Commodore.news

New uIEC firmware. | Jim Brain released new firmware for his uIEC. The uIEC is a very small replacement for a Commodore IEC disk drive. In this version: Drive mapper, EXOS V3 fastloader support, Dreamload emulation, Copy command, Final Cartridge 3 freezed file fastloader support, D71/D81 support, Partial REL file support and more.

C-One / Minimig | Version 1.29 of the Minimig core for the C-One is available. With this version the hard disk option is now working for the Minimig. Tobias Gubener also improved the sync behaviour of the bridge between the C-One board and the extender card. This fixes start-up problems of the Minimig. Peter Wendrich made a technical document for the C-One. Peter is also working on the Chameleon project. Chameleon will be a cartridge for the Commodore 64 with: VGA, REU, Turbo, MMC/SD and disk drive emulation.

PLA Replacement for C64 | Old ICs are harder to get. The sollution would be to make new ones. But now there is a alternative. The web page FPGA Arcade has developed an 28 pin module with an FPGA. This FPGA can be programmed to simmulate hardware. Arnim Läuger makes programs for this module and has now made a PLA for the Commodore C64. You can buy a programmed module or buy an empty one and program it yourself. You can find lots of other FPGA information on this web page too.

xum1541 | Nate Lawson is working on a X1541 cable that has a USB connection. With the xum1541 and the OpenCBM software it is possible to transfer data to and from a 1541 disk drive and a modern PC. It supports high-speed parallel cables, so you can use nibtools and make low-level images from a diskette. The xum1541 is based on a Atmel developers board and a small pcb for connecting the 1541 disk drive.

Mega Cart | The Mega-Cart is a collection of games (179), handy utilities (24) and a software-configurable 32K RAM expansion. It can be used with the Commodore VIC-20 (PAL and NTSC).
The Mega Cart is in production and shipping starts in February. You can order it for USD 99.95 from the web page.

C-One - Minimig | For the owners of the C-One there is another update for the Minimig core. Version V1.21 makes use of the large memory chip on the FPGA extender: In addition to 2M Chipmem and 1M fake-fast memory, there's now another 8M fastmem usable from any program, resulting in a total of 11 megabytes of usable memory. The update also fixes a few memory-timing problems, so any startup-problems should finally be a thing of the past. You will need the FPGA extender card if you want to use the Minimig core.

C-One update | There is a new version of the C-One available. This new version has the FPGA extender card. The FPGA extender card has a Cyclone3 FPGA, 16MByte SD-Ram, Audio converter and a VGA connection. The extender card is also available for the owners of the standard C-One. With this extender card you can now run the minimig core (by Tobias Gubener) on your C-One. Other news things: New boot system, which is much faster. Support for stereo SID (by Peter Wendrich). Take a look at the C-One web page for all the details.

Classic USB Joystick Controller | After the introduction of the USB Competition Pro another classic joystick is now available with a USB connection. This Atari style joystick can be used with many emulators on Windows, Apple Mac OSX and Linux. It even can be modded to have 10 additional fire buttons.

Chameleon | Chameleon is a new product from Individual Computers. This is a expansion for the C64 developed with Peter Wendrich. The technical specifications are: VGA-output (60 Hz). Turbo-function (6510 compatible). 16MByte ram REU. MMC/SD card slot with MMC64 compatibility and 1541-emulation. PC-keyboard connector. Freezer. Chameleon will be available in the first quarter of 2009.

C-One core 0.27 | Peter Wendrich released a new core for the C-One. In this version Peter fixed the bug in the scan-converter that shifted the screen to the left on some monitors. He also fixed a bug in the buslogic that makes it possible to use the MMC-Replay. Tobias aka TobiFlex is working on making the DMA line available. This will make it possible to use a REU on the C-One. You can download the latest core for the C-One from Peter's web page.

1541 Ultimate update | There is a new firmware available for the 1541 Ultimate. You can download v1.5 beta from the download section. In this new version g64 disk images are now supported. Also there is support for SDHC memorycard what makes it possible to store more than 2GB of data. Gideon also announced that the production of batch 2 and 3 are ready very shortly

64JPX - JoyPad eXpander | The 64JPX-JoyPad eXpander is a small interface that makes it possible to connect Sega MegaDrive/Genesis, Nintendo SNES/NES joypads, or other controllers to Commodore and Atari computers. It also provides a few extras such as: Auto-fire. Separate buttons for Racing games (acceleration and braking). Waddle modes for sports games. Creep mode / slow-motion. Take a look at the web page for all the possibilities.

CBM RAM Drive | Michael Sachse from cbmhardware.de is developing a RAM drive for the CBM 8296. This RAM drive will hold up to 1 MByte of data. It will have a battery to keep the memory safe after switching of the computer. You can follow the development on Micheal's web page.

Minimig update | Jakub Bednarski made a new core for the Minimig. Jakub's version fixes many bugs and finally adds floppy write support! Please read the readme file first because the new core behaves a bit different. The new core can be downloaded from Dennis' web page.

Commodore Netbook 8010/F | Commodore has released a Netbook. This Netbook has the following specifications: 10 screen, C7-VIA processor running on 1.6 GHz, 1GB ram, 80GB HDD, WIFI, Bluetooth and a webcam. The operating system can be Linux or Windows XP. The prices in Europe will be between 399 and 449 Euro.

FastATA 4000 | Elbox released a new controller-card the FastATA 4000. With this controller you can use ATA/EIDE devices like hard drives, CD-ROM drives, CD-RW drives or ZIP drives. Hardware requirements are a Amiga 3000 / 4000. Features: Zorro III slot. Transfer-rate: 16.6 MB/s. Harddisk > 128 GB. Automatic processor detection. Take a look at the Elbox web page for all the details.

The NatAmi Project | The goal of this hardware project is to produce a next generation Amiga computer with an up-to-date design. The Natami project is designed and developed by Thomas Hirsch. The NatAmi is an AMIGA compatible machine, allowing you to run original Commodore Amiga software. You can follow the progress via the web page and forum.

Flicker Fixer Amiga 1200 | Individual Computers announced a new flicker fixer for the Amiga 1200 called Indivision AGA. Features of the new product are: 24 Bit colour resolution in all screen modes. Support for super hires modes. Highgfx support up to 1024x768 pixels. All screen modes can be displayed at 60Hz or more. No adjustments necessary. The flicker fixer has to placed inside the A1200 on top of the Video-Chip Lisa. Take a look at the web page of Individual Computer for more details.

New C-One core | Peter Wendrich has released a new core for the C-One. In this version: Reading from SID chip implemented. Fixed decimal mode of ARR instruction. System now runs at 0.9850Mhz for PAL and 1.026Mhz for NTSC. Most floppy turbo loaders can now operate. VGA frame refresh rate now correct at 50Hz and 60Hz. Cartridge port stability improved. You can download the new core from Peter's web page.

C64DTV laptop | Streetuff did a very nice modding of a C64-DTV. He build his system in a SONY portable Playstation-2 tft screen. Added a keyboard to the system and turned the whole thing in to a C64 notebook. You can watch all the pictures on his web page.

1541 Ultimate | For the 1541 Ultimate there is a new V1.1 firmware available. In this new version: The ActionReplay loader bug is gone. The SuperSnapshot and the Retro Replay cartridge are now emulated. You can download the new firmware from the 1541 Ultimate web page.

Compact-Flash Harddisk Amiga 600/1200 | A small adapter makes it possible to use a Compact Flash memory card in your Amiga 600/1200. There are different versions, direct on the motherboard or via a IDE cable. These adapters are not just for the Amiga but also work with PC's and laptops.

CF - Amiga 1000 | Georg Braun developed a Compact Flash card expansion for the Amiga 1000. This expansion works on a Phoenix A1000 or a GB A1000. Features: CF-Adapter based on the A600 IDE-Controller. Automatic detection with Kick 2.04 or higher. Fits in original RAM expansion slot. Driver available. If you want to build your own CF expansion you can download the PCB data (Eagle format).

New Firmware: SD2IEC | The SD2IEC is a hardware mass storage device using an SD/MMC card and interfacing with the IEC bus. This device can emulate / replace the Commodore-1541 disk drive for a C64. With this new firmware there is support for the Final Cartridge III fastloader. Other features of the SD2IEC are: D64 support (read / write / U1 / U2), Support for PRG, P00, Turbo Disk, JiffyDOS, Final Cartridge III, External disk change button, FAT long file names and subdirectories.

DENEB USB for Zorro II/III | E3B introduced a new product. It is a USB card for the Zorro II/III bus. Real USB2.0 with full support of highspeed mode (480MBps). Compatible with all 68030/040/060 and PPC turbo cards. The card has FlashROM for the Poseidon USB stack, firmware and installation software. Compatible with AmigaOS 3.1, 3.5, 3.9 and 4.0 (PIO mode). Driver for USB mouse and keyboard (HID devices), parallel interface (printers) and flash card readers (SCSI emulation) are included.

Behr-Bonz Multicart | The Behr-Bonz Multicart is a cartridge for the VIC-20. Instead of only one game there are 127 games on this cartridge. The pcb comes fully assembled and ready for use. It can be placed inside an original cartridge case. The NTSC version is available for some time now but a PAL version is available in the near future. A few examples of the games are: Attack of the Mutant Camels, Avenger, Choplifter, Defender, Frogger, Gridrunner, Lode Runner, Moon Patrol, Pac-Man, Q-Bert, Sargon II Chess, Shamus, Super Smash, and Visible Solar System.

Minimig update | ACube Systems announces a new Minimig core and PIC firmware. This update allows all Minimig owners to use new ROMS. Amiga Forever encrypted ROMs are now fully supported and 256KB ROMs can be used too. Go to the special Minimig page for all the information.

Jumbo Cartridge | Fotios the maker of modern C64 cartridges like the FB-Net, FB-RS-232 and FB-MIDI has released a picture of his next project. This is called the FB-JumboCart. It is a cartridge that can store up to 127 x 8 KB Commodore 64 cartridge ROM images. Also a mixture of 16 KB and 8 KB images is possible. The cartridge will be available soon.

Paddles for Plus/4 | Chizman build an interface that makes it possible to use paddles on a Plus/4. He made a game for the paddles called Paddle Shooter. You can download the schematics for the interface. The software that is needed for the interface is also available.

Guitar Hero for the C64 | Shredz64 is a modern day game for the Commodore 64 that makes use of the Playstation guitar controller connected with the PSX64 interface. Correctly played notes increase your score and applause meter, while incorrectly played notes decrease your applause meter.

1541 Ultimate website | There is now a special web page for the 1541 Ultimate. There is an introduction about the 1541 Ultimate and forum where you can chat or ask questions. Also you can order your 1541 Ultimate on this web page.

New firmware 1541-III | Jan Derogee released an update of his 1541-III firmware. This version supports longfilenames and subdirectories. Also the directory listing for a VIC20 user is much nicer. The 1541-III is a replacement for the IEC-bus diskdrive used on the VIC20, C64, C128 and Plus/4. The files are stored on a MMC/SD card as D64-files (or normal .PRG files). You can put the MCC/SD card in your PC and fill it with d64's downloaded from the internet and than use these files on your real Commodore with the 1541-III.

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