Commodore.news

Gotek Floppy Emulator | Dan Wood made a video of the Gotek floppy emulator. This floppy emulator uses a USB stick to read diskettes files and is compatible with Amiga computers. In the video Dan explains how to use the system and tells about the firmware change that makes the Gotex system compatible with an Amiga.

Magic Desk - Cartridge Generator | Zzarko and Msolajic developed a file generator to make EPROM files for a Magic Desk compatible cartridge. The generator includes a system to make the menu for the cartridge. A schematic for making the cartridge is also included. The system can use 512 KB, but if you want to use it in VICE the limit is 128 KB.

C65 - FPGA | Paul Gardner-Stephen is working on a FPGA version of the Commodore C65. His goal is to make an 8-bit computer for the 21st century. In the last month he has been working on the 48 MHz CPU and an Ethernet connection for the C65GS. You can follow his progress on his blog.

X500 Evo | Mfilos is working on his X500. The X500 is a retro looking computer case designed by Loriano Pagni. The X500 makes it possible to built a modern PC with the looks of the Amiga 500 computers. On Mfilos blog you can see how he built his system, including the Amiga keys on the keyboard.

DS1307 RTC - C64 | Timo Voutilainen developed a RTC module for the Commodore C64. An RTC is a Real Time Clock an can be connected to a computer to supply the actual time and date. Timo also included a program to set and read the time and date from the Commodore C64 and he included a driver for GEOS.

CDTV - SCSI Controller / AztecMonster | Epsilon wrote a blog about installing a SCSI Controller expansion (by CBMChef) for the CDTV and the AztecMonster SCSI card. The CDTV SCSI Controller is a modern expansion developed in 2013 and makes it possible to connect an external SCSI device to the Commodore CDTV. The AztecMonster is a SCSI to CF card interface.

Princess C64SD v3.0 | The Princess C64SD v3.0 is a new product from Manosoft. This device is a combination of the ITS TAP Player module and the C64SD. The features are: .TAP support (load /save), Disk drive replacement, Atmega1284p micro-controller, Metal cover, Pass-through connectors for the Datassette and IEC devices, SD card slot, Buttons for Play/Stop, reset and disk change and status LEDs.

Blizzard PPC 68060/50 accelerator card repair | RetroGameModz made an video about the repair of a Blizzard PPC accelerator card for Amiga 1200. In the video you can see many tips and working methods for repairing retro hardware such as: Visual inspection, testing, schematics, measurements, disassembling, new components and final testing.

SD-Card Tape Adapter | Tony is developing a new TAP file player device. With this device it will possible to read your TAP files from a SD card into your Commodore C64. The device will be very small and you can select your TAPs via a special menu on your C64. The cost will be around 30 USD.

Kim Uno | Oscar from Obsolescence Guaranteed made an replica of the Commodore KIM-1. For this project Oscar uses a Arduino Uno and a expansion shield with LEDs and a small keyboard. The project is a work in progress and the future plans include the emulation of the 6530 timers and a adding 6 times a 7-segment display and a 23 key keyboard.

Project Hermes | Ian Stedman is working on a expansion card for the Amiga CD32. This expansion card will be an replacements for the Paravision SX-1 or DCE SX32/Pro expansions from the 1990’s. The specification: 8 MB SRAM, Parallel ATA (IDE) / CF, Floppy, Real time clock and a clockport connector. You can follow the progress on his blog.

PET 2001 RAM Adapter | D'Asaro Designs is now producing 6550 RAM adapters for the Commodore PET 2001. The adapter makes it possible to replace a bad 6550 RAM chip with a 2114 RAM chip. Features: Fully functional pin-compatible. Batten and Allen PCB edge pins. Gold-plated machined DIP socket for the 2114 RAM and the necessary 2114 RAM chip is included.

SD-BOX Cartridge v1.13 | The SD-BOX is a cartridge for the Commodore C64 with an SD card interface. The cartridge has many functions for the disk drive and the Datassette. Recent updates: Polish menu, updates for the manual, improvements for the listing of files and you can now use the SD-Box with the Commodore C128.

ADTWin | ADTWin is a tool for writing Amiga 500/1000 ADF's from a PC to a Amiga diskette. You will need an PC with a parallel port and a disk drive from a PC or an Amiga. The writing of the diskette takes about 37 seconds. A schematic for the cable and the software is available.

The secrets of the 6500/1 | The Commodore 6500/1 is a single chip computer that is used in for example the Commodore 1520 plotter / printer. The problem is that nobody knew what was inside this chip. On the cbm-hackers mailing list people started with a project of hacking the 6500/1 chip. The hack was successful and the firmware is now available.

Tapuino | Peter Edwards developed and new hardware device for the Commodore 8 bit computers. This device can replace the Commodore Datassette. The device has an Arduino micro controller with an SD card reader and a LCD screen. The schematics and the software are available on Peters web page.

LSR 64 v0.31 | LSR 64 is a system that makes it possible to control a laser with your Commodore C64. The hardware is from ViTi and the software is developed by Hermit. The laser system reached the number one place in the Wild Demo Competition at the Arok Party (2014).

PicassoII - A500 | Matthias made a Picasso II clone for the Amiga 500. The Picasso II is a popular graphics card for the Amiga computer, made by Village Tronic. Later Georg Braun developed a clone for his GBA 1000 Amiga computer. Matthias adapted this design for the Amiga 500. You can follow the progress on the a1k forum (German language).

USB Commodore C64 keyboard | Evan is working on a USB adapter for a Commodore C64 keyboard. He uses a interface based on a Olimex-32u4 that translates the C64 keyboard matrix signals to the USB signals. Evan made a couple of modifications such as the Commodore key and the wasd key combination for the arrow keys.

Infinity Tape Sd2iec update | Manosoft released a firmware update for the Infinity Tape Sd2iec. Changes in this version: Saving of a placeholder unique for each .TAP file. Confirmation of successful initialization of the C64SD card, end-of-virtual tape indication and a card hide function.

Reset and ROM switcher | Vimfuego developed a new hardware device for the Commodore C64. With the device you have an 100% internal Reset switch and ROM selector, with no ugly external switches on your C64. The switch works together with the Restore key and is based on a Arduino Pro Mini. Vimfuego can program the kit but you need to install it yourself which includes soldering wires.

USB adapter Amiga | Spidi is working on a new USB adapter to use USB keyboards, mice and joysticks on the Amiga computer. The adapter converts the USB signals to the old Amiga signals. This means there is no new driver necessary on the Amiga computer. You can follow the progress on the PPA forum (Polish language).

C64 cartridge dumper | Rob needed a way to get the data from a Commodore C64 cartridge. He made a device that can dump standard 8 kByte cartridges. He uses a Arduino that is connected to the cartridge to get the data and transfers the data to a PC via the USB connection. The schematics and firmware is available.

Exploring the SID 8580 | Richard Atkinson has made a video about the Commodore SID chip. In the video he explains all the features from the SID chip. He uses a PC with an HardSID, a Behringer BCR2000 controller and a Yamaha V50 keyboard. The system is Richard Atkinson hat ein Video über den Commodore SID Chip gemacht. Im Video erklärt er alle Eigenschaften von der SID Chip. Er verwendet einen PC mit einem HardSID, einen Behringer BCR2000 Controller und einen Yamaha V50 Tastatur. Das System wird mit Speziale Software kontrolliert.controlled with custom software.

Chameleon 64 - 9a | An new core is available for the Chameleon. Changes in this core: Improvements for: RESTORE key, CIA timer B interrupt, Pagefox cartridge emulation, Disk drive emulation, VIC-II emulation, SDRAM refresh counter, SIDplayer and the file browser. And a player for Compute Gazette SID player files (.mus/.str) is now available.

Cassiopei | Firmware update for the Cassiopei. The new version supports the PET2001 series, and the 40XX series is no longer in the beta stage. Also some small bug-fixes for speech synthesizer and the sample player. The Cassiopei manager has an improved progress-bar and allows batch file (add/delete) processing.

Commodore monitor information | Gona updated his web page with technical information about Commodore monitors. This web page has information about: manufacturers, connectors, resolutions, introduction year and application. Recent updates: Philips BM7513/BM7523 schematic diagram (Commodore 76BM13). The European Commodore 2080 model. And updated the information on the 1084, 2080 and 1960.

SD-BOX Cartridge v1.11 | The SD-BOX is a cartridge for the Commodore C64 with an SD card interface. The cartridge has many functions for the disk drive and the Datassette. Recent updates: Added quick-listing of the SD-card for the SD2IEC. Quickly change drive number (read and write). Improvements for the manual and for displaying the directory.

GadgetUK164 C64 repair videos | GadgetUK164 has made an number of repair videos for the Commodore C64. The most recent videos are about the repair of a black screen, color RAM, SID chip, Datassette, keyboard and the repair of a Competition Pro joystick.

SID card for the Apple I | Vicious has made and expansion card for the Apple I with an Commodore C64 SID chip. The card also has a CIA chip (timers / joystick) and a ROM with firmware for the Vicious SID Player. The card can use the 6581 and 8580 SID. The Vicious Sid Player is able play many of the tunes created for Commodore 64 environment, but not all.

Sakura 4MB PCMCIA SRAM | The Sakura card is a prototype Fast RAM expansion for the Amiga 600 / 1200. The features are: 4MB Fast RAM. 1.67 MIPS (A1200). SRAM access: 55ns. Very simple installation in PCMCIA slot. Compatible with many accelerators such as the Blizzard 1230/1240/1260, Apollo 1240/1260, ACA 1220/1230/1231/1232. If there are enough pre-orders the production will start in August of 2014.

GLINK232 | GLINK232 is an UART cartridge for the Commodore 64/128 developed by GG Labs. The standard communication of the Commodore 64/128 is limited to 2400 Baud. The SwiftLink232 and turbo232 cartridges could reach higher communication speeds but these cartridges are no longer in production. The GLINK232 Can reach communication speeds up to 38400 Baud.

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