Everdrive N64 – OS Update v1.28 released

July 28th, 2012 No comments

It was released a new OS Update for the Everdrive N64 Flash Cartridge (Nintendo 64) by Krikzz. The upgrade instructions can be found here.

Changelog:

  • SRAM saves bugfix.

Download: Everdrive N64 - OS Update v1.28 (1304)

source: krikzz.com

Categories: Hardware, News & Rumors, Today

Super Com 60 (Nes on a Chip)

July 28th, 2012 3 comments

Super Com 60  (Nes on a Chip)

Autopsy:

You can see the review of the Super Com 72 here

It’s a famous famiclone and it will play famicom (nes) games. It’s compatible with JAP/USA cartridges without regional lockout chip (CIC). The console comes with 60 games included on the cartridge.

Syntax Societys Summerparty 2012 (C64): World in Progress by GP

July 27th, 2012 No comments

World in Progress C64 Demo by Genesis Project was awarded the first place at the Syntax Societys Summerparty 2012.

Download: World in Progress Demo by Genesis Project (1039)

source: noname.c64.org

Commodore 64 Gold Edition on Ebay

July 26th, 2012 No comments

Commodore 64 Gold Edition on Ebay.

from Richard Lagendijk Homepage:

This a special edition of the Commodore C64, celebrating the 1.000.000th sale of the C64 in Germany. This is one of the most desirable Commodore items. There are about 300 golden Commodore C64 produced. The numbers from 1.000.000 until 1.000.100 were for the staff of the Commodore factory Braunschweig.

The rest was given to hard- en software companies, magazine-publishers and distributors. The C64 is a computer system with a keyboard, external power-supply and a motherboard. On the motherboard you will find a MOS 6510 processor, RAM / ROM memory, MOS 6569 VIC-II video chip, MOS 6581 SID sound chip and twice a MOS 6526 CIA. PAL version.

source: ebay.de richardlagendijk.nl

Categories: Event(s), Today

The VC 314: Rasperry Pi in a Commodore 64

July 25th, 2012 No comments

Retrotext has made a interesting modding of a not working Commodore 64 with a Raspberry Pi.

For this project Retrotext has used the following things:

  • Commodore C64 with a working Keyboard.
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Keyrah USB interface.
  • 4-way USB port.
  • Three RCA connectors.
  • Ethernet and HDMI cable.
  • On/off Switch.
  • Power Supply and some other items.

The Commodore 64 runs under the Vice emulator (Linux) on the Raspberry Pi so we can play our favorites games.

About the Resperry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a  small, inexpensive computer that is capable of running tasks like most other PCs, however it is smaller, a lot smaller in fact it measures  85.60mm x 53.98mm x 17mm , almost the size of a credit card and costs £25. It has an ARM11 chip at its heart, which finds its origins in early UK microcomputers, notably first in the Acorn Electron, the brain child of  Mk14, ZX80 and 81s’ Chris Currie and Austrian physicist Herman Hauser.

source: retrotext.blogspot.co.uk

Categories: Hardware, News & Rumors, Today

Everdrive MD – OS Update v35 released

July 24th, 2012 No comments

It was released a new OS Update for the Everdrive MD Flash Cartridge (Megadrive/Genesis) by Krikzz. The upgrade instructions can be found here.

Changelog:

  • SRAM auto backup bug was fixed.

Download: Everdrive MD - OS Update v35 (2076)

source: krikzz.com

Categories: Hardware, News & Rumors, Today

Compaq Portable III (Model 2660) with External Expansion Chassis

July 24th, 2012 10 comments
Compaq Portable III (Model 2660)

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Compaq Portable III is a computer released by Compaq Computer Corporation in 1987. It was advertised as being much smaller and lighter than the previous portable x86-PCs, however it was still quite large by today’s standards.

Its street price upon its release was 4999 USD for a model equipped with an 12 MHz Intel 80286 CPU, 640 kB RAM, 1.2 MB 5.25″ floppy, 20 MB hard disk (type 2), and a 10″ amber colored gas-plasma display or 5799 USD with the upgraded 40 MB hard disk. There was also an optional ISA Expansion chassis allowed for 2 full length 16-bit ISA add-in cards for 199 USD. Power is supplied using a mains electricity outlet, no battery exist.

source: wikipedia

Osborne 1 (System One – 1981)

July 22nd, 2012 No comments
Osborne 1 (System One - 1981)

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Osborne 1 was the first commercially successful portable microcomputer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation. It weighed 10.7 kg (23.5lb), cost USD$ 1795, and ran the then-popular CP/M 2.2 operating system. The computer shipped with a large bundle of software that was almost equivalent in value to the machine itself, a practice adopted by other CP/M computer vendors.

Its principal deficiencies were a tiny 5 inches (13 cm) display screen and use of single sided, single density floppy disk drives which could not contain sufficient data for practical business applications.

The Osborne’s design was based largely on the Xerox NoteTaker, a prototype developed at Xerox PARC in 1976 by Alan Kay. The Osborne 1 was developed by Adam Osborne and designed by Lee Felsenstein. It was first announced in April, 1981. Adam Osborne, an author of computer books, decided he wanted to break the price of computers.

The computer was designed to be portable, with a rugged ABS plastic case that closed up and a handle. The Osborne 1 was about the size and weight of a sewing machine and was advertised as the only computer that would fit underneath an airline seat. It is now classified as a “luggable” computer when compared to later laptop designs such as the Epson HX-20.

source: wikipedia

 

C64 Game: Fifteen 3D / Lunar +1D / World Class Leaderboard …

July 20th, 2012 No comments

SD2Snes Firmware v0.1.4a released

July 16th, 2012 No comments

It was released a new firmware for the SD2Snes Flash Cartridge (Super Nintendo/Famicom) by Ikari. The upgrade instructions can be found here.

Changelog:

  • Fix DMA initialization in the menu (could cause sprite corruption in some games)

Download: SD2Snes Firmware v0.1.4a (1162)

source: sd2snes.de

Categories: Firmware, News & Rumors, Today

Atari 8-Bit Tools: RastaConverter Beta 4 GUI v0.0.1.3

July 15th, 2012 No comments

User Friendly GUI under M$ Windows (requires .NET Framework) for the command line tool RastaConverter by Jakub ‘Ilmenit’ Debski.

Download: RastaConverter Beta 4 + GUI (M$ Win) (1314)

source: atariage.com/forums

C64 Game: Little Sara Sister 1.5 +7HD / Elav +4HD …

July 15th, 2012 No comments

Amstrad Monitor PC-CD / Mouse / Keyboard and System Discs

July 15th, 2012 2 comments
Amstrad PC 1640 / Monitor PC-CD / Mouse / Keyboard

Autopsy:

The Autopsy of the Amstrad PC 1640 SD (IBM PC-compatible) can be read here

from Wikipedia:

The Amstrad PC1512 was Amstrad’s mostly IBM PC-compatible home computer system, first manufactured in 1986. It was later succeeded by the PC1640.

It launched for £499 and sold very well, as it was one of the first cheap PCs in Europe. It significantly helped open up the European PC market to consumers as well as businesses, and Amstrad’s advertising of the PC1512 was aimed at homes rather than offices. The 1512′s influence was such that the UK PC magazine PC Plus originally targeted itself at the “Amstrad PC 1512 and compatibles”, since home ownership of other PCs at the time was rare.

The PC1512 shipped with 512K of RAM; it could be upgraded to 640K of RAM with an expansion pack. Video output was compatible with the CGA standard, with an extension allowing all 16 colours to be used in the 640×200 graphics mode. The CPU of both the PC1512 and the later PC1640 was an 8 MHz Intel 8086, which was sufficient for playing The Secret of Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion and Prince of Persia. The power supply was located in the monitor, which made upgrading difficult.

source: wikipedia Amstrad PC1640 Technical Reference

Unboxing SIO2SD Micro by Panos Santos

July 14th, 2012 1 comment
SIO2SD Micro (testing)

Autopsy:

The SIO2SD is a device that allows you to load games/applications into any 8-bit Atari XL/XE computers via SIO interface from SD cards.

This version is like the original SIO2SD (based to latest schematic “version 2″) but in a smaller form with some improvements by Panos.

Panos improvements:

  • As for the cpu the latest “low consumption” ATMega32A microcontroller in smd form.
  • The 74LVC245 who guarantees good data transfer between the microcontroller and SDcard, in proper voltage levels also.
  • New 47nf capacitors for better button response.
  • Extra resistor and capacitor added in output of low dropout voltage regulator, for better voltage stability particularly at “no load” condition. As result of that is much higher reliability and compatibility with more SD cards.
  • New tactile switches with smooth feeling for more comfortable use.
  • Push on-Push off type SD connector.

source: atariage.com/forums

HxC Floppy Emulator: Firmware v1.7.1.2 released

July 13th, 2012 No comments

The HxC Floppy Drive Emulator is a software and hardware system created by jfdn aka Jeff.

The aim of this project is to replace the floppy disk drive by an electronic device emulating the floppy disk drive (list of supported Computer/Hardware).

There are two differents emulators:

  • A USB version which allows to connect the floppy disk drive interface of the computer to a PC via a USB cable.
  • A SDCARD version which allows to emulate floppy disks which images are stored in a SDCARD.

Firmware SD HxCFloppyEmulator v1.7.1.2:

  • Drive A <> Drive B constant polling issue corrected (Atari ST).
  • Better SD Card error handling.

Firmware SD HxCFloppyEmulator v1.7.1.1:

  • New embedded setting menu : To access this menu remove the SDCard and press the select button.
    • By this menu you can:
    • Change the floppy Interface mode.
    • Change the bitrate.
    • Change the track step mode.
    • Enable/disable the drive B.
    • Enable/disable the step sound.
    • Set the user interface sound volume.
    • Set the backlight timing.
    • Set the standby timing.
    • Check the software and bootloader version (integrity test included).
    • Clear/reset the settings and reset the Emulator.
    • Exit this menu…
  • SD Card: Issue with some sd card corrected : Incompatibility with some SD chipset corrected.
  • Write support: Timing for MFM / FM 250/300/500KBits/s write support readjusted. DataMark supported : 0xFB,0xF8 (deleted data mark), 0xFA,0xF9. HFE file format enhanced : Track 0 Side 0 & Track 0 Side 1 track write mode can be different from the others tracks.
  • New track seek algorithm: Faster track seek/settle time -> Faster Loading time !
  • Flip disk function: the disk image can now be flipped (reverse side 0side 1).
  • Bad track number at power up corrected (E-mu Emulator I/II, SP1200, Linn/Forat 9000…)
  • Experimental “Rev2″ HFE support : Correct some issue with some Amiga games/demos.
  • Lots of internals code optimization…

 Download:

source: hxc2001.free.fr