Solid state floppy replacement drives like the Gotek are a popular way of replacing an aging mechanical drive with something more modern 

However, that means when using a retro computer you miss out on the full nostalgic experience of hearing the FDD:

• Spin up when you insert a disk
• Click and whir as your favourite games load
• Spin down after activity completes

The FDD Synth is a 3.5" compatible drive bay card that recreates the sound of a mechanical floppy disk drive for your retro computer

It can also be used standalone and doesn't need to be fitted in a 3.5" drive bay, making it a very portable and versatile solution. 

• Sample based recreation of mechanical floppy disk drives operating sounds
  • Spin up when motor is turned on
  • Idle spin whilst standing by
  • Access clicks and hums
  • Spin down when motor stops
• SD card to hold multiple FDD sample packs, to recreate the sound of different mechanical floppy disk drives
• Volume control to make it very loud or silent

Prototype MKI [In progress] ▶️

Initial 3.5" drive bay compatible version

Production

Create units for general availability, planned for Q3 2026

• Progress updates
  Blog posts about the project
• GitHub
  Open source hardware and software

• Peter Bridger, Project Lead
  Hardware/software design

If you'd like, you can donate to support this project on Ko-Fi