 Previous Messages |
Posted By
siz
on 2013-06-11
09:47:34
|  Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi,
Andre "just" makes the hardware implementation for a more-or-less standard SD2IEC firmware.
SD2IEC does not support multiple devices (and yes, You mixed up U and D  U is for unit as device number and D is for drive in a unit).
SD2IEC tries to replace a serial drive with some custom extension commands but there is no support (nor is it planned) for multiple drives or a custom filesystem.
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Posted By
gerliczer
on 2013-06-11
04:43:48
| Further development ideas
Hi Andre,
I came up with some new foolish ideas regarding the sd2iec device. These will definitely be useless.
First, would it be possible to add multiple device/unit support? What I mean is either simulating more than one drives with one sd2iec at the same time like there is connected D8 and D9 to the computer or simulating double drives having U0 and U1 floppy mechanisms and controllers available. (I'm not completely sure which is D and U, so if I mixed them up, sorry.) Just for the heck of it.
Second, would it be possible to provide IDEDOS of IDE64 fame like native storage support? Don't know if it is supported already.
On a different note, could you tell us something about how the project goes and what are you up to? Will there be a homepage for your product as you hinted some time ago?
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Posted By
RobertB
on 2013-02-28
18:10:34
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi, Andre,
If not there already, I would like to humbly request a second, serial IEC port on your SD2IEC.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
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Posted By
George
on 2013-02-26
07:25:14
 | Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
An Icon how to put the SD-Card in, would be helpfull, according to my experience.
The card must be turned upside-down, due the compact way the device is build.
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Posted By
MIK
on 2013-02-26
03:28:33
 | Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Very nice. On a C16 the cable would need to be longer as the power and joyports with joystick adapters hanging out are on that side. Also a drive plugs almost in the middle of a C16 on the back so the cable may need to be almost twice as long as it is now?
Maybe C16 users would place it on the left side too as there is nothing on that end to get in the way.
Also allow length in the cable just in case people wish to put it on top of a 1541 style cased drive that maybe sat on the left side?
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Posted By
gerliczer
on 2013-02-26
02:21:28
| Development ideas
Hi Andre,
I don't know anything about what are the possibilities but here are some ideas to consider.
You may want to modify the design of the plastic case to include recesses for the stickers. That way it would be easier to position the markings and they'd be a bit protected against scratches. You may also put a notation next to the card slot how to insert the SD card (although it will obviously go in only one way).
AFAIR there are builds of the SD2IEC firmware that support JiffyDOS. If yours do then you may want to consider selling your product bundled with JiffyDOS. In the 264 scene it has almost zero penetration but I think it could be very helpful since SD2IEC does not support custom loaders (drive code based ones). You may also consider designing, producing and selling a custom ROM, either as a 3-PLUS-1 replacement for the plus/4 or as an external cartridge for the C=16/116, with utilities making SD2IEC handling easier.
Another possible development course would be printer emulation. Many printers support printing directly from storage media devices nowadays. I think an MPS803 emulation that prints into some picture files could be done. At least the serial protocol and SD card handling is ready in the firmware.
Were these any good?
Oh, and please set the webpage you earlier mentioned up.
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Posted By
siz
on 2013-02-25
14:54:36
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi Andre,
as I look at the picture above: maybe a slightly longer serial cable would be better for daisy chaining with a real floppy drive. (about the length of the original Commodore serial cable)
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-02-25
11:30:22
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
We are still open minded for new ideas and improvements - please keep suggestions coming, folks!
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Posted By
George
on 2013-02-22
15:59:22
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi guys,
Andre made a special version of this device according to my wishes. Any comments appreciated.
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Posted By
George
on 2013-02-22
15:54:28
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi guys,
Andre made a special version of this device according to my wishes. Any comments appreciated.
<img src='http://www.patsos.de/plus4/c166_0.JPG'></img>
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Posted By
MIK
on 2013-01-18
04:06:49
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Awesome pictures!!! 
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Posted By
Patrick
on 2013-01-18
03:07:11
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
wow, on ebay the SD2IEC went for 103 euro!! big money, but a beautifull piece of hardware. i have a 1541-III and works great for me, otherwise i knew what to do!
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-11
20:44:45
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Of course..show them whoever you want.
I had to laugh myself, when i put the 1551 out of the box. I forgot myself, how big and heavy this thing is. Its square plug is bigger then the SD2IEC 264, which i did not expect. Look at the size of this thing..:) I love it and its one of my valuable pieces in my collection.
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-11
18:22:45
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hey George -
I love these photos - made me smile quite a bit
May I use these to show to other Commodore-Freaks?
Regards, Andre
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-11
17:10:00
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
4GB: And How many Games Tapes in Meters?
Power Plug:
Perhaps an a little adapter for the power cable would do the same thing. Then you could decide the options.
Another Idea: The device has a normal power plug, but you could plug in three
different powercables: a) Plus4 b) C64 c) AC-Adapter. (pehaps differen color of the cable too)
1551:
Yes its a beatifull, fragile, heavy brick. I will make photos next to the c116 today.
Speed:
The idea should be, to speed up the Reader without opening the sealed Case of an Plus/4. Perhaps there is a software solution, or you could use the User or Cardridge-port for more speed? Just ideas...
SD Cards opens the possibilites to make more graphical intense games. Pehaps animations too.
My hope was to load the pictures direct from SD-Card into graphic-memory, without caching them. (I tried it yesterday, its too slow as it is now)
Edit: The promised photos
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Posted By
RobertB
on 2013-01-10
23:56:11
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
CBM CREW Andre wrote:
> The speed of the SD2IEC totally depends on the interface which it is connected to.
With Jim Brain's December 1 announcement that C16-Plus/4 JiffyDOS (NTSC and PAL) soon will be available through him, that bottleneck won't be a problem for those computers that have JiffyDOS.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-10
22:31:02
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi again -
sorry, I forgot to mention: The speed of the SD2IEC totally depends on the interface
which it is connected to. Using a cartridge is boosting that performance to the unknown.
I give you an example - On the C64, it is reading about 1.2 to 1.6 times faster than
a 1541-II. Using a Final Cartridge III, it was reading >20 times faster.
Not every firmware is supporting those cartridges. The most popular are supported by
newer firmwares. So it all comes down to the interface which is a sort of bottleneck
in this case.
See ya,
Andre
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-10
22:18:05
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi,
thanks for the kind response, George! I know how comfortable it is, to use an SD2IEC
instead of a mechanical misbehaving floppy disk drive. I think the 1551 is one of the biggest
floppy drives, I've seen sor far. I think you can actually put the C116 on top of it and only
covers half of the surface
Nice photo of the C116 and the device, by the way...
4GB - I just laughed when I figured out, how big a pile of floppy disks would be in
comparison. The pile would be 36meters high (single-sided, without paper cover...).
I think an SD-card is slightly more practical ...
I'll be back soon with some suggestions on how the new generation of SD2IEC 264 might
look like in the future ...
Regards,
Andre
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-10
18:22:02
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
@Andre,Chicken
Well, no problem at my side. I just wanted to point out my experience. I have my old Panasonic SD-card for this now.
This device here is so perfect. I waited so long for in the right design...
I never liked the Floppy-Drives from the beginning they built them. Too heavy, too fragile. Mechanic-Dinosaurus which never fitted to the idea of a mass-storage. And the Storage media is same. Writing on magnetic disks, which are not very durable. The 1551 i have does not read disks any more. And interchanging files between a Plus/4 and a PC is so annying with this X-Cables. Never tried this way.
Thank you Andre.
You made me very happy today, because i loaded some self written stuff on one of my real machine. It was mind-blowing to see them on TV. A Kids dream became true.
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2013-01-10
17:49:53
 | Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
George,
try formatting those problematic SD cards with this tool:
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/sd/download/index.html
I can't promise anything but it might help since some SD cards come formatted in a way that violates the standard.
Andre,
nice project. Sure, there are lots of different SD2IEC gadgets out there but it's nice to know that someone really shows an interest in supporting our machines
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-10
17:31:20
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi folks!
@Spektro: It is possible to deliver the SD2IEC 264 with a power socket. I did that before
for somebody who wanted a similar device for his SX-64.
The only reason for this cable is to draw power from the computer. My concern is,
if people use their own AC-adapters with a higher idle voltage, if you know what
I mean. The 5V-Circuit in the SD2IEC is not especially protected against
overvoltage yet. Due to all of your requests, I seriously think about redesigning
the PCB as well. If anyone orders a device with power socket, I will include an
adequate AC-adapter (for safety reasons) for the time being.
@Gerorge: I had several regular SD-cards in this device, and they've all worked fine.
Even older ones without the extra pin worked. The firmware definately supports
both FAT-systems (see links included in the manual - the authors of the firmware
made detailed descriptions there - way too much to put into the manual).
If there are too many issues, we can offer a free upgrade to the SD2IEC
software - it was written for the C64, but works on the 264s as well.
Nice thought about square LEDs though - I will give it a try ...
You will be happy to hear, that we already redesigned the case and planned
to use the little buttons here as well. Furthermore, the DC-function will be
available. I will post photos here, as soon as they've been built.
Regards,
Andre
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Posted By
Spektro
on 2013-01-10
16:23:59
 | Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Thanks Andre!
Would it be possible to replace the SD2IEC's cable which goes to the cassette port with a DC power socket? If I've understood correctly, the only purpose of that cable is to draw power from the cassette port.
With a special cable you could still use the SD2IEC without a DC power supply.
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-11
07:51:44
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Let me tell you my experience so far:
I had problems with these 2 SDCards (Device not found):
AGFA Photo 4GB SDHC FAT32
Canon 16M SD FAT
This here worked well:
Panasonic SD 256 MB FAT
The speed seems to be similar to an Floppy, but without the noise. I thought the SD2IEC-drives are much more faster.
Of course working with SD Cards is much, much more confortable and enjoyable. Do dont play a Disk Jockey any more.
And the great thing: you wont find a more compact installment of an 264 System than this here. One Power Plug less.
It was definatly worth bying, and catapults my system into new horizons and possibilities.
Some ideas from me for the optical discussion:
The grey power cable fits well to the black grey design of the C116.
The round Reset-Button is a little big. The buttons of the C64 version are more sophisticated.
The LED's are perfekt for the C16, but this here needs little square ones.
The shape of the case are perfect for the c16, but here i would design a case with mores edge and a decline from the top to the bottom and a grill at the top.
The Logo with the rainbow colours should be horizontal, and perhaps a more "catchy" name for the device:
SD-Reader|||||||||||116 or
Commodore||||||||||SD-264 (i know copyright issues)
Here a picture of a an C116 with my new SD2IEC 264.
C116 with my new SD2IEC 264
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-10
13:19:26
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi,
all right - my E-Mail address is : andre dot melchert at googlemail dot com
I'm looking forward to hear from you guys and I'm gonna visit this
plus/4-world quite a lot!
Regards, Andre
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Posted By
Hans
on 2013-01-10
12:10:47
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi Andre,
There are no objections against making public your email address here. It's not like Epay here 
To protect yourself from unwelcome incoming mails (this is an open forum and everyone can read here), I'd recommend to scramble your email address a little.
Dont leave her your_name@yourprovider.com
but instead
your_name at yourprovider dot de / com / whatever
or
y o u r _ n a m e a t y o u r p r o v i d e r... etc.
A little scrambling should keep those harvester engines blind.
Reagrds,
Hans.
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-10
11:41:29
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hello,
yes it does save work. You can use it like a regular Floppy disk drive.
I wrote a Basic-Programm for instance, then I typed SAVE"WORK.PRG",8.
It will then be saved to the sd-card properly. No problem at all.
My personal website is being under construction at the moment, but if you
are interested in one of these devices (a few more should be ready by the beginning
of next week), you can always send me an E-Mail.
Before I post the E-Mail address - are there any regulations that forbid me to do that here?
Kind Regards, Andre
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-10
07:56:44
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Thanks for the post Andre,
i got my device today. Quick sending. Good packaging and there is guarantee and support for the device. Even firmware upgrades are offered, free of charge.
When i go home, i will test it.
It a nice feeling, after all this years, to buy something completly new for a plus/4.
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Posted By
Spektro
on 2013-01-10
06:09:20
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
@CBM CREW Andre
Do you have a web site where people can make direct orders?
I'm curiuos, does saving work with the SD2IEC? I can load with my 1541-III but saving doesn't work.
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Posted By
CBM CREW Andre
on 2013-01-09
23:26:38
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi folks -
i'd like to thank you all for the opinions on this device, which is definately in a stage
of possible improvements. A version with the disk change feature is no problem at all,
but please note that this only works for d64, d71 and probably d81 files.
I'd like to make a statement regarding the price. The device is - including the dc-function - only
50 Euros for people, who order directly. I know it is nowhere near the Ebay-price, but we do
want to support the community rather than driving the prices up.
I am thankful for advices or suggestions about the design, functionality and anything else you
come up with ...
By the way - the new series has got a black power cable
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Posted By
retroscener
on 2013-01-09
18:52:59
 | Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Slightly gutted, now I wish I had waited a few extra months for this swish one instead of the standard looking one I bought 
Edit: Ah, no disk swap button? Maybe it's just as well as mine has it. Maybe I can modify the case of mine to look like that one when I return home this weekend.
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-09
18:09:53
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Yes you can have the disk swap button, if you ask for. I bought it as it is.
I suggest you ask him over ebay about the price, i depends on the request.
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Posted By
Romppainen
on 2013-01-09
18:07:52
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
I noticed these couple of days ago aswell and really liked the design, only con I could come up with was already mentioned lack of disk swap buttons but as it seems you can have them as optional add-on it's getting really tempting... Now, how's the price if you buy them straight from the dev?
Edit: I hope they'll have a go for matching design with VIC-20 aswell :)
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-09
15:43:07
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
The design of the 264 will be developed futher, because of the ideas in the forum here.
Our site is credited in the in the manual for the inspiration. Let us wish the developers good luck,
for expanding the possibilities of our little TED-machines. I waited years for this kind of device.
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Posted By
Hans
on 2013-01-09
15:01:27
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Csabo, I have to apologize for my (maybe misunderstood, but really unintended) offending tone.
Your contribution to this community is just ***GREAT***. This has to be pointed out, and there's no doubt about it! The same greeting goes, by the way, to Luca.
As far as the hardware issues are related, there might be someone who would share his knowledge with our community...?
Please see my PM to you.
With very kind regards,
Hans.
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2013-01-08
11:10:27
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
This thread has already sprawled in several different directions, so I apologize for further taking it off topic, but I'd like to respond to this from Hans:
"Even on this forum, hardware is discussed not very frequently. My question here months ago regarding an eprom burner has never been answered. The hardware section of plus4world is reduced to some photo gallery. Nice pictures, of course, but just pictures. Don't assist very much for firing up the soldering iron..."
As for frequency, that's probably normal, I don't think it's a very active topic. As for the other part: agreed, but not for lack of trying... Luca and I are the two biggest contributors to the site and its content, and we're just not hardware gurus. Me especially: I'm a programmer, I don't know the first thing about anything hardware related. The hardware section is waiting for someone to give it some love. If you have time, ideas and willpower to work on it, let us know.
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Posted By
MIK
on 2013-01-07
19:46:53
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Nice idea StarshipUK as this would save people having to do such a thing them self's and more so for those that are not sure. Of course the file names used after downloading from any site is more about giving a title it's proper name or a name that's more fitting if it's longer that 16 characters which makes no difference to modern hardware and emulation reasons.
I don't have one of these drives just yet, keep thinking about it as they are perfect for most things on 264's.
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Posted By
StarshipUK
on 2013-01-07
17:18:03
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
I have been working on a project to gather all Plus 4 games and format them so they can be easily loaded on a SD2IEC with a real Plus 4.
The download is at: http://www.ride-the-music.com/plus4/plus4sdcard.rar
Extract fb16.prg to the sdcard first. To load type dload"*" and then run, and the menu program loads.
You may also need to use this: http://www.anerty.net/software/file/DriveSort/ to sort everything alphabetically, after the RAR has been extracted to the SD Card.
So far I am only halfway and have done 0 to L. All filenames are 16 characters or less and lowecase with spaces removed. Old contains most popular english commercial releases from the small Gamebase collection. Foreign contains games in funny languages which are probably not playable to an English person (text games etc). Cracks contains any cracks and hacks contains italian hacks and level edited versions. It could probably do with more sorting to get rid of the really crappy games, but its a start!
Feedback (and any problems) is appreciated.
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-07
15:57:51
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
I have news from the Development Team of this device.
The devices are handmade. And if somebody wants a black power cable, it would be no problem to configure it.
Even if somebody explicitly wants the Diskchange Funktion, it would be possible to get it, because the device is already prepared for this option. It would get two buttons more and another firmware.
The 264 device is so new, that i will get one of only three existing... I think this is historical.
I was said, to send greetings and any feedback and suggestions to this device is welcome.
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Posted By
Hans
on 2013-01-07
10:25:02
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
@bubis: Well, the actual price is €25,50. The seller sold an SD2IEC for the C64 for € 81 (!) four weeks ago. Actually, he's offering another one for C64 which is now listed at € 61.
I suppose the price for the 264 type will go up until the auction ends.
@gerliczer: If you don't like the colouring, the number of options, and that it's a non-series handcrafted item you ain't committed to buying it, are you?
I agree with George's opinion that improvements will take place when the seller/manufacturer receives sufficient interest & feedback.
There are so few new hardware developments for the 264 around that this new adaption with the black clad is outstanding to some degree. I can live with a grey power cable...
Even on this forum, hardware is discussed not very frequently. My question here months ago regarding an eprom burner has never been answered.
The hardware section of plus4world is reduced to some photo gallery. Nice pictures, of course, but just pictures. Don't assist very much for firing up the soldering iron...
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-07
11:50:24
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Give the developers a chance. Its a new product for our system and i am sure, it will be developed further, when we give feedback and support it. There is no diskchange function according to the manual, but it should be enough for the most programs.
Looking at the pictures, i cought the idea behind the design and colors. The device matches the design of the c16.
The round LEDs, the colors of the the two cables (grey keyboard, black case), the rounded shape of the box.
Maybe he will make a Plus/4 designed version, with more edges, white power cable,. and a"grilled" finish..:)
In my personal taste, i would let it look more like a Floppy 1551 and name it like commore 2551 or something.
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Posted By
gerliczer
on 2013-01-07
06:02:29
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
It has a number of flaws in my view. The first is the fugly button on the C16/+4 version and the seeming lack of disk change buttons on it. Second is the disharmonious color of the power line. And the third is being manufactured in a single copy not in series.
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Posted By
bubis
on 2013-01-07
05:19:40
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
This seems to be the cheapest option I have seen so far. Is this for real?
Update: Ok, got it, this is an auction and it is not over yet. :)
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Posted By
Spektro
on 2013-01-07
04:42:54
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Stylish! Looks much better than my 1541-III.
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-07
04:48:41
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi Robert,
i don't have the device yet, but the developer send me the manual, which is very well written:
The answer is yes:
D1 D2 D3 D4
ON ON OFF OFF Device 8
ON ON OFF ON Device 9
ON ON ON OFF Device10
ON ON ON ON Device 11
Some other Specifications:
· supports PRG-Files and D64 , T64 , M2I - IMAGES
· supports FAT / FAT32 FileSYSTEM
· Special VERSION for the COMMODORE C16 C116 plus/4
I saw, that he build a special version for the C64 and the matching design to.
C64 Version
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Posted By
RobertB
on 2013-01-07
00:39:39
| Re: [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Oh, that is nice! Does it have dipswitches so you can select the device number?
Happy New Year!
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
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Posted By
George
on 2013-01-06
17:58:55
| [EBAY] New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
Hi folks,
i found this cool new device from the CBM Crew in ebay. I like the cool black design.
New SD2IEC von CBM CREW in black 264 series Design
I bought today one directly from the seller.
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