Commodore.news

PET Diagnostic | Tynemouth software has developed a new diagnostic system for the PET / CBM computer. The diagnose system is placed in the socket of the 6502 CPU and runs a number of tests.

Vampire 2 Review | Dan Wood made a review of the Vampire 2 accelerator for the Amiga A600. He demonstrates how to install the hardware and how fast the A600 is with this new accelerator.

VIC MIDI cartridge - VIC-20 | Kevin Casteels (Alterus) made a reviews of the VIC MIDI cartridge with ULTIMEM for the Commodore VIC 20 computer. The VIC MIDI cartridge offers a MIDI-IN, OUT and THRU support, but also 512kB FLASH ROM and 128kB RAM.

Happiga | Happiga is a emulation system that can be used on a very small computer such as a Raspberry Pi. It uses the UAE4ARM emulator to emulate an Amiga 4000 AGA including Picasso96. You can use a real keyboard and joystick via the Keyrah V2. Changes in this version: An update for Raspbian, support for 128 MB Z3 RAM, a new menu and other small improvements.

Vampire600 / Apollo - Silver7 | The Vampire600 turbo card uses the Apollo FPGA-core to emulate the 68000 CPU and the SAGA graphics chip. The changes for Apollo are: Added CHK2, CAS2, CMP2, EXTW/L, FAST-IDE and a HDMI boot-pic. Improvements for BFEXTU, BFEXTS, MOVES, NCBD, PACK, TRAPcc and SUBQ/BNE.

Dual Core C64 | Telmo Moya replaced the standard 6510 CPU of the Commodore C64 with a dual core CPU. The first core is a 6510 and the second core is a Z80. This makes it possible to use CP|M on the C64 without the original CP|M cartridge.

WonderVIC | MCes is working on a modified Commodore VIC20. This modification includes a full expansion RAM (37K) and an alternative kernal. And the cartridge expansion is still available for the user. Configuration is done via the function keys, and no extra switches are required.

Retro Academy - MiST | Francesco Sblendorio wrote an review about the MiST. In this review he writes about the hardware, connections, configuration, performance, compatibility and a field test. The English translation is from Ignazio Palmisano.

Check64 | Thomas developed a new test-system for the Commodore C64. The test-system will be available as a kit: printed circuit board, electronic parts and a EPROM (programmed). The available tests are: C64 Dead Test ROM, C64 Diagnostic ROM, 1541 DIAG (worldofjani.com) and C128 Diagnostic ROM.

New Amiga 1200 cases | After a very successful Kickstarter campaign by A1200.net (Philippe Lang) and with the help of a number of sponsors such as Scoopex, it is for the first time in almost 25 years that Amiga cases are being manufactured again.

Sum firmware update | For the Sum devices is new firmware available. Changes in this version: Saving LED states for Capslock, Numlock and ScrollLock keys, improvements for key-repeat, RESET key-lock for CD32 and other minor enhancements.

DiagROM - Amiga | DiagROM is a diagnostic tool for the Amiga computers. When you power-on your Amiga the diagnostic software will star. The diagnose software will try to send information to the serial port and the screen.

Ultimate-II+ | Gideon has announced a new version of the Ultimate II cartridge. The new specifications are: More USB ports, but no more MicroSD, integrated Ethernet, dual Flash, loudspeaker, external power supply connector, improved audio, tape connector and a faster FPGA.

The story of the Commodore Amiga in pixels | Chris Wilkins started a new Kickstarter Project for a new book about the Amiga. The book is planned to be 268 pages in length. A few examples of people in the book: Archer Maclean, David Lowe, Boys Without Brains, Jez San, Stoo cambridge, Mevlut Dinc, Andy Nuttal, Allister Brimble, Anthony Ball, David Mowbray, Dino Dini, Martin Edmodson, Steve Crow, Peter Johnson, Simon Butler, Tim Wright, Mark Hellewell, Francis Lionet, Ash Hogg, Andrew Hewson, Jim Sachs, Roman Rath, Barry Leitch and more...

Clone-a-Dore: C64 Micro ATX | David Maurer is working on an replacement for the Commodore C64. The features will be: USB keyboard, dual SID chip support, internal IEC header, cassette port, RAM expansion, Amiga clock port, Ethernet and much more.

SX64 keyboard cable | Flowerking made new connectors for the Commodore SX64 keyboard cable with his 3D printer. Besides the plastic shapes you will need the pins and some cable. Flowerking made more 3D designs for the Commodore and Amiga: C64 keyboard mounts, Amiga disk drive button, 1541 disk drive handle, etc.

Gotek HxC - A600 | Mfilos wrote a blog about installing a Gotek HxC in his Amiga A600. You can follow step by step how to install it. The modification includes a normal floppy disk drive together with the Gotek HxC.

Jp-Mouse | The Jp-Mouse is an USB Mouse adapter for the Amiga and the Atari ST. The adapter is based on the Cocolino and is compatible with USB mice with the PS2 protocol and with 27MHz wireless mice. The price of the adapter is 16 Euro.

The MOnSter 6502 | This project is a working 6502 processor built with transistors. The 6502 is used in the Commodore PET, VIC20 and the Commodore disk drives. Specifications: 12 x 15 inch (305 x 380 mm), 3218 transistors, 1019 resistors and a few other components.

VIC20 Diagnostics Cartridge and Test Harness Kits | Tynemouth Software has new diagnostic kits available for the Commodore VIC20. The software runs through a series of tests, identifying any faults with your VIC20. You can choose between two different diagnostic cartridges.

ZIF Socket C64 | On the Breadbox64.com web page you can see a ZIF socket modification for a Commodore C64 motherboard. When you try to repair an C64 it is possible to change a few ICs when they are placed in a socket. But most of the time they are soldered in place. This motherboard has now almost all ICs in ZIF sockets.

Vampire600 / Apollo - Silver5 | The Vampire600 turbo card uses the Apollo FPGA-core to emulate the 68000 CPU and the SAGA graphics chip. The changes for Apollo are: Support for big partitions (>4Gb) on internal IDE and improvements for SFS, HDToolBox, SD-card, screen resolutions and VBRControl.

Matzes a1k.org Graphics Adapter | This graphics adapter is compatible with a Zorro II slot (A2000 - A4000), and with an adapter also the A500. Specifications: Integrated monitor switcher (Amiga / VGA). Cirrus GD5434, 2 MB Blitter, 24 bits 800x600 (65Hz), 16 bits 1024x768 (75Hz) and 8 bits 1280x1024 (60Hz).

JoyDivision Joystick Adapter | Stefan Blixth developed a joystick adapter. This adapter makes it possible to use an Atari style joystick together with an emulator on a modern PC. The adapter is a HID device and does not use a driver.

The Way We Played: The Golden Age of Computer Games | The Way We Played: The Golden Age of Computer Games is a new Kickstarter project. This project want to publish a book about the games about the five major platforms of the golden age of computer games (1985-1993): Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.

FM-Sid V1.3 - C64 | 4-Mat developed a program that can be used to make music with the SFX FM Expander cartridge. This makes it possible to use 12 channels in total. The channels 1-3 are SID and the channels 4-12 are FM. You can use 256 FM instruments and 256 SID instruments.

Bblonde | Ravi Abbott made a video about removing yellowing on plastics. Instead of using RetroBright he experimented with Bblonde and Oxi-Action. Bblonde is a commercially available hair bleach and works the same as RetroBright.

Epsilon's CDTV upgrades | Epsilon wrote a blog about upgrading the Commodore CDTV. This included adding Joystick and mouse support, 8MB Fast-RAM, Workbench 3.1 extended CDTV ROMS, SCSI hard disk support and the AztecMonster SCSI to CF Card converter.

MNT VA2000 - Amiga 2000 Graphics Card (Zorro II) | Lukas F. Hartmann is developing a graphics card for the Amiga 2000. He build an adaptor card that fits into a Zorro II slot and connects to a miniSpartan6+ FPGA development board. The project is open source and you can build the graphics card yourself or order one from Lukas.

The 64 - Indiegogo project | A new Indiegogo project is started to produce a modern version of the Commodore C64. The 64 will be available as a console and as a handheld. The features are: ARM Cortex SoC, HDMI, cartridge slot, audio, USB and SD card.

LostTurboCard64 - update | Egretz is working on a modern version of the TurboCard64. The original TurboCard64, from the year 1987, is an hardware expansion for the Commodore C64 with an 4 MHz 65816 CPU and 256 kByte RAM. You can follow his progress on his web page (German language).

Uni-Joysti-Cle | Riq developed a new way to play games. What you need is a smartphone attached to your uni-cycle. The smartphone sends the movements via Wi-Fi to your C64. The game on your C64 can be controlled with the signals from the Wi-Fi receiver.

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