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Posted By

SVS
on 2015-02-15
11:04:36
 Wiring 1541 to PC

I suppose that it's time to (re)connect my PC to real serial chain (1541s, MPS803, 1581, etc.) happy
I realize that all my old cables (X1541, XA1541) are outmoded

Well my friends, what do you suggest to buy, nowadays? I was thinking to a USB device...

Posted By

Gaia
on 2015-02-25
14:14:03
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

I am also undecided myself.
The best two options are Ultimate 1541 and SD2IEC they say.
http://www.1541ultimate.net/content/index.php
http://www.sd2iec.co.uk/id6.html

Posted By

siz
on 2015-02-25
14:50:04
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

For real serial drives I suggest a ZoomFloppy (http://store.go4retro.com/zoomfloppy/).

Unfortunately 1541Ultimate does not work with plus/4 as standalone mode is missing (only C64 cartridge mode works). SD2IEC is a good choice but you have to sacrifice a lot on the compatibility side. UK1541 would be a good choice but it starts to sell in April and plus/4 compatibility is questionable (in theory it works but needs a user port connector with different layout and C16/C116 is excluded)

Posted By

SVS
on 2015-02-26
02:37:27
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

While Zoomfloppy is surely a PC application, it is not clear to me how is SD2IEC access from the PC.
Anybody can supply me with more info?
Thanx

Posted By

Chronos
on 2015-02-26
03:02:56
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

You need a card reader.. Simply plug the sd card into the pc card readers slot, and after back into the sd2iec and thats all.. so simple..

Posted By

SVS
on 2015-02-26
07:01:41
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

Thank you Chronos, I suspected this way to work.
But what I'm considering is a device to allow direct data interchange between real CBM-serial-devices (with 5"1/4 disks) and PC (like the old X-cables did).
Am I right if I say that the only one doing this is the ZoomFloppy?

Posted By

siz
on 2015-02-26
08:27:58
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

You can search for XU(M)1541, perhaps you will find a cheaper version. ZoomFloppy is basically that: a well built XUM1541 adapter. The firmware is the same. And the schematics are opensource so you can even build your own.

Posted By

gerliczer
on 2015-02-26
08:44:27
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

Maybe your old X*1541 cables are out of fashion, but they still can be made working. You can buy parallel port cards even with PCI Express interface, so OpenCBM (or what's its name) still can be used.

Posted By

SVS
on 2015-03-18
14:10:42
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

After the gerliczer' suggestion I've ordered from ebay a converter from Parallel to USB, so that I can use my old XA1541 cable.
Then I've downloaded the last version of OpenCbm and installed the driver.
Unfortunately when I run the interface (Gui4cbmwin) it says "NO PLUGIN DRIVER".
I've tried to reinstall it and all goes ok, but still the interface does not work.
Any idea? Thank you.

Posted By

gerliczer
on 2015-03-18
15:37:28
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

Sorry for being misunderstandable, SVS. I meant to suggest buying a parallel port card, not a USB parallel port. These are known not to work with OpenCBM, AFAIR. If you have to use USB, you should buy a ZoomFloppy or any other XUM1541 adapter.

Posted By

siz
on 2015-03-18
17:53:18
 Re: Wiring 1541 to PC

USB to parallel will never work because to emulate serial/parallel CBM drive protocols you need "bit-banging" of the parallel port with very tight schedule. These USB to parallel adapters are not capable of that. They are built for handshaking of the PC to printer communication.



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