Have you heard about this?

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Moad'Dib
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Have you heard about this?

Post by Moad'Dib »

http://www.sd2iec.co.uk/id14.html

Or anyone who has already tried this stuff? It looks very useful.

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Commie_User
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Commie_User »

Ah, the old memory card thing. Or the new one, rather. I haven't used it myself but I have had the pleasure of networking the PC, to load from disk images that way. A splendid experience and I love seeing something bulky hold my images.

As far as I'm aware the card drive emulates the 1541 completely, so fastloaders and such even work. And as I also hear that they've been out for years, they should be pretty secure too. Other people swear by it at least, so I don't see why you shouldn't give it a go. For what it is, it's cheap enough.



Myself, I thoroughly enjoyed fiddling around with C64TPC and Star Commander. And got a good few comments with my video summary. God, just five years ago, something affordable had to be fiddly.




FURTHER, PLUS DOWNLOADS:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10001&p=94370#p94370
Last edited by Commie_User on 10/09/2013 - 20:08, edited 1 time in total.
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Jan Lund Thomsen
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Jan Lund Thomsen »

I got all my disks transferred to D64 images, copied the files to a MicroSD card, and bought a 1541 Ultimate-II. About three times the price of the SD2IEC, but worth every penny. Haven't experienced anything that it won't load, wheras word on the street is that the SD2IEC doesn't work with IRQ loaders.
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Analog-X64 »

Jan Lund Thomsen wrote:I got all my disks transferred to D64 images, copied the files to a MicroSD card, and bought a 1541 Ultimate-II. About three times the price of the SD2IEC, but worth every penny. Haven't experienced anything that it won't load, wheras word on the street is that the SD2IEC doesn't work with IRQ loaders.
What is the best way to transfer floppy's to D64 images? especially for originals. For example Chiller uses a sector error which causes the drive head to jump to the correct position to continue to load the game.
d[-.-]b (+[___]x)d(>_<)b 52656d697836342e636f6d2073696d706c7920726f636b732120
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Moad'Dib
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Moad'Dib »

Thanx for the answers guys!

Commie, the video was just great!-

Jan, 1541 Ultimate-II looks a little bit expensive. I believe that this is a perfect solution but those guys sell it in the price of gold. It is really over on a correct price...

I'll think about it, but first of all I have to get a Commodore 64 set.. :) It isn't so simple as I thought...
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Commie_User »

Thanks Moad. It was a pleasure to give it another airing. For me, the utilities needing an XE1541 cable are still the best way to get original media copied into the PC to start with.

And as far as I'm aware, you would actually need to break any protection yourself, though there should be plenty of old tools floating around the Web. But not to worry, it seems most of everything is already online and just waiting to be downloaded.

And even when they're not, the Action Replay did me well enough in the past. But I think I know what you mean Analog, that feeling you have when you know you can do it yourself.
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Commie_User »

And if you want a 64, Ebay's a fine place to start looking.


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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COMMODORE-C12 ... 4d101b7e6f




£70 that. Or you can pay £25 for a yellow one with games:

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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/C64-COMMODORE ... 4175aef4cb




But then again, a 128 in its box for £80 will give you that touch of class maybe.

Image
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Commodore-C12 ... 1e7e34da2a


Nice eh? That, a video lead and the little dongle should be all you need. Most images'll work with what you're looking at, especially as by far the most common file format extensions were PRG and SEQ. I'm sure of that.



Wire: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Commodore-64- ... 3a6c5a631a
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Jan Lund Thomsen
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Jan Lund Thomsen »

Moad'Dib wrote:1541 Ultimate-II looks a little bit expensive. I believe that this is a perfect solution but those guys sell it in the price of gold. It is really over on a correct price...
I used to be in the "The 1541 Ultimate sure sounds nice, but 129 euros?" camp. That lasted until the guy that transferred my C64 disks brought one with him, and I got to try it out. Within hours of his departure I had ordered myself a copy, and even though I don't boot up the old breadbin on a daily basis, I still think of the 1541U as the C64 peripheral that has brought me the most value for money. And it'll keep going long after my last floppy disk has given up the ghost. Heck, only yesterday I discovered that as of Firmware 2.4 it supports EasyFlash cartridge files. Which means that I can now boot up California Games in less than 20 seconds. How amazing is that?

So what if it sets you back 130 euros as a one-time investment? The very idea that someone will take the time and effort to keep the C64 alive and kicking in 2013 by researching, developing, manufacturing, shipping and continually supporting a device as amazing as this - bearing in mind that it has a limited audience, makes me wonder how people can even think of it as "expensive".

Sure, not everyone has the financial wiggle-room in their budget to buy one of these gizmos. But isn't that what piggy-banks are for? Start saving up.
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Commie_User »

Well that's certainly a persuasive argument there, Jan. The website shows it has an awful lot on there, including tape transfer and USB drive socket. And to look at the other high-end Chameleon cartridge, I was truly staggered to find VGA output and other PC peripheral support on top.


http://retrocomputermuseum.co.uk/forum/ ... pic=3659.0



But I suppose the point is to have some solution or other available on any budget. Even today, some people can't save, which is, I think, why my video helped a few people since I made it.

And in one respect I think it is more amazing that people like 8-Bit Ventures can bring out the MSSIAH for the price of a few beers and pack of cigarettes.
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Re: Have you heard about this?

Post by Moad'Dib »

Sure, not everyone has the financial wiggle-room in their budget to buy one of these gizmos. But isn't that what piggy-banks are for? Start saving up.
Dear Jan we are not kids, we have wallets and bank accounts. Of course I could pay 130 euros if it would worth for me. But personally I still believe that this price is over of a possibility to a correct business. I would pay this price if there isn't any other options.
But anyway thanks for the informations!
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