We have Presto to Expert Command on Presto, so it is theoretically possible to export the file to Expert Console. And the opposite would also, but I haven't had the time to experiment.

    We tried to plug 2 different floppy readers on Congo using USB. When we plugged them in, both started running, but stopped after a short while. they did not appear as A: in the file manager in Congo Settings Page.

    So my last question is : "are there only specific USB floppy disk drives compatible with Congo?"

     

    Thank you and have a nice weekend.

     

    Stephan 

     

  • Hi Stephan,

    You seem to have sorted this out now. I just want to confirm a few things.

    To open a Presto file in Congo, you just open it as any other show file. Congo is aware of Presto files and will convert them automatically. The Import function isn't needed for this.

    Loading a Congo file into a Presto console will only give you the basic data from the show file, like you discovered. Presto isn't aware about the newer console Congo, so it cannot do any automatically conversion of things like groups.

    Regarding the connection of a USB floppy drive to Congo Kid: This might be something that isn't supported in Congo Kid. We will investigate this.

    SDum said:

    Hello,

    so I could experiment a little :

    It is possible to open a Presto ASCII File from a USB stick on Congo. Import does not work. I tried to import main sequence, presets, all, nothing seems to work out. So i saved the ASCII file on Congo, opened a new play and then import from the newly created Congo file. Even 900 presets are recognized as groups, it is fine.

    then we tried to open a Congo file on a presto. saving Congo file on a USB stick, copying it on a laptop to a presto formatted floppy disk. we did not change the file name. then it opened perfectly on a Presto. one small detail : if you want to keep your groups created on Congo, you have to create 900 presets. Presto dos not read Groups.

    We have Presto to Expert Command on Presto, so it is theoretically possible to export the file to Expert Console. And the opposite would also, but I haven't had the time to experiment.

    We tried to plug 2 different floppy readers on Congo using USB. When we plugged them in, both started running, but stopped after a short while. they did not appear as A: in the file manager in Congo Settings Page.

    So my last question is : "are there only specific USB floppy disk drives compatible with Congo?"

     

    Thank you and have a nice weekend.

     

    Stephan 

     

     

Reply
  • Hi Stephan,

    You seem to have sorted this out now. I just want to confirm a few things.

    To open a Presto file in Congo, you just open it as any other show file. Congo is aware of Presto files and will convert them automatically. The Import function isn't needed for this.

    Loading a Congo file into a Presto console will only give you the basic data from the show file, like you discovered. Presto isn't aware about the newer console Congo, so it cannot do any automatically conversion of things like groups.

    Regarding the connection of a USB floppy drive to Congo Kid: This might be something that isn't supported in Congo Kid. We will investigate this.

    SDum said:

    Hello,

    so I could experiment a little :

    It is possible to open a Presto ASCII File from a USB stick on Congo. Import does not work. I tried to import main sequence, presets, all, nothing seems to work out. So i saved the ASCII file on Congo, opened a new play and then import from the newly created Congo file. Even 900 presets are recognized as groups, it is fine.

    then we tried to open a Congo file on a presto. saving Congo file on a USB stick, copying it on a laptop to a presto formatted floppy disk. we did not change the file name. then it opened perfectly on a Presto. one small detail : if you want to keep your groups created on Congo, you have to create 900 presets. Presto dos not read Groups.

    We have Presto to Expert Command on Presto, so it is theoretically possible to export the file to Expert Console. And the opposite would also, but I haven't had the time to experiment.

    We tried to plug 2 different floppy readers on Congo using USB. When we plugged them in, both started running, but stopped after a short while. they did not appear as A: in the file manager in Congo Settings Page.

    So my last question is : "are there only specific USB floppy disk drives compatible with Congo?"

     

    Thank you and have a nice weekend.

     

    Stephan 

     

     

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