Commodore News Page - News: Hardware

C64 MP3 Player

Timo Voutilainen made an MP3 player that can be controlled by the Commodore C64. The components of the MP3 player are a Funduino Pro Mini, Geeetech VS1053 MP3 board and a user-port connector. All the instructions to built the device are on Timo's web page.

2015-02-27 - 17:07:00 - Week: 9 - Item number: 3965 - Category: C64, Hardware

C64 Cartridge - 3D printer

Tore Waldow made a Commodore C64 cartridge case with his 3D printer. The measurements are taken from The Final Cartridge III. This version is updated with embossed lines and room for a label. The files are available for the top part and for the bottom part in smooth or embossed.

2015-02-27 - 17:06:00 - Week: 9 - Item number: 3964 - Category: C64, Hardware

Jakadapter v2.1

With the Jakadapter you can connect two Atari-style joysticks to USB. This new version has the following changes: Both ports have now 8 configurable pins, for better support for other joysticks and paddles. The firmware is upgradeable via a boot-loader for future firmware updates.

2015-02-13 - 17:08:00 - Week: 7 - Item number: 3941 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Raspberry Pi SID player

The Raspberry Pi SID player is a device which allows you to play music from the Commodore 64 computer using original audio hardware (SID) and the Raspberry Pi. You can play classic game music or home-brew Commodore 64 music.

2015-02-13 - 17:02:00 - Week: 7 - Item number: 3935 - Category: Music, Hardware

Bluetooth speech synthesis

VIC-20 Scott Adams adventure games have the option to connect a Votrax type 'n talk speech synthesizer. A rare and expensive device, but now it is also possible to use your smartphone to make the famous adventure games talk. Jan Derogee made an app to make this possible.

The Bluetooth speech synthesis video.

2015-01-30 - 17:10:00 - Week: 5 - Item number: 3920 - Category: VIC-20, Hardware

UK1541

UK1541 is a real time disk drive emulator developed by Krzysztof Switajskiwith. Features: cycle-exact 6502 and VIA's emulation. Cortex M0, 48Mhz microprocessor, 16kB Flash ROM, 4kB Ram, SD card (8GB), LCD TFT Screen and compatible with .d64 files (35 / 40 track).

2015-01-30 - 17:08:00 - Week: 5 - Item number: 3918 - Category: C64, Hardware

Amiga Future is a (printed) magazine for the Amiga user.

Amiga-News is a news webpage for the Amiga user.

Portable Amiga A1200

Sébastien Marchand made a portable Amiga A1200 including a monitor, power supply and speakers inside a aluminium briefcase. The A1200 also has a Blizzard 1260, a SCSI-kit and a 8 GB CF card. You can view the pictures of this special A1200 on his Flickr page.

2015-01-30 - 17:07:00 - Week: 5 - Item number: 3917 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

MOS 6502 Laptop

Dirk Grappendorf created a laptop based on a MOS 6502 processor. The features are: 6502 processor, 6522 VIA's, SID, 32 kByte RAM, 32 kByte EEPROM, battery, 4 line / 40 character LCD screen, modified USB keyboard, BASIC interpreter and a 3D printed case.

2015-01-30 - 17:03:00 - Week: 5 - Item number: 3913 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

C64FC

Stian Søreng has developed the C64FC Flash cartridge for the Commodore C64. The cartridge will emulate a 8 kByte EPROM, but you can program the cartridge from your PC. In the last month he has developed an SID jukebox and is working on a GUI for the C64FC. You can read all the details on his blog.

2015-01-23 - 17:05:00 - Week: 4 - Item number: 3904 - Category: C64, Hardware

Plipbox

Plipbox is an device that allows to connect Amiga's via Ethernet to your local network. The device uses a an Arduino and connects to the parallel port. Changes in this version: Fast burst protocol with a maximum speed of 235 KiB/s, improved firmware and driver code, and a new test modes to allow detailed benchmarking of all system components.

2015-01-23 - 17:04:00 - Week: 4 - Item number: 3903 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Princess C64SD v3.0 - Firmware v0.10.4

For the Princess C64SD v3.0 is new firmware available. The changes in this version are: Improvements for the VICE VIC emulation, and reading tapes with the VIC PAL. And there is a new XF5 option to avoid problems with VICE dumps.

2015-01-23 - 17:03:00 - Week: 4 - Item number: 3902 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Portable KIM-1

Scott Lawrence made a portable KIM computer. For this KIM-1 he used an old plastic case he picked-up on a hamfest and a display from a surplus store. The computer inside is a Arduino Uno R3 micro board and a Seeed Studio protoshield. You can follow the whole process on his blog.

2015-01-23 - 17:02:00 - Week: 4 - Item number: 3901 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

External disk drive for Amiga

A new replacement for an external floppy drive for all Amiga computers is being developed by Roman Breński, Jarosław Bieliński and Radosław Kujawa. The features are: Fully compatible with 880kB DD Amiga diskettes. Reads and writes NDOS diskettes. And a new disk drive mechanism.

2015-01-16 - 17:00:00 - Week: 3 - Item number: 3887 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Retro Invaders Calendar 2015

Retro Invaders made a calendar for 2015. The calendar is available in the languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French and Hawaiian. The games are: Nanako in Classic Japanese Monster, Psycho Soldier, Turbo Girl, Barbarian II, Game Over, Elvira II, Mega-Corp, Athena, Phantis, Mystery, Gauntlet and Gothik.

2015-01-09 - 17:06:00 - Week: 2 - Item number: 3881 - Category: C64, Hardware

C64FC

Stian Søreng has a working version of his C64FC Flash cartridge for the Commodore C64. The cartridge will emulate a 8 kByte EPROM, but you can program the cartridge from your PC. The C64FC has a ATmega16 micro controller for the USB communication and a IDT7005 RAM chip for the emulation of the 8 kByte EPROM.

2015-01-02 - 17:18:00 - Week: 1 - Item number: 3872 - Category: C64, Hardware

MultiMax cartridge

MultiMax is the ultimate cartridge for the Commodore MAX Machine. It contains all 24 games that were released by Commodore for this machine. The cartridge has a power-on menu and a reset button. The cartridge is also compatible with the C64, C64c, SX64 and the C128. The software was created by Rob Clarke and Michał Pleban developed the hardware.

2015-01-02 - 17:16:00 - Week: 1 - Item number: 3870 - Category: C64, Hardware

MIST - VIC20 core

MIST is an configurable device that's able to emulate the entire hardware of the computers of the 80's and early 90's. A Commodore VIC20 core is now available for the MIST with support for the PAL VIC20 with 3 or 16 kByte RAM memory.

2015-01-02 - 17:12:00 - Week: 1 - Item number: 3866 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

No More Secrets

No More Secrets is a documents that describes the so called 'illegal' op-codes for the NMOS 6510 microprocessor. The document is maintained by Groepaz and gives you information on op-codes such as: RLA, LAX, ANC, ARR, TAS and many more.

2015-01-02 - 17:06:00 - Week: 1 - Item number: 3860 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

CD32 - CDR adjustment

RetroGameModz made a video about the adjusting the CD-32 to read CD-R discs. In the video you can see: The disassembly. Identification of parts. Explanation of the signal paths. Schematics & block diagrams. The servo system. And the adjustment of FEG, TEG, FEB, TEB and laser power.

2014-12-26 - 17:24:00 - Week: 52 - Item number: 3851 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Princess C64SD v3.0 - Firmware v0.10.3.F

For the Princess C64SD v3.0 is new firmware available. The changes in this version are: Improved compatibility with Oceanloader C64 tapes. Better immunity when playing back tapes that have not been normalized. Added some small changes to improve usability when dumping a .TAP file back to cassette.

2014-12-26 - 17:10:00 - Week: 52 - Item number: 3844 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

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 a RAM upgrade from 16 MByte to 128 MByte and a test with a LCD screen.

2014-12-19 - 17:04:00 - Week: 51 - Item number: 3830 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

BX720D project

Steve Gray is working on a new project. In 1983 Commodore wanted to sell a CBM-II BX-256-80 / BX-700 machine, but it never happened. Now Steve want to built one himself. The specifications are: CBM-II 710 computer, 8250LP disk drives, 8088 co-processor board and a few extras.

2014-12-05 - 17:20:00 - Week: 49 - Item number: 3816 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

SD-BOX Cartridge v1.14

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: Faster directory scrolling via the keyboard. You can now use the joystick in the menu and the diskette directory. Updates for the manual and a few small errors are removed.

2014-12-05 - 17:18:00 - Week: 49 - Item number: 3815 - Category: C64, Hardware

Clockport Expander II

Matthias Münch released the Clockport Expander II for the Amiga 1200 desktop. This version makes it possible to use the Clock Expander with one of the many expansions such as the BVision, G-Rex PCI Busboard, Delfina Flipper, MP3@64, Silver Surfer, Subway USB, RapidRoad USB, Melody 1200, Prelude 1200 and the VS1011 Card.

2014-11-28 - 17:14:00 - Week: 48 - Item number: 3803 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Cassiopei - VIC-20

The Cassiopei now supports VIC-20's that have a memory expansion. The menu program does a small analysis regarding the load-ability of the selected program and relocates the BASIC program where possible. Available are the firmware update (v20141018.hex), a menu program and a user manual.

2014-11-14 - 17:18:00 - Week: 46 - Item number: 3784 - Category: VIC-20, Hardware

Amiga 1200 Compact Flash

Amigakit made a kit to install a Compact Flash hard drive in your A1200. The kit includes a IDE to CF adaptor, a plastic rear trapdoor back plate with Compact Flash cut-out and a IDE cable. You can also order a 4 GB Compact Flash hard drive with an complete OS installation.

2014-11-14 - 17:16:00 - Week: 46 - Item number: 3783 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Furia EC020 v2

After the success of the first batch of the Furia card, the developer decided to make another batch. The Furia EC020 is an accelerator card for Amiga600 with a Motorola MC68EC020 CPU, Motorola MC68882/40 FPU and 9.5 MB of fast memory. The Furia makes the Amiga over 10 times faster, than the original Amiga 600.

2014-11-14 - 17:12:00 - Week: 46 - Item number: 3781 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Ultimate II - Blog

Wiebo de Wit is writing a blog (English language) about the Ultimate II cartridge for the Commodore C64. The Ultimate II is an cartridge that can emulate the 1541 disk drive, it has SD / USB storage, a real-time clock, REU emulation, SID player and tape emulation. Wiebo has written the following articles: Floppy Copy, Software!, File use and Hardware.

2014-11-07 - 17:02:00 - Week: 45 - Item number: 3765 - Category: C64, Hardware

Memwa Project

The Memwa Project is a hardware project from Staring Lizard. The hardware that he developed is a replacement for the Commodore C64. The MCU is an STM32F407, the display controller is an SSD1963, the memory is a H27UBG8T2BTRBC and a the display is an 7" TFT 4-WRT. The whole C64 is emulated and for the sound a real SID chip is added to the design. You can follow the whole development on his blog.

2014-10-24 - 17:22:00 - Week: 43 - Item number: 3749 - Category: C64, Hardware

C64 / C128 Power supply

Ray Carlsen has built a replacement power for the Commodore C64, 128, VIC-20CR and Plus4 power supplies. The specifications are: Input = 120V, 60Hz or 220V, 50 Hz. Output = 5VDC / 5A, 9VAC / 1A. Built-in surge suppressor (Computer Saver). Metal case and a one-year warranty.

2014-10-24 - 17:16:00 - Week: 43 - Item number: 3746 - Category: C64, Hardware

1541 Ultimate - firmware

For the 1541 Ultimate is a new version of the firmware available. Changes in this version: A new function to make it possible to write a .tap file to a real cassette. Supports for the new Flash chip (revision D). Improvements for the configuration screen (USB module).

2014-10-24 - 17:04:00 - Week: 43 - Item number: 3740 - Category: C64, Hardware

RapidRoad USB - Amiga

RapidRoad is a new device that makes it possible to use USB on your classic Amiga computer. RapidRoad is a dual-port USB2.0 High-speed (480MBit) host module. It comes with the USB stack Poseidon by Chris Hodges. Requirements: 68020 or higher processor, 2.5 MB free fastmem, free clock-port or X-Surf-100 networking card and OS3.0.

2014-10-17 - 17:18:00 - Week: 42 - Item number: 3737 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

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 now finished and is a 10 USD open source KIM-1 mini replica and a 6502 programmable calculator.

2014-10-10 - 17:18:00 - Week: 41 - Item number: 3727 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware

KryoFlux v2.5

The software for the KryoFlux system has had an update. KryoFlux is a USB-based floppy controller. The system can be used to read a diskette, at low-level, and store the data from this diskette. New in this version: Preview of the RepliFlux technology. Updated G64 generator, Improvements for cell band detection and noise detection. Faster DTC, Improvements for the GUI and support for the wild cards ? and *.

2014-10-10 - 17:10:00 - Week: 41 - Item number: 3723 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Ryś USB adapter - Amiga

This USB adapter makes it possible to use and USB HID devices on your Amiga. Features: Support for USB mouses, joysticks and pads, Compatible with every Amiga, Internal USB stack, Boot-loader for firmware updates, Status LED and a 16-bit micro-controller. On the web page is a list of tested devices available.

2014-10-03 - 17:18:00 - Week: 40 - Item number: 3717 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

Cassiopei - C128

A firmware update for the Cassiopei has been released. This new version supports the C128 in C128 mode including wedge functionality. A major advantage of the C128 is the use of a boot-disk. Now you can use the Cassiopei directly after power-on, no typing required. Also a new version of the Cassiopei manager, a screen resizing bug has been fixed. And off course the manual has been updated with info about the C128.

How to upgrade the firmware.

2014-09-26 - 17:18:00 - Week: 39 - Item number: 3707 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

VU-sette

Jani was making backups of old turbo-tapes to disk and noticed that the quality was very poor on some tapes. He needed a method to adjust the head alignment and see if the signal was better. He built an analogue VU-Meter inside a Datassette. On Jani's blog you can see the new system.

2014-09-26 - 17:10:00 - Week: 39 - Item number: 3703 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

Amiga CD32 - RGB modification

RetroGameModz has made a video about the modification of an Amiga CD-32. The modification is an RGB connector at the back-side. During the modification RetroGameModz discovered a few defective capacitors. In the video you can follow the whole repair and the modification.

All videos from RetroGameModz.

2014-09-26 - 17:02:00 - Week: 39 - Item number: 3699 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

TherapSid

The TherapSid is a music system that can be used to play music with the original SID chip. The features are: Compatible with all SID's, 3 Oscillators, 4 Waveforms per oscillator, Multimode Filter, 35 Knobs, 31 Buttons, 100 Pre-sets, 16 Step Modulator and the system is compatible with the iPad.

2014-09-19 - 17:12:00 - Week: 38 - Item number: 3694 - Category: C64, Hardware

1 MB - C64

Tomasz Nowak is developing a system that makes it possible to run 16 virtual C64's inside 1 real Commodore 64. The extended memory is divided in 16 block of 64 kB (16 virtual machine), 0.5 kB RAM for program MMU, and 16 memory blocks for the VIC, CPU, zero-page and the hardware stack.

Demonstration video of the 1 MB Commodore 64

2014-09-12 - 17:18:00 - Week: 37 - Item number: 3687 - Category: C64, Hardware

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.

2014-09-12 - 17:12:00 - Week: 37 - Item number: 3684 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

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.

2014-09-12 - 17:02:00 - Week: 37 - Item number: 3679 - Category: C64, Hardware

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.

2014-09-05 - 17:04:00 - Week: 36 - Item number: 3668 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

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.

2014-09-05 - 17:00:00 - Week: 36 - Item number: 3666 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

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.

2014-08-29 - 17:04:00 - Week: 35 - Item number: 3658 - Category: C64, Hardware

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.

2014-08-22 - 17:20:00 - Week: 34 - Item number: 3654 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

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.

2014-08-22 - 17:06:00 - Week: 34 - Item number: 3647 - Category: Commodore, Hardware

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.

All videos from RetroGameModz.

2014-08-22 - 17:04:00 - Week: 34 - Item number: 3646 - Category: Amiga, Hardware

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.

2014-08-15 - 17:16:00 - Week: 33 - Item number: 3641 - Category: C64, Hardware

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.

2014-08-15 - 17:04:00 - Week: 33 - Item number: 3635 - Category: KIM-1, PET, CBM, Hardware