I ordered one of these devices a month back and it looks like it's getting ready to ship to me. I can't wait to get my hands on it after all the things I have seen about the device. I already have some games ready to go on :)

Borrowed a piccy from the web

Last edited by CritAnime on 27-Mar-2013 at 10:11 AM.

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@CritAnime

Be nice if you could post a "review" on it after you've had a chance to put it through its paces...

I use the old MMC64 card myself on one of my C64's but with a special custom written BIOS I wrote that allow you to load the the entire C64's memory in one go (ie: under the roms as a single file with no need to use all those different custom "loaders")




Also these Sd2IEC devices are quite handy (especially if you want to use the cartridge port for something else), bought one a while back back haven't really got round to giving it a good test out...

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@Franko

Yeah once it turns up I will do a review for it. I looked into the sd2iec but it doesn't handle every fast loader. So I went for the 1541 u II. I was tempted by a chameleon because of the additional features but I probably wouldn't have used them all.

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Quote:

CritAnime wrote: @Franko Yeah once it turns up I will do a review for it.

I'll be looking forward to that...

I've been meaning to rewrite the BIOS for the SD2IEC for quite some time now to incorporate my own turbo loader/ saver like I did with the MMC64, just never got round to it yet...

It's based on the very first ever turbo loader I wrote which at the time was the only one that could load directly under the roms and save files as one piece without the need to load stuff into a certain area then move them to their location under the roms, like all the other turbo loaders had to do back in the day...

It was like a miracle at the time as people said it couldn't be done. It would load a full game from $800 (Or $400) to $65535 from one single file and all in 34 to 36 seconds from tape. You had to make sure your tape drive was in good nick though to handle the speed (had to slow it down for some folk to around a minutes loading time)...

It's the only program I ever made money on, sold it to Anirog/ Bug Byte a long time ago (1983 I think it was) for the princely sum of £300 (seemed a lot of money back then) but they never used it as they didn't want people returning games to shops if they couldn't load them cos their tape heads were worn or dirty or the pinch roller needed cleaning...

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@CritAnime

Just out of interest, where did you order yours from?

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@Franko

I'd looked at those SD2IDE devices as well. I saw a chap on ebay that offered to fit it inside the datasette itself so you didn't need the two cables and it allowed you to still use the datasette as well as the SD cards.

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@_Steve_

I ordered mine from the 1541 ultimate site. Thing is you have to be on the ball otherwise you could be waiting months in the next production batch. As it stood I managed to sneak in on the latest batch. Why are you interested in getting one? To be honest this is one of the single most exciting purchases I have made for a while.

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@_Steve_

Quote:

_Steve_ wrote: @Franko I'd looked at those SD2IDE devices as well. I saw a chap on ebay that offered to fit it inside the datasette itself so you didn't need the two cables and it allowed you to still use the datasette as well as the SD cards.

That's the same fella I bought mine from...

I plan to install one of mine into the top case of an old breadbox style C64 and wire it up internally with a little slot on the top of the case to insert/ remove the SD cards...

The other one I'm going to fit into a tiny miniature case that look like a 1541 Disk Drive so that it can be swapped between my other C64's...

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@Franko

Wow, talk about the old world meeting the new! Cool stuff!

@CritAnime

looks like fun! I've got a C64SD v2.0 Infinity by manosoft that's still in the box ready for my original 64 to be setup in my home office soon

like it because it plugs into the datasette port leaving the cart port free

Last edited by klx300r on 29-Mar-2013 at 05:37 PM.

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@CritAnime

Its a great device!. I have the 1541U II and you know leads the C=64/128 to a new level its like be Video Game DJ, worth every penny.

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@CritAnime

These are great, you'll fun with it! The only thing I'd say is that it would be of limited use in a C128D unless you can change the drive number of the internal drive of the 128D.

I read somewhere that SD2IEC units don't fully emulate the 1541 so some things might not work. I haven't tried one myself though so I couldn't say.

I have 1541 Ultimate 2 aswell, and it's clearly the best option for me. Sure, it can't emulate full C64 like Chameleon can, but if I wanted to do that, I'd just use vice on any device I like

Also, the software is open source, so even if official support ceased for some reason (like often happens with older Individual Computers products, when new ones are introduced), unofficial support can go on.

Newest version has (optional) sample player support, that can play (iirc) 7 channels of 8 or 16bit samples from REU memory via cartridge audio output. Of course someone has already written a mod player for it.

Also, one of the nicest features is the onboard USB port. While currently only hubs and massstorage devices are supported, there's potential for more. Iirc, there has been some progress with Ethernet adapters already, but I'm still waiting for my personal favourite - USB Midi interface support. And while that's still missing...

I also got Mssiah, which is a cartridge that has an onboard midi input, and a collection of 5 music programs.

Sounds better than it is really. All the programs have totally different user interfaces (which key to press to access file menu etc.), often based on real machines (such as TB-303), which are often known for their BAD user interfaces.

For live playback, there's no "one mode that fits all", or even close. Want to play 303 like sounds? "Monosynth" or "Bassline" it is. Need arpeggio sounds? Change to "Sequencer" then. Need user controlled pattern play mode? Back to "Monosynth". Need that with arpeggio (or more than 1 "real" channel"? Can't do that.

Except for Sequencer, all programs try to "emulate" some music hardware, instead of "letting C64 be C64". Would have been SO nice, if there was at least a mode to directly map all SID registers directly to ControlChange signals, MIDI channel 1 to OSC1, 2 to 2 etc. (with optional & easily selectable arpeggio support) but no...

So many bad things but...

Is it still worth the money? I'd say yes.
Would it be worth the money, if there was a better product on the market? Probably not.
Would I recommend buying one? If you know & accept the limitations, then definitely.

I just wish that I had a C64 midi interface (or that 1541U2 supported USB one) so I could write better software myself

@ROMwack

Quote:

ROMwack wrote: @CritAnime These are great, you'll fun with it! The only thing I'd say is that it would be of limited use in a C128D unless you can change the drive number of the internal drive of the 128D. I read somewhere that SD2IEC units don't fully emulate the 1541 so some things might not work. I haven't tried one myself though so I couldn't say.

I have an sd2iec and i find it great It's not 100% accurate like the 1541UII is, but things that require 100% drive accuracy are the minority. You can change device number of sd2iec and it supports swapping disks. The firmware is opensource so it may get closer to that 100% of emulation.
So far it worked with everything i threw at it. Also, i have the version with both the c2n and 1531 type connector (from which it gets power) and it worked with all models i tested it on (C64, VIC20 and C116).
I'm quite happy with it and it costs less than the other options.

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I have also the SD2IEC, you back in the time, the SD2IEC its like have Datasette, and the 1541Ultimate (II), like have a Disk Drive.

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@CritAnime

Quote:

CritAnime wrote: @_Steve_ I ordered mine from the 1541 ultimate site. Thing is you have to be on the ball otherwise you could be waiting months in the next production batch. As it stood I managed to sneak in on the latest batch. Why are you interested in getting one? To be honest this is one of the single most exciting purchases I have made for a while.

Yes, I must admit I am rather interested in the device - it'll save having to dig out the 1571 (or 1541 - although the 71 was much thinner). I was also looking at the disk imaging tool mentioned on the 1541 Ultimate site as well as a companion to backing up some of the disks I have for both C64 and Amiga.

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@Franko

Interesting idea that. I'd rather not do it to my breadbin cases as those are the original machines my parents bought for us, but I do have a few of the slimline models which I would be more comfortable modifying the cases of.

Having it in the datasette was a nice option though as that could be transferred between all of the machines (64/128), especially after I got some eeproms to flash and get my 128 working again.

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My unit has arrived yay!

Last edited by CritAnime on 04-Apr-2013 at 10:18 PM.

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Quote:

CritAnime wrote: My unit has arrived yay!]

Get testing then and give us a full in depth unbiased review... been wondering for some time whether to buy one of these or not...

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@Franko

Just scratched the surface at the moment of what it can do. But work meant I couldn't spend the time I wanted playing with it. Over this weekend I intend to spend more time with it.

Last edited by CritAnime on 05-Apr-2013 at 07:25 AM.

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