Over the last few weeks I have been getting a few bits and pieces together for my various retro computers and consoles. So here’s a quick rundown of the bits and the results good or bad.
Commodore 64:
This is a tape interface which you can use to load from MP3 players, phones etc. I got it, plugged it into the C64 instead of a Datassette and tried loading a file from my phone. Tried various volumes, various files, loaders, players on the phone, and couldn’t get a thing from it. I’m not blaming the interface as it is likely the C64 is playing up even though it has had a new switch as the supply to the tape deck kept going away. I need to try again but the Commodore 64 and me ain’t friends.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum:
Back to the good old Sinclair ZX Spectrum, one of my old favourites as this was where it all started for me with home computers (well technically the ZX81 was but moving on) and it’s nice to get back to something which works. Firstly I have been bringing another 48k plus back from the dead with a new keyboard membrane, and an adjustment of the modulator (which you should never touch but I did and it tuned into the TV) and another Speccy brought back to life, and a composite mod done on it for good measure using the videos and tutorials found online (Mark Fixes Stuff Youtube and Retro Games Collector UK tutorial)
Next was a deal too good to pass up for a ZX Spectrum DivIDE MMC on a pre-order from Zaxxon on SellMyRetro for about half the price of other similar products
As soon as it arrived I put some software on a microSD card and added some Spectrum software and plugged it into my 128k plus. Wow, what an amazing piece of kit to add to a ZX Spectrum, as soon as you turn it on and hit the small button on the card you have a listing of what’s on the SD card, select a .tap or .tzx file and click enter and it loads, instantly. This was a bargain, I would recommend this to any Spectrum owner, follow the link to SellMyRetro and seek out Zaxxon for one of his DivIDE MMC boards.
Also on the Spectrum I purchased a Sinclair Lightgun which is a nice addition to the Speccy for playing the few games which use it. It works as well as most lightguns from the 80’s, pretty accurate and fun to play with, I just need to find a few more games to use it with.
Commodore Amiga 1200:
For my Amiga fix I have several machines, A500, A1200 and a CD32. For the 32 bit Commodore I recently purchased a Gotek Floppy Emulator from Ebay.
This morning I opened up my A1200, disconnected the internal floppy drive and connected the extended leads which came with the Gotek kit I bought and put the leads through the floppy drive hole and closed the Amiga back up. Once I’d added some software and a couple of games (Putty Squad the legally downloadable ADF’s thank you) to a USB thumb drive it was time to fire the Amiga up. After a few seconds the loader software has done it’s job and you can use the on screen gui to load .adf files into virtual disk drives on the Gotek. Reset using the on screen display and it loads up the game. Another brilliant buy well worth the money. I also ran Pinball Fantasies from it …
That is all for now, hopefully some more updates will come soon..
