Posted By
colin1
on 2008-04-27
11:23:42
|  How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Hi wonder if anyone can help me?
I have a working plus four and am desperate to play icicle works on it again, old tape won't work any more so I downloaded the .tap file and converted it to a wav file, then played that out onto a shoebox stlyle cassette recorder but when i tried to load the tape it didnt work.
Have tried inverting the wave as well an still no good, any one any ideas where I am going wrong?
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-04-27
11:36:33
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
It is possible that the recording level is not set correctly, or the head alignment is not consistent (quite common with the Datassettes) and need to be adjusted.
By the way, I use a simple circuit that allows sending the sound output of the PC to the tape input of the Plus/4, so that programs can be transferred directly without recording to a cassette.
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-04-27
11:44:34
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Some questions: does the Datassette actually work (i.e. can you record a simple basic program with it, and then successfully load it back) ? Are the programs not even found, or have load errors ?
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Posted By
colin1
on 2008-04-27
13:59:26
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
yes the datasette works but never finds the program . I am recording the program onto a old shoebox style cassette player.
Whats this circuit you use to input the sound from the pc straight into the plus/4.
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-04-28
11:53:16
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Well, then it could be different head alignment, as mentioned above, but also some simple reason like the recording having too low amplitude.
The circuit I use is basically just a simple amplifier (with one NPN transistor and a few resistors) to convert the soundcard output to TTL level; it is quite hackish, and obviously not the best method for data transfer, but it works. I use the tape signal to sound output feature of my Plus/4 emulator, and a ROM tape turbo that allows a speed of about 550 bytes per second.
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Posted By
Paulk
on 2008-04-28
13:27:39
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Out of interest how do you convert a .tap to a .wav file. Sorry if this has been discussed before.
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Posted By
colin1
on 2008-04-28
14:08:49
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
I'm using a program called audiotap
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-04-28
16:28:43
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Audiotap does not seem to work with half-wave format .tap files, although that is probably not your problem, as trying to open a file in unsupported format results in an error message, rather than creating a bad .wav file.
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Posted By
Paulk
on 2008-05-01
13:26:37
| Ok what am I doing wrong.
I have saved a basic program as .tap file using Yape. When I try to convert it to a .wav file using audiotap I get the error message ".tap has unsuported TAP videotype 4294967232". So what I am doing wrong ?
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-05-01
16:20:22
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
You could use plus4emu instead, and record directly to a .wav file (the file need to be an already existing one, however, it can be basically any non-compressed sample format and any sample rate), without having to use Audiotap. You can also set if the signal should be inverted or not.
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Posted By
PaulK
on 2008-05-02
09:27:48
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Hi. Ok I have installed Plus4emu and I have a dummy .wav ready to use. How do I save/record as a .wav file ?, I cannot see the option. Thanks
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Posted By
IstvanV
on 2008-05-02
10:13:56
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
You can open tape files by pressing F6 and selecting the file in the dialog that appears. The tape controls (play etc.) can be accessed in the Machine/Tape menu, but some commonly used controls also have keyboard shortcuts: Shift+F9 (or F5) is play, Shift+F10 (or Shift+F5) is stop, and Shift+F12 is record. Tape emulation settings like inverting the signal in .wav files, sending it to the soundcard output, etc. are configured in the "Tape" tab of the Machine/Configure window.
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2010-07-05
19:52:40
 | Request about IstvanV's device mentioned above.
Hey IstvanV,
could you add some diagram of your device (and a photo for the hardware section)? Since many new motherboards (same for laptops) don't have parallel ports this could be interesting to others as well. Most PCs have some kind of line out.
Plus, it seems to be a low cost device, which makes it even more interesting 
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Posted By
Jakec
on 2010-07-06
03:33:13
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
And ??? Buy a usb to ltp cable. For example:
http://www.usbgear.com/computer_cable_details.cfm?sku=USBG-LPT25&cats=101&catid=596,597,101
If you did something with it please enter your results. I am also interested in the things. It would be good for a working description.
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2010-07-06
13:38:01
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Well, I'm interested in IstvanV's solution because it's different from X*1541 cables and obviously only needs very few parts. It's not about the better method, it's about what's possible, i.e. I'm interested in this particular circuit. Nevertheless, I think for many small tasks (e.g. just loading a single game) this will be fine.
On the USB-Parallel converter:
I'm aware those exist. Some time ago most ppl said they wouldn't work because they don't truly "emulate" the parallel port but just handle "printing" issues. I haven't heard differently, yet, but if it works, that's cool.
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Posted By
monoceros
on 2010-07-06
16:37:45
| Re: How do i get a tap file back onto tape so i can load it onto my plus4??
Don't know if it0s said yet, but i will do a wav with the emulator, and then connect the computer output (with ANY EFFECT, reverd, 3d etc) into a cassette like this (very cheap)
http://4item.com/images/car-con-pack.jpg
Then you must take care that the tape will don't stop when it says "found icicle works" (tape stops for a while there, but if you load a wav file, it won't), you must press space as soon as you see then screen, or keep space pressed.
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