Then you just load the file browser and you're all set. You can also use CUI interface that runs on the RPI (only RPI3 though) and managed via a USB keyboard and a monitor screen.Īnd there's also the simple cable solution, a 10 GBP cable I bought from Poland that you just connect to any RPI version and to your Commodore. This program lets you choose the directory on the SD card, mount the D64/D71/D81 image disk, etc. depending on the 8-bit Commodore you are using). The OLED screen and the buttons are comfortable and make the peripheral easier to deal with, but you can also use a little file browser called FB64 (or FB20, FB128, etc. In order to use the pi1541 solution you don't actually need an RPI 2 or 3, RPI0 or 1 work well, you just need to overclock them a bit. The plastic case included is specific for the RPI3 and it's complete and ready to go. This is the eBay ad where I bought my pi1541 kit:
It depends on how much you plan to use it and what for.
#Sd2iec version 3 1541 disk drive emulator c64 plus#
The 1541++ Ultimate is the gold standard but it’s now £140 plus VAT/Import duty so it isn’t cheap. There is also the SD2IEC device as well to look at too. You would need a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3 and a Disk Drive DIN cable and a couple of other things. bin files as well and it also emulates the much faster 3.5” 1581 disk drive as well.Īndy, I have an almost complete Pi1541 HAT for you if you want, it just needs a screen.
The firmware and games are stored on a FAT32 MicroSD card which plugs into the Pi and turns the Pi into a Cycle Exact 1541 emulation device. The Pi1541 is really a HAT for a Raspberry Pi, that fits on top of the Pi and has the DIN plugs, Oled screen and buttons. Though if you fit JiffyDOS to the 64 you loose the tape routines, so I have a dual OS fitted to mine. You can replace the ROM on a 1541 with JiffyDOS which speeds it up and if you have JiffyDOS fitted to the 64 as well it is faster again. The real 1541 is incredibly slow for a disk drive and the 1050 really wipes the floor with it. My Homebrew Tapuino can save to SD Card but it’s very convoluted. Tapuino or TapeCart are cheap devices that are okay for single load games back from the 80’s but they cannot some cannot save.
Take MW Ultra for instance, it’s a fantastic game that wouldn’t be possible on cassette. Most modern games are focussed on disk or cartridge. The best answer, buy a disk drive and one of the carts for best results but you will needs a lottery win for the drive alone.And a strong back, they weigh a tonne. Sorry about the tech stuff but its best you have as much info as possible even if some of it is just gibberish I think you see why I went to the 1541++ straight away.It aint cheap but it covers 99.9% of things and is still being updated.Īgain, all depends on how dedicated you become to the machine, if you just want to have a few games on every machine then the cost is too high (unless you win the pools), me, I'm a fan of the C64 and almost always had one so I want the games running as best they can and I was offered a discounted 'refurb' which made it a bit easier. Direct calls to the OS to load from the port will need to be intercepted and its not always possible depending on the way its coded. I can't remember the details of the Pi1541 but any cart that is emulating a disk drive but not physically connecting to the disk drive port will run into issues. I notice it does not support saving to the SD which could be an issue with some games and it seems to not support multiload games, mind you the Kung Fu cart says it does not support multi disk games which I hope is on the to do list, there's not a huge number of multi disk games but I bet quite a few of the strategic games may be. I think that is the tape thing, it needs Richie to confirm as it was his suggestion and I'm not as clued up to what is out there for the C64 these days.