Commodore A1060 Sidecar Gotek Controller

This is a control panel that is meant to be mounted to the front of a Commodore Amiga 1060 “Sidecar". It controls a Gotek drive that is mounted to an expansion port slot.

Bill of Materials

• All three printed parts
• A Gotek drive (with installed FlashFloppy firmware), mounted to the expansion port holder (see link above)
• 1x 0.91" OLED display module (see photo)
• 1x Rotary encoder module with push button (HW-040, see photo)
• 3x M2.5 x 8 mm hex socket screws 
• 3x M2.5 washers (use shorter screws if you omit the washers!)
• 3x M2.5 inserts (4 mm diameter, 5.7 mm length)
• 50 cm color-coded ribbon cable, 5 wires
• 50 cm color-coded ribbon cable, 4 wires
• Dupont connector kit (for connecting the wires to the Gotek drive)

The case has been designed precisely for the OLED and encoder modules. Other modules won't fit!

Printing

Just print all parts with PLA. Supports are not required. Try to avoid using brims unless you have problems with warping. Layer height: 0.2 mm.

I used eSun PLA+ in “Bone White” color. It is a bit more yellowish than the Sidecar front, but it's the closest match to the “retro PC case” color I could find so far. If you know a better matching color, please leave a comment!

Assembly

• Print all parts
• Unsolder the pin header from the OLED module and encoder module (if present)
• Solder the ribbon cables to the OLED and encoder modules. For the OLED, the cable needs to be soldered to the PCB top (so the wires are at the bottom). For the encoder, the wires need to be soldered to the PCB bottom (so the wires are at the top). Note the meaning of each wire color. Do not add connectors to the other end of the cable yet!
• Push the knob onto the encoder axis.
• Route the wires through the tunnel of the base part. The wires of the OLED display must be at the left edge of the base part.
• Make sure the OLED and the encoder are flush with the base part. Shorten wires and pins if necessary.
• Don't forget to peel off the protective film from the OLED now. 😉
• Use the main panel part to completely assembe the case. It's a bit tricky because of the cables, but at the end everything should just find its correct position. There is no need to use glue.
• Carefully put the inserts into the corresponding holes. Do not use force or excessive heat! The walls of the case are very thin at the holes, and are easily deformed.
• For easier montage, temporarily remove the expansion card brackets from the Sidecar case.
• Put the cables through the ventilation slit of the Sidecar case. Make sure they are lying flat and are not twisted.
• Put the control assembly on the ventilation grille of the Sidecar case.
• Use the screws and washers to screw the assembly to the case. There is very little space for that, and it may be easier to remove the floppy/PSU frame before that.
• Reassemble the expansion case brackets.
• Now it's time to put Dupont connectors to the other end of the cables. The configuration depends on the Gotek model, see here. Make very sure that the configuration is correct! If you make an error, you can permanently damage the OLED or the encoder, and need to unassemble everything for replacement.
• Connect the cables to the Gotek board, and do a test run.